Urban Versus Rural Newspaper Reading Habits of Undergraduate Students in Uttarakhand, India

Newspapers are a very good source of information and carry variety of sections and topics, including international events and political affairs, expert opinions, features, columns and editorials. They strengthen vocabulary and grammar of readers, especially the young ones. Newspapers have several tiers of gate-keeping to ensure that only correct and authentic information is printed the next day. Apart from getting current information, students can improve their thinking and observational skills by reading newspapers daily and also keep themselves abreast with latest career opportunities and information. The aim of the present study was to understand the newspaper reading habits of the urban versus rural undergraduate college and university students in Uttarakhand. These two group have participants aged majorly between 17 and 22 years. The study aimed to have a insightful peek into and analyse the newspaper reading habits of these two groups. Primary data for the study was collected by floating well-structured questionnaires among undergraduate students in various colleges and universities in the urban and rural areas of Uttarakhand. Random sampling method was used. In order to a get better qualitative insight into the topic, focus group interviews were also conducted with two groups of 10 students each from both urban and rural students. Open-ended questions were asked in the FGDs in moderated settings and their responses analysed. Secondary data was collected from published works on related topics.