conversation between two school boys:

Rajesh : Why are you worried about your project? Switch on to Discovery Channel or Animal Planet. You’ll get enough information through the various documentaries on wild animals. Don’t you read the newspaper everyday? The dailies carry magazine sections during the week, and the Sunday supplement has several features on Nature Science. I am sure you’ll find sufficient material to work on.

Prasad : Thank you, Rajesh. I’ll check the paper but how would I know when those programmes would be relayed on TV?

Rajesh : “A guide to Radio and Television” is a regular section in the paper. It gives you the various programmes under each channel and the time of relay - be it news, quiz, game or chat shows, comedy or drama series, documentaries, movies, sit.coms, soap operas or
current affairs, live commentary or recorded highlights of games.

Prasad : You must be spending a lot of time on TV viewing!

Rajesh : Not at all! The TV is shared by the family - we are eight members! … we have cable TV facility with  channels, so there is a constant tussle between us as to what should be watched, when and how! Either the volume has to be turned up for my grandmother
who is short of hearing or it has to be turned down for my sister who is frequently writing entrance exams. And then, there’s my younger sister and brother who quarrel over the remote control and keep switching channels. While one wants Cartoon Network the other wants a sponsored serial. I get to watch TV only when they’re showing a good film or
music programme. That’s when there’s a unanimous choice in the family. I do listen to radio programmes often. I can receive broadcasts from all over the world on my radio and I can pick up many interesting stations on the short wave. Even the radio comes in for tug-of-war between my brother and sister, especially when the FM radio is broadcasting
‘Listener’s choice’ anchored by their favourite radio jockeys.

Prasad : Then how is it you know so much about TV programmes?

Rajesh : My source of information is the newspaper. There’s everything under the sun in it. Some newspapers focus on sensational news whereas a quality newspaper reports facts and editors take care to be objective. I prefer a newspaper to TV or radio because I can choose what I want to know on my own time. If I am in a hurry I read only headlines and get to reading the news reports, the editorial and other feature articles at my leisure. The newspaper has so many other interesting sections. There’s the regional, national, and international news, sports reports, the business news, the special supplements, cartoons,
crosswords, zodiac predictions, weather forecasts, classified ads, what not! Even an obituary column - my grandfather makes me read it to him everyday and most often he knows those old persons and tells me so many interesting anecdotes from their lives.

Prasad : Don’t tell me you read all the newspapers available?!

Rajesh : No, I don’t but it’s not impossible! I’m told that a certain U.S President would  read eight newspapers during his morning cup of tea, and was able to quote from them during his discussions in the White House. It is a matter of speed-reading really. The newspaper has no doubt helped me improve my reading skills!

Prasad : Thanks Rajesh. You’ve been a great help!