In his latest film role, Tom Hanks plays Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd, a veteran who travels through post-Civil War Texas, reading the news to a beleaguered and downtrodden population.
The film, News of the World, is highly watchable fare and, for me as a journalist, it also touches a soft spot for the idea that our work has for a long time been important to people in all countries and walks of life. More importantly, the film's story underlines the powerful ability of newspapers to connect with their readers in an emotive way.
More than 150 years on from the time that this compelling fiction is set, digital technology is in danger of severing that precious connection, as we come full circle from the first industrial revolution and the beginning of a golden age for newspapers in the early to mid-19th century.
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A newspaper itself is an evolving, living concept, depending on time, place and purpose. Hanks’s character takes on the job almost of a reader’s editor, picking and choosing which articles to read from a number of publications he finds in locales along his route of travel through the Old West.
Captain Kidd has a knack for knowing precisely which tales will grip his audiences. These include human interest articles and stories of incidents in faraway places, as well as the more mundane and officious local announcements that impact their day-to-day lives.
People willingly hand their coins over to Captain Kidd to pay for this service. They are either too time-poor or too illiterate to read the news for themselves.
In an early scene, Hanks tells his gathered audience in Wichita Falls: "Now, I know how life is in these parts, working a trade sunup to sundown. No time for reading newspapers. Am I correct? Let me do that work for you. And maybe, just for tonight, we can escape our troubles, and hear of the great changes that are happening out there."
The realities of life and survival get in the way but that does not dim the people's thirst for knowing more about the world that they live in.
The cinematic portrayal of this appetite rings true. It has been tapped for thousands of years in one way or another. The first recognised newspaper, however, was printed in the early 17th century in Germany. Today, the World Association of News Publishers represents 18,000 publications in 120 countries. No matter the well-reported travails of the industry at the moment thanks to increasing levels of digitalisation in society and business, it is still very much alive.
Technology – from steam power to the telegraph to the television and the internet – has always been a feature of the industry, although until now, it was a tool to be wielded by the publisher in its delivery of the news direct to its audiences. Instead, the advent of digital platforms and smartphones has created a layer between the newspaper and its reader that is controlled by a separate, third party.
We could argue that the newsagent or newsstand used to be that third party but it was never an intrusive part of the relationship – only ever a facilitator, just a convenience. We cannot say the same for the likes of Facebook and Google.
However, I think back to Hanks and News of the World, and I ask myself how long such a profession as he portrays would have lasted. And I wonder if, by the start of the 20th century, some 30 years after the film was set, such a role would have become redundant.
Rising levels of education and wealth and higher rates of urbanisation in the US would have allowed far more people to pick up a newspaper more regularly. Modern roads and transportation networks meant that distribution channels allowed newspapers to reach more people directly in their homes and places of work.
The American mass-market newspaper was a feature of the early 1900s.
By the same calculation, I also look into the future and wonder if so many readers will still need digital middle men, such as Facebook and Google, to curate the news for them in the fashion that they do now – electronic versions of Captain Kidd.
At the moment, much of the debate around the future health of the news business is around the point at which newspapers and digital platforms meet. For example, Rupert Murdoch's News Corp has made a deal with Google that will mean the internet giant will pay for the content from its newspapers. This agreement is to some being seen as a watershed for how news is consumed online.
I would argue that it represents something else, which such a deal tacitly acknowledges: the beginning of a shift.
Advances in technology will likely make it far easier for an individual to pick and choose his or her own news sources directly
Currently, newspaper readers are as time-poor as they ever have been. Equally, levels of digital literacy in society are at a nascent stage, with people having only had the internet for a quarter of a century and smartphones for less than half that time.
At some point, people’s understanding and comfort with their digital experiences will catch up with the scale of our digital lives and we will all have the freedom and convenience of being able to directly pick up our news from whichever source we need, without the need for a digital Captain Kidd curating the experience for us.
Equally, advances in technology including payment systems will likely make it far easier for an individual to pick and choose his or her own news sources directly, thus re-establishing the precious, direct link between newspapers and a reader.
Ultimately, we may one day look back and think of platforms such as Facebook, offering us the news as curios, much like we might the concept of Captain Kidd today.
Mustafa Alrawi is an assistant editor-in-chief at The National
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Power: 905hp
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Price, base / as tested Dh222,500 / Dh296,870
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LAST-16 EUROPA LEAGUE FIXTURES
Wednesday (Kick-offs UAE)
FC Copenhagen (0) v Istanbul Basaksehir (1) 8.55pm
Shakhtar Donetsk (2) v Wolfsburg (1) 8.55pm
Inter Milan v Getafe (one leg only) 11pm
Manchester United (5) v LASK (0) 11pm
Thursday
Bayer Leverkusen (3) v Rangers (1) 8.55pm
Sevilla v Roma (one leg only) 8.55pm
FC Basel (3) v Eintracht Frankfurt (0) 11pm
Wolves (1) Olympiakos (1) 11pm
Titan Sports Academy:
Programmes: Judo, wrestling, kick-boxing, muay thai, taekwondo and various summer camps
Location: Inside Abu Dhabi City Golf Club, Al Mushrif, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Telephone: 971 50 220 0326
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Engine: 5.2-litre twin-turbo V12
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
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Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
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The finalists
Player of the Century, 2001-2020: Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus), Lionel Messi (Barcelona), Mohamed Salah (Liverpool), Ronaldinho
Coach of the Century, 2001-2020: Pep Guardiola (Manchester City), Jose Mourinho (Tottenham Hotspur), Zinedine Zidane (Real Madrid), Sir Alex Ferguson
Club of the Century, 2001-2020: Al Ahly (Egypt), Bayern Munich (Germany), Barcelona (Spain), Real Madrid (Spain)
Player of the Year: Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
Club of the Year: Bayern Munich, Liverpool, Real Madrid
Coach of the Year: Gian Piero Gasperini (Atalanta), Hans-Dieter Flick (Bayern Munich), Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool)
Agent of the Century, 2001-2020: Giovanni Branchini, Jorge Mendes, Mino Raiola
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
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- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
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Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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China
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UAE
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Norway
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Federer's 19 grand slam titles
Australian Open (5 titles) - 2004 bt Marat Safin; 2006 bt Marcos Baghdatis; 2007 bt Fernando Gonzalez; 2010 bt Andy Murray; 2017 bt Rafael Nadal
French Open (1 title) - 2009 bt Robin Soderling
Wimbledon (8 titles) - 2003 bt Mark Philippoussis; 2004 bt Andy Roddick; 2005 bt Andy Roddick; 2006 bt Rafael Nadal; 2007 bt Rafael Nadal; 2009 bt Andy Roddick; 2012 bt Andy Murray; 2017 bt Marin Cilic
US Open (5 titles) - 2004 bt Lleyton Hewitt; 2005 bt Andre Agassi; 2006 bt Andy Roddick; 2007 bt Novak Djokovic; 2008 bt Andy Murray
SERIE A FIXTURES
All times UAE ( 4 GMT)
Saturday
Roma v Udinese (5pm)
SPAL v Napoli (8pm)
Juventus v Torino (10.45pm)
Sunday
Sampdoria v AC Milan (2.30pm)
Inter Milan v Genoa (5pm)
Crotone v Benevento (5pm)
Verona v Lazio (5pm)
Cagliari v Chievo (5pm)
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- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
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Sheikh Dhiyab bin Isa (ruled 1761-1793) Built Qasr Al Hosn as a watchtower to guard over the only freshwater well on Abu Dhabi island.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Dhiyab (ruled 1793-1816) Expanded the tower into a small fort and transferred his ruling place of residence from Liwa Oasis to the fort on the island.
Sheikh Tahnoon bin Shakhbut (ruled 1818-1833) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further as Abu Dhabi grew from a small village of palm huts to a town of more than 5,000 inhabitants.
Sheikh Khalifa bin Shakhbut (ruled 1833-1845) Repaired and fortified the fort.
Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon (ruled 1845-1855) Turned Qasr Al Hosn into a strong two-storied structure.
Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa (ruled 1855-1909) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further to reflect the emirate's increasing prominence.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan (ruled 1928-1966) Renovated and enlarged Qasr Al Hosn, adding a decorative arch and two new villas.
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Sources: Jayanti Maitra, www.adach.ae
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“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
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- Grade 7 = grade A
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- Grade 5 = between grades B and C
- Grade 4 = grade C
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What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
Business Insights
- As per the document, there are six filing options, including choosing to report on a realisation basis and transitional rules for pre-tax period gains or losses.
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MATCH INFO
FA Cup fifth round
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