Events

Newspapers in Education Week is celebrated every year during the first full week of March and this year it will be marked from March 2 to 6. Newspapers in Education (NIE) is a ‘Young Reader Development’ initiative that involves the use of newspapers in schools for purposes of improving literacy and developing a reading culture amongst children. During this week, several different events are held in schools by educators to use newspapers in classrooms. Numerous newspapers participate in this program by providing newspapers and other resources to local schools and helping organize events and activities for the same.

History of Newspaper in Education Week

A newspaper is a regular periodical that provides news, views, features, and other information of public interest, as well as advertisements, on a daily, weekly, or regular basis. The first forms of the contemporary newspaper were the ‘Acta Diurna’ (“daily acts”) of ancient Rome, which published notices of political and social happenings, and manuscript newsletters circulated by various foreign companies in the late Middle Ages. The Daily Courant was the first English daily to be published years later.

Historically, the parliament did not explicitly grant the media the privilege to cover its proceedings until 1771. Publick Occurrences Both Foreign and Domestick (Boston, September 1690), the first newspaper in the U.S., was suppressed by the colonial government after only one issue. It was the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution that secured the state of a free press in the country. Initially, circulation in the low thousands was typical for newspapers. This, however, saw a steady increase after that. Increased literacy, as well as technological advancements in mechanical typesetting, high-speed printing, communications, and transportation, enabled higher circulation.

In the early 21st Century, the world’s leading newspapers began offering online editions of their publications. Although some newspaper publishers charged readers for access to their web versions, many made them available for free in the hopes that advertising revenue, combined with cheaper printing and distribution expenses, would cover the loss of subscription rates. Newspapers, as we know them today, are abundant sources of information that bring us news from all over the world and across a wide array of topics and industries. Whether you read a physical copy or a digital website, newspapers are still a vital part of our lives. Newspapers in Education Week emphasizes this power of the newspaper and aims to instill a habit of reading into children while they are young. Through different activities and events, this week educates children on the many benefits of newspapers.