Annual newspaper week started on Oct. 15. The Japan Newspapers Publishers and Editor Association marked the start of the week with a two-day convention in Sapporo. The week is designed to promote more popular interest in newspapers and renew newspapers' determination to properly perform the public functions expected of them.
As newspapers find themselves in financially difficult straits because of sluggish economies and changes in society represented by expanding use of the Internet, it is all the more important that they make serious efforts to fulfill people's right to know, which is a pillar of democracy.
Today, people spend more time with computers, mobile phones and digital players than with newspapers. They spend an average of only 25.1 minutes daily reading the morning paper on weekdays. Still, the association's survey shows that people give more credence to newspapers than to TV, radio, magazines or the Internet in considering their indispensability as a source of information, including information on local communities, their degree of intellectuality and their impacts on society. It is clear that newspaper companies need to supply high-quality information to people.