“What’s black and white and read all over?”
Have you heard this joke before? Hearing it is much different from reading it. Reading it gives away the punchline. Because when you hear it, you’re likely to mix up the homophones ‘read’ with ‘red.’ You’re supposed to be confused by the colors, only to realize ‘read’ refers to an action.
If you haven’t figured it out, the answer is a newspaper. It’s got black and white text and is read all over the world. Except that newspapers aren’t read as much anymore. The circulation of print journalism is down in recent years. Compared to when this used to be the primary source of news.
Once upon a time, reading was paramount to staying updated in what was going on. Then broadcast journalism happened. Radio. Television. 24-hour news coverage. Social media. Journalism is now instantaneous. Newspaper is more for analysis than breaking news. And magazines are for putting in time capsules. Print isn’t dead, but it’s aging.
Even if you prefer to get your news from television and the internet, you’ll still know how to read—even if it’s just for headlines and the scroll at the bottom of CNN. Once upon a time, being able to read was synonymous with being informed. Now, there are more than one way to get your news. But reading is still an important part of it.