France to offer free newspapers to all 18 year olds in bailout plan
Posted by Emma Heald on January 26, 2009 at 8:37 AM
French President Nicolas Sarkozy announced on Friday that France will be offering all 18 year olds a free daily newspaper of their choice. Newspapers themselves will provide free copies and the state will cover the cost of delivering them to the thousands of homes, Sarkozy clarified.
The scheme is part of a package of measures to help French newspapers, which have been struggling for some time and several of which are close to collapse. In a speech to industry leaders, Sarkozy stressed that "The habit of reading the press takes hold at a very young age."
The scheme is part of a package of measures to help French newspapers, which have been struggling for some time and several of which are close to collapse. In a speech to industry leaders, Sarkozy stressed that "The habit of reading the press takes hold at a very young age."
For their eighteenth birthdays, teenagers will receive a year-long
subscription to their favourite general news daily. The free subscription idea was among 10 ideas recommended to the government by a sub-committee charged with considering the specific problem of youth readership, but far from the top of the list. Two different strategies were most highly recommended: assuring that a youth voice was in newsrooms themselves to begin to address core content and platform issues via a cadre of young "ambassadors" and creating a habit of regular newspaper reading by assuring a short but daily newspaper reading period in school. "It's a shame
because this solution is a mere band-aid, when radical surgery is
needed," Aralynn McMane, World Association of Newspapers director of young readership development commented. "If the content is not compelling, free subscriptions are a waste."
The state will increase its annual support for newspaper and magazine deliveries to 70 million euro from 8 million last year, and will spend 20 million more a year for its advertisements in print publications. The state will also defer some fees the publications face. Sarkozy also announced a freeze on the cost of postal distribution and a reduction in payroll taxes for newsagents.
The measures announced came largely from recommendations in a three-month study into the industry's health that was released on 8 January. The study also recommends that newspapers restructure their finances and that journalists be better trained for multiple forms of media, including online.
Source: AP, AFP
The state will increase its annual support for newspaper and magazine deliveries to 70 million euro from 8 million last year, and will spend 20 million more a year for its advertisements in print publications. The state will also defer some fees the publications face. Sarkozy also announced a freeze on the cost of postal distribution and a reduction in payroll taxes for newsagents.
The measures announced came largely from recommendations in a three-month study into the industry's health that was released on 8 January. The study also recommends that newspapers restructure their finances and that journalists be better trained for multiple forms of media, including online.
Source: AP, AFP
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