Why I Love To Hate <i>Outlook</i>

Till recently, I always picked up Outlook first from the few weekly magazines coming home. Now, it’s the cover page which helps in my prioritisation of the magazine. With modern dissemination technologies of news in any field becoming quicker and more accessible, weekly magazines need to push their benchmarks higher. The articles need to have more depth so as to pass on knowledge, something which 24x7 news channels cannot deliver. Yet, there is something which draws me to Outlook. Surely not Vinod Mehta. Mostly we have been on opposite sides on News Hour. But I do admire and respect Mr Mehta for his views. Presentation counts and that’s refreshing about Outlook. As far as content is concerned, the magazine is a mixed bag. Certain fields like economy and international affairs I have always read with particular relish. I miss the gupshup page badly—perhaps my good friend is no longer overseeing it? On political issues, the balance is missing and the tilt is quite visible. It can still be accepted as an alternate view and not a true reflection of Outlook’s ideology, the one it had started off. I can only hope the magazine once again hits the top of my popularity chart, and for that I feel the merit of the issues should be brought out more lucidly. My request to the Outlook board: Make our weekends brighter and more informative, please.

(Sidharth Nath Singh, national secretary, BJP)

Outlook invites readers to take part in its 20th anniversary celebrations. Send us your bouquets and, more importantly, your brickbats. E-mail your entry to editor [AT] outlookindia [DOT] com