NEWSPAPERS

In the past people learnt about news from newspapers. Nowadays people usually learn what is happening in the country and in the world from TV or radio news programmes or from the Internet.

Still we cannot imagine our life without newspapers. There are dozens of them on every news-stand. There are newspapers for professionals, for businessmen, for children and teenagers, for men and women, for sports fans, for those who are interested in gardening and for those who keep pets.

Some newspapers publish serious articles on politics, economy and finance, some aim to entertain their readers. Many newspapers express certain political opinion and people choose them according to their own political beliefs. In short, you can always find a paper which suits your interests.

Besides, there are many free local newspapers which are put into your postbox whether you ask for it or not. Probably they are not interesting, because they consist mainly of advertisements, but you can find a lot of useful telephone numbers and addresses there.

My parents subscribe to Argumenty i Facty. I also like this weekly. I don't read all the articles, but in every issue I find something interesting. I think that most articles are very well written, they give a detailed and well-balanced analysis of current events and trends in economy. I like to read articles on social issues, interviews, reviews of new books, plays and TV shows. One of my favourite columns is The Quotation of the Day, where they quote our popular politicians and give their comments. Sometimes it's very funny.

Quite often I buy Sovershenno Secretno (Top Secret) and practically in each issue there are some fascinating stories which you read like a detective story.

Sometimes they uncover things I have not heard about, sometimes they show well-known events in a completely new light.

From time to time I read Moskovsky Komsomolets. It's one of the most popular daily papers, but I don't consider it serious. However, I never miss an article written by Minkin. I think he is a very good journalist. I also like Merinov's cartoons. Sometimes they publish good reviews of new films, new CDs and so on.

In short, I think that TV, radio and the Internet have their advantages, but nothing can substitute newspapers.