This lesson talks about the design, layout and content of ‘idazhgal’- viz journals. Broadly speaking, journals can be classified as newspapers i.e., (naalidazhgal), popular magazines i.e. (vegusana idazhgal) and journals or magazines published for a specific readership i.e., (sittridazhgal). The content and layout of these 3 types of journals vary.

An attractive, reader friendly layout is indispensable for the success of a newspaper. The size, number of pages and price determine the layout of a newspaper. The first page is regarded as the most vital part of a newspaper, as; it carries the important news stories of the day.

News stories constitute the major content of newspapers. An effective news story has a good ‘lead’ i.e., (seithi munnurai) and a striking ‘headline’ i.e., (thalaippu). While a lead is a brief introduction to the story, headlines capture the essence of the news. They arouse the interest of the readers. A reader, who has no time, can have an idea of the chief news stories of the day by simply scanning the headlines. There are 2 types of headlines: main headlines i.e., (thalaimai thalaippu) and news headlines i.e., (seithi thalaippu). There are different forms of headlines. This lesson defines nearly 16 popular forms of headlines. The points i.e., (the size of the letters) used in headlines depend upon the urgency and priority of the news item. Tamil dailies such as the ‘Thinathanthi’, the ‘Maalaimurasu’ and the ‘Maalaimalar’, are popular for their bold headlines.

Popular magazines are called so because they cater to the taste of the populace and enjoy a wide readership. The number of pages in a popular magazine may vary from 50 t0 200. The cover page is colourful, attractive and carries the name of the magazine, its price and the date. These magazines appear as weeklies, fortnightlies, monthlies or bi-monthlies. They deal predominantly with contemporary socio-political issues and film news. They carry interviews, features, short stories, poems, jokes, film reviews, gossip columns, readers’ views and advertisements. Some popular magazines deal with a specific subject and target a particular readership. Thus, there are business magazines, film magazines, women’s magazines and children’s magazines. The special section like ‘Maanavar Malar’ published by ‘Thinamani’ caters exclusively to the needs of the student community. The name of the magazine is determined by its content.

‘Sittridazhgal’ are journals or magazines that are aimed at a specific group of readers. Their layout and content varies greatly from popular magazines. Unlike ‘vegusana idazhgal’, ‘sittridazhgal’ do not rely on sensationalism. They enjoy a small but devoted readership. Most of these are published once in a month. The content of these journals reflect the ideologies of its publishers. They are printed mostly in A4 size and carry a contents page. Literary magazines such as ‘Theeranathi’, ‘Kaalachuvadu’ are noted for the quality of their articles. ‘Dalit Murasu’ is a renowned Tamil journal which voices the concerns of the dalits.

There are also a number of religious and political journals. The internet has paved way for the publication of several e-journals.