Reading editorials of a newspaper is something I picked up some 10 years back and have enjoyed it so far. Let the newspaper be Hindu, DC, TOI, South China Post, Guardian or anything else, editorials provided an insight into the thinking of the newspaper as an entity and the general thought process of the editorial team and the country.
The major newspaper in this region now is the Gulf News. The physical copy of the newspaper is so heavy that it would give competition to the dumbbells if I ever try using them. The paper covers the news in the whole Middle East region as well as the West and South Asia.
However a brief glimpse of the editorial is enough to make you want to through the newspaper away. This paper lacks a thought in its editorial. It is just another means of dissipating information rather than trying to evoke a thought from the readers by expressing the view of the editor. This might appeal to the cult which claims that people are intelligent to make their own views….just give them news, but I guess I subscribe to a different thought process
Look at the recent ed piece on VOIP introduction in UAE. It does not comment on the direction of opening of telephony nor does it give suggestions on the harms of opening up. The telephone industry in UAE is plagued with problems of high base cost as well as variable cost and the government is not using the modern technology of VOIP to lower the cost for consumers. I understand the apprehensions of the government in opening of VOIP services for security reasons, but the technology has grown to such heights that the problems associated can suitably be addressed. All these issues were never discussed in the editorial piece and this is a problem that the newspapers should address.
The success of a newspaper is measured by the success of the editorial columns of newspaper and as in research process, the citation of editorial pieces of a newspaper is one indication of the success. I guess Gulf news has lot of catching up on this aspect.
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