In Britain And In Ghana

Visiting Ghana from the UK has widened my perspective on a number of issues. Since I am working on a newspaper, I have noticed that the sale and distribution of newspapers in general differs largely from the UK. Though newspapers are sold in most shops around the UK, there are rarely any �newsstands� in the street and it is unheard of for people to sell newspapers by hand from a pile. The internet is also �taking over�, news can now be updated at the touch of a button every hour, gradually making newspapers almost obsolete. In the UK most people order their preferred newspaper from their local news agent and it is delivered straight to the door of their home via a paper boy or girl. This job is usually one young people take up at about the age of 13 or 14 and it is generally their first wage-earning occupation. They are given around 40 or 50 papers to deliver across a number f streets. This is knows as their �paper-round�. The practice of getting a paper round is generally encouraged. Having the job is a way of being introduced to the working environment: getting up early, earning and managing money, managing time effectively etc. young people who have a paper round are often viewed as more mature than those who do not have one. Even something as small as delivering papers show future prospective employers that the person is reliable, committed, punctual and has learned some responsibility. Encouraging young people to work and earn money through a paper round gives them a stronger sense of experience. Earning money gives a sense of self-worth and the person learns early in life to manage their time and money effectively. Young people who have a paper-round are much less likely to commit crimes and misdeeds because their time is being used rather than allowing them to waste time on less desirable pastimes. However, having a paper-round does have its negative aspects. Young people at the age of 13 or 14 who have been up since 6am delivering papers may perform poorly in school due to tiredness. It could also be argued that even the minor responsibility of delivering a few papers is too much for children of that age. The medium of newspaper in Ghana also differs from that of the UK. In the UK there are two types of newspaper: broadsheet and tabloid. (Broadsheets are large papers and tabloids much smaller, often half the size of a broadsheet if not less.) Broadsheet papers such as The Independent, The Telegraph and The Guardian all report national and global news and current affairs. The tabloid papers tend to report less �serious� news on a national scale, often consisting of �shocking� and highly sensationalized stories. In Ghana I have only seen tabloid newspapers, and a number of them appear to report similar sensational news and celebrity gossip to the tabloids in the UK. The daily Express appears to be one of the few I can compare to the broadsheets of the UK in terms of reporting news, though it comes in tabloid size. The lack of broadsheet papers is by no means a bad thing; it is an effective way of reducing paper usage and preserving the environment. The broadsheet papers in the UK also present a problem to the young people delivering papers. The papers are already large and often contain supplement magazine as well. This makes them virtually impossible to fit through a letterbox without causing some damage. In Ghana the distribution of newspapers appears to be more of a profession than merely a step onto the job ladder. Owning a news stand is an occupation and a profession for the people and is often the main source of income, whereas in the UK it is a job that is mainly covered by young boys and girls who need a job.