It is often said that young people these days are no longer interested in reading newspapers. This is not correct. Rather, a major section of our youngsters is news-conscious and well-aware of what is happening around them and the world at large. The fact is that their news reading pattern has evolved. Young people, particularly university students, nowadays consume news through online portals and social media platforms. They now prefer photo-cards, satirical memes, photo-stories, features and even long-form stories on screen, but not on conventional papers. Sometimes, they come up with excellent pieces of writing, which they post on different social media platforms. And a few of them go viral among netizens. This shows us that our youth are not reluctant to read, write and express their voice on social issues.
If the universities of Bangladesh could provide their students platforms for exchanging their views, we would be able to hear diverse voices and opinions from them. There are a host of issues in the country at the moment on which students' voices are not just important, they are essential. Some of them may relate to issues on campus, while others to much wider subjects. Our university students need more forums to share their views and ideas. Apart from TikTok, Facebook and X (former Tweeter), they need platforms like campus newspaper or university online news portal. And it is not difficult for a university to publish such a newspaper. Most of our universities has journalism department. Teachers and students of these departments can come forward to collect and edit write-ups from students of others departments and run the paper or portal. A campus newspaper or online news portal of a university is like a laboratory for those students who have journalism majors. While there are some obvious differences between a lab work and writing, the principle of hands-on experience still stands. However, it is the best way to do real journalism. Usually, most of our universities have IT specialists and departments of computer science and engineering. Teachers and students of these departments can help manage and oversee the technical aspects of the campus news portals. These newspapers will not only give young students an opportunity to explore their writing talent but they can also help the country's media industry find a pipeline of young scribes and future journalists.
According to a survey, there are currently more than 1,600 university newspapers in the US. And European universitees also have a culture of campus publications including student newspapers. But unfortunately, in Bangladesh we have not yet been able to develop such a culture of publishing campus newspapers or other publications at our universities, whether they are public or private. The students at US or European universities are no different than students in any other parts of the world, including Bangladesh. They are perceptive, thoughtful, engaged and see the world in unique ways. Classroom lectures are not enough for them. In this age of fourth industrial revolution, what students need more is problem-solving skill rather than traditional lectures. Student journalism at Bangladeshi universities is not a serious endeavour. As a result, students do not get the opportunity to channel their ideas in a thoughtful and constructive manner. Publishing campus newspapers is an important step a university can take to cultivate students' writing and journalism talents.
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