Newspapers have tried many things to stop a seemingly nonstop decline in readers. Now France is pushing forward with a novel approach: giving away papers to young readers in an effort to turn them into regular customers. The French government recently detailed plans of a project called “My Free Newspaper,” under which 18- to 24-year-olds will be offered a free, year-long subscription to a newspaper of their choice.
Newspaper readership in France has been especially low among young people. According to a government study, only 10 percent of those aged 15 to 24 read a paid-for newspaper daily in 2007, down from 20 percent a decade earlier.
Emmanuel Schwartzenberg, a former media editor of Le Figaro, the oldest and second-largest national newspaper in France, said he had strong reservations about the government project. At a time when advertising is in steep decline, he said, newspapers should instead be looking at ways to raise more profits from readers, rather than giving papers away. “This just reinforces the belief that newspapers should be free, which is a very bad idea,” Mr. Schwartzenberg said.
French readers, young and old, already have plenty of free options from which to choose, including newspaper websites and the free papers handed out daily in many city centers. Some bloggers said the new program might hold the most appeal to the few young people who do already read, and buy, newspapers.
The French government plans to promote the program with an advertising campaign aimed at young readers and their parents. However, when asked how to attract young readers to the printed press, the government said the primary channel for the ads would be the Internet.
What is Mr. Schwartzenberg’s attitude toward this program?