I just can?t begin my day without a newspaper. Earlier it used to be the Times of India, and later The Hindu, but TOI got so messed up in its glitterati that it forgot to put any news in it.
The Hindu on the other hand was a very good paper but I found it south oriented and I used to get it very irregularly at my place. I also read a lot of news from the economic arena, hence I always read the ET too. But now ET is the paper I start my day with, and for the regular news, I read any of the Hindi papers as they have better local news content. But now I start my day with Economic Times.
Unlike the Times of India, this pink sibling does have some substance, in fact a lot of substance. But be aware that the news here is primary financial or economical. Even the political or mainstream news covered have an economic angle to them. And the economic angle is what is emphasized here. But what I really love about the paper is that it manages to make (boring to some) economic data and details interesting.
It also helped a great deal in my education. It was due to ET that I managed to understand and make use of the financial data and terms. As I read the ET, the news started making more and more sense and I managed to develop a keen sense of curiosity in the events, and now I believe I am in a position to exploit the knowledge.
For anyone with casual stock market connections, ET is a boon. It gives periodical reports on select stocks and its daily price list is the only source for the share prices for people like me, who are only casually involved in the trading and do it only for investment.
One of the best features of ET is its annexures. My favorite being the ?Brand Equity?. It?s a weekly annexure, releasing on Wednesday. It is a roundup of the marketing and advertising scenario of the country. It contains a focus article, featuring an ad agency, or CEO or any particular concerns being faced by the advertising industry.
Another must read is the ?BE-kar?, ?BE-st?, and ?BE-ware? section featuring the worst, best and the strangest ad of the week.
Monday carries a pullout for investors. It has the previous week?s performances of various mutual and debt funds. Another pullout is called the ?Corporate Dossier?. It contains corporate happenings and other news.
I love the Dilbert comic strip that appears on the paper every day. Scott Adams has created a wonderful strip that caricaturizes the corporate situations brilliantly.
There are a few odd aspects about the paper too. The pictures that appear on the paper have no connection with the article they are supporting. They are just plain absurd and most of the time carry really bad captions. It seems that they are there just to fill up the place.
The Sunday and Saturday editions cost Rs. 10 and Rs. 7 respectively as the markets are closed and their primary market, the stock exchanges are closed. These editions primarily contain various opinions and editorials.
These articles are especially useful for gaining insight of the various sections of the society and industry. These are also essential as most of the authors are experts and hence it is useful to be able to read their opinion.
Over all the paper is more than worth it. And anyone with or without economic knowledge should seriously consider reading it. As the knowledge is power and we are living in a knowledge economy these days.