In order to serve the public, the press has certain functions. When the newspaper was started as a bulletin, its function was to “inform”. Through newsletters it carried short items of importance to its readers. As the newspaper has developed, it has also changed in its important functions.
The newspaper these days has three outstanding functions, to inform, influence and entertain. ”To inform” is the primary function of the press. Factual presentation of the day’s news is the elementary function. This function, therefore, implies dissemination of news and miscellaneous materials, newspaper is just like ‘newspaper”.
The second function is to “influence”‘ the public. As Joseph Pulitzer said, “The modern press is to be “both a daily teacher and daily tribune,” To achieve this function, the newspaper may educate, counsel, advise and exhort the people through editorials, critical articles and columns, and reviews of motion pictures, plays, musical events, radio programmes and books etc.
The third function it entertain the readers. Entertainment can be found in almost every reading material, news features, humorous columns or verses, light essays and comics.