Free News for Younger Readers
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
By Taylor Finch
Newspapers today have been on the decline for a while, and are desperate to find an answer to put them back on the map as soon as possible.
France is trying out a new plan by giving away free papers to young readers in attempts to turn them into customers. The government named the project "My Free Newspaper," in which 18-to-24-year-olds would be given a free year's subscription to a newspaper of their choice.
This project is just one of many other projects that the government is doing, including financial subsidies to newspapers, to help cure the problems of the newspaper industry.
These problems, such as advertising slumps and the Internet being the primary hub for news today, are especially bad in France. According to the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers in Paris, only half as many papers are sold in comparison to Britain or Germany.
France is particularly lacking young readers, so this project is offering about 60 publications that they can choose from, including the Paris-based International Herald Tribune, the global edition of The New York Times.
Costs of the project are being split by the participating newspapers and the state, with the government giving $22.5 million over the course of three years.
Some believe that this is a bad time for newspapers to not be receiving revenue from readers, but maybe this could influence the younger readers who already read and buy newspapers to influence others to do the same.
(Picture by: metajungle.net)
3 comments:
While I applaud France for its creative approach to reviving the newspaper, the program that they have I feel will not last long. France is trying to woo the younger crowd, but the younger generation has grown up with technology around them, and, unlike most of the older generation, they know how to use it.
I think they should focus really on news readership in general. I'm sure there are a lot of 18 to 24-year-olds who don't even look at news on a daily basis. I would tell France to focus on readership first, and worry about news "papers" later.
I think that France's efforts are commendable. I wish that I was given a free months subscription to a paper. I feel like if the papers came to me I'd be more inclined to purchase them after my subscription ran out because I'd be to used to being in the loop to go back to being oblivious.
-Tessa Leone
*years subscription
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