SAFARI URBAIN

Readers have been attracted to the electronic media nowadays, in some cases to the exclusion of newspapers. In general, however, the two media are supplementary and complementary. Newspapers are indispensable, performing functions that television cannot perform. In fact, in America, videotext companies have been failures because it is very boring to sit in front of a TV set and look at text being scrolled past you.

There is a great deal of serendipity in how people read newspapers. People like to leaf through and discover things. In addition, the printed word leaves an impression that you don’t get with something that is purely visual. People tend to depend less on newspapers and more on electronic media for international and foreign news and to look at newspaper more for local coverage. It is impossible, however, for the public to be well informed on a complex foreign issue simply getting capsule bits of information from the electronic media.