We live in an age where to of information sources are available to us. We are now even in the Internet. But newspaper will always he with us. They have something for everyone. Life without newspaper is difficult to imagine. It brings us news and views from all corners Though small in size our little island has a great history fo Newspaper in Sri Lanka was born for the newspaper. The maiden rn in January.
17th of 1802 by the name of "Colombo Journal": Also first Sinhala paper was the 'Lakxnini Pahana' and there were so many such as "Sarasavi Sandaresa" and "Lanka" followed by. Today we find a number of Newspapers in the three main languages Sinhala, English and Tamil. Some of the week end papers are Silumina, Rividina, Sunday Observer, Sunday Times, Sunday Leader, Rivira, Lankadeepa and Lakbima. Except for those weekend papers, there are so many interesting papers particularly devoted for women and youth, sports or cinema and health and religion.
Newspapers not only keep us in constant touch with news, they also shape our wishes, desires and aspirations. Among them I like "The Sunday Observer" and "Navaliya". For me, Reading headlines of the Sunday Observer alone is enough at times. In the first place it has many more pages and two extra issues "Junior Observer" and "Magazine" which cater, to both young and adults. In this paper there is something for every member of the family to read and enjoy. Being a weekly paper "Navaliya" Serves a lot to women. This covers a wide range of subjects from the kitchen to the compound. Both the papers are vast store houses of knowledge. Even the headlines catch the eye.
Headlines really give the gist of the news item. I never miss the "Writer's Den" and "Poetry Corner" in the magazine, "Word power" and "Electric Words" in Junior issue are highly taken up. This caters to all students as well as teachers and adults who have thirst for the knowledge of English. As a special women's issue I love to read "Navaliya" This offers a number of .useful hints and series of exemplary courses, specially for house wives and the school leavers who are seeking self employment. Dress making, flower making, hand/ ribbon embroidery soft toys and horticulture are given in an appealing manner.
Presentations of articles are simple and meaningful. They are practicable too. However at a very little price, to the reader newspaper serves a lot where the knowledge and amusement are concerned. Unfortunately most sinhala newspapers are not interesting at all. They are possessed by capitalists and they play to the gallery. Also some have become organs of political parties and they try to crush the poor with their iron shoes. Their loyalty to the party seems greater than the sense of fair play.
