Compared to other European nations, the French are not avid newspaper readers, citing only 164 adults out of every 1000 as newspaper readers.
The French press was healthiest in the aftermath of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
. A year after the end of the war, 28 papers had a combined circulation of about 7 million. However, seven years later that figure had been nearly halved. This decline was principally due to the greater popularity of the
broadcast media
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum ( radio waves), in a one-to-many model. Broadcasting began w ...
and the subsequent diversion of
advertising
Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...
revenues. Since 2000 newly produced free papers have further weakened the established press. Still, 80 daily papers remain, and there are a wide range of weeklies, many of which now feature
internet
The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...
sites.
Regional papers have remained relatively unaffected by the decline, with provincial newspapers commanding a higher degree of reader loyalty. For example, ''
Ouest-France
''Ouest-France'' ( ; French for "West-France") is a daily French newspaper known for its emphasis on both local and national news. The paper is produced in 47 different editions covering events in different French départments within the régio ...
'', sells almost twice as many copies as any of the national dailies.
Books
*
Hachette Livre
Hachette () is a French publisher. Founded in 1826 by Louis Hachette as Brédif, the company later became L. Hachette et Compagnie, Librairie Hachette, Hachette SA and Hachette Livre in France. After acquiring an Australian publisher, Hachette ...
*
Editis
Editis is a French corporate group, group of publishing companies, subsidiary of French group Vivendi. It is the second-largest Media of France, French publishing group, after Hachette Livre.
History
Editis was created in January 2004 by the reg ...
Newspapers
In the early 21st century, the best-selling daily was the regional ''
Ouest-France
''Ouest-France'' ( ; French for "West-France") is a daily French newspaper known for its emphasis on both local and national news. The paper is produced in 47 different editions covering events in different French départments within the régio ...
'' in 47 local editions, followed by ''
Le Progres'' of Lyon, ''
La Voix du Nord'' in Lille, and ''
Provençal'' in Marseille. In Paris the Communists published ''
l'Humanite'' while ''
Le Monde
''Le Monde'' (; ) is a French daily afternoon newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average circulation of 323,039 copies per issue in 2009, about 40,000 of which were sold abroad. It has had its own website si ...
'' and ''
Figaro'' had local rivals in ''
Le Parisien
''Le Parisien'' (; French for "The Parisian") is a French daily newspaper covering both international and national news, and local news of Paris and its suburbs. It is owned by LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SE, better known as LVMH.
Histor ...
'', ''
L'Aurore
''L’Aurore'' (; ) was a literary, liberal, and socialist newspaper published in Paris, France, from 1897 to 1914. Its most famous headline was Émile Zola's '' J'Accuse...!'' leading into his article on the Dreyfus Affair.
The newspaper was ...
'' and the leftist ''
Libération
''Libération'' (), popularly known as ''Libé'' (), is a daily newspaper in France, founded in Paris by Jean-Paul Sartre and Serge July in 1973 in the wake of the protest movements of May 1968. Initially positioned on the far-left of France's ...
.''
Daily newspapers and circulation
Below are the circulation figures of France's national daily newspapers from the
Alliance pour les chiffres de la presse et des médias
OJD (french: link=no, Office de justification de la diffusion, "Circulation Audit Office"), formerly , is a French nonprofit organisation (in French: Association loi de 1901) that certifies the circulation of newspapers and periodicals in France, ...
''(updated: 30/03/2021)''
Regional daily newspapers
Television channels
The list below does not include Cable and Satellite television channels.
*Main networks
**
TF1 – private
**
Canal+
Canal+ (Canal Plus, , meaning 'Channel Plus'; sometimes abbreviated C+ or Canal) is a French premium television channel launched in 1984. It is 100% owned by the Groupe Canal+, which in turn is owned by Vivendi. The channel broadcasts several ki ...
– private
**
M6 – private
**
France 2
France 2 () is a French public national television channel. It is part of the state-owned France Télévisions group, along with France 3, France 4 and France 5. France Télévisions also participates in Arte and Euronews.
Since 3:20 CET on 7 ...
– public
**
France 3
France 3 () is a French free-to-air public television channel and part of the France Télévisions group, which also includes France 2, France 4, France 5 and France Info.
It is made up of a network of regional television services providing ...
– public
**
France 5
France 5 () is a French free-to-air public television channel, part of the France Télévisions group. Principally featuring educational programming, the channel's motto is ''la chaîne de la connaissance et du savoir'' (the knowledge network). ...
– public
**
Arte
Arte (; (), sometimes stylized in lowercase or uppercase in its logo) is a European public service channel dedicated to culture.
It is made up of three separate companies: the Strasbourg-based European Economic Interest Grouping ARTE, plus ...
– public France/Germany
**
TV5Monde
TV5Monde (), formerly known as TV5, is a French public television network, broadcasting several channels of French-language programming. It is an approved participant member of the European Broadcasting Union.
The network is available across ...
– worldwide broadcast of national programming of
francophone
French became an international language in the Middle Ages, when the power of the Kingdom of France made it the second international language, alongside Latin. This status continued to grow into the 18th century, by which time French was the l ...
countries (France, Swiss, Belgium, Canada) made by
Television Suisse Romande
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, e ...
,
Radio-Canada
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...
,
RTBF
The ''Radio-télévision belge de la Communauté française'' (RTBF, ''Belgian Radio-television of the French Community'', branded as rtbf.be) is a public service broadcaster delivering radio and television services to the French-speaking Commu ...
, France 2, France 3, Arte
*24/7 news channels
**
BFM TV – private
**
I>Télé – private
**
LCI – private
**
Euronews
Euronews (styled on-air in lowercase as euronews) is a European television news network, headquartered in Lyon, France. The network began broadcasting on 1 January 1993 and covers world news from a European perspective.
The majority of Eurone ...
– private
**
France 24
France 24 ( in French) is a French state-owned international news television network based in Paris. Its channels broadcast in French, English, Arabic, and Spanish and are aimed at the overseas market.
Based in the Paris suburb of Issy-les-M ...
– public
*Musical Channels
**
D17 – private
**
MCM – private
**
W9 – private
**
MTV France
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a ...
– private
* Others
**
D8 – private
**
TMC – private
**
AB1
AB1 ''(formally AB Channel 1 until 1995)'' is a French television channel aimed at young adults.
History
AB1 launched on Eutelsat's Hot Bird satellite and on cable on December 1, 1995 as AB Channel 1 nearly a year before the launch of the AB ...
– private
**
NRJ 12
NRJ 12 is a French private public-state general-interest television channel belonging to the NRJ Group, created on 31 March 2005 on DTT. The channel is available on DTT, cable, satellite and ADSL.
History of the channel
Originally called NRJ TV ...
– private
**
France 4
France 4 () is a French free-to-air television channel owned by France Télévisions, focused on children's programming. The colour of France 4 is purple.
Originally launched as Festival in 1996, the channel took its current name in 2005 when it ...
– Public
**
La Chaîne parlementaire
La Chaîne parlementaire (French for ''The Parliamentary Channel'') is a French television network created, along with its sister station Public Sénat, by law on 30 December 1999. It films and broadcasts live and recorded debates twenty-four ho ...
– the parliamentary channel – political programming (French version of C-SPAN)
Radio stations in France
*
BFM
*
Chérie FM
Chérie FM is a French radio station created in 1987 and belongs to the NRJ Group.
History
Chérie FM is created in 1987 in Paris by Jean-Paul Baudecroux on the then defunct frequency of Gilda la Radiopolitaine. Chérie FM then started broadcast ...
Essentiel Radio*
Europe 1
Europe 1, formerly known as Europe n° 1, is a privately owned radio station created in 1955. Owned and operated by Lagardère Active, a subsidiary of the Lagardère Group, it is one of the leading radio broadcasting stations in France and its pro ...
*
Virgin Radio
Virgin Radio launched in the United Kingdom in 1993. In 2008, Virgin Radio UK was sold to TIML, a subsidiary of The Times of India group, and the name was changed to Absolute Radio; the Virgin Radio name was not included in the sale.
In 2001, ...
*
Fun Radio (France)
Fun Radio is a French network of FM radio stations created on 2 October 1985 and offering electropop, dance and eurodance music operating on 250 different frequencies in France. The station belongs to RTL Group as do its sister stations RTL an ...
*
Nostalgie
Nostalgie is a popular French radio station broadcasting on FM, mostly playing pre-2000s songs with 76% of them coming from the 1980s. Nostalgie is part of the NRJ Group.
History
Radio Nostalgie, now simply Nostalgie, was created on 16 Septemb ...
*
NRJ
Phare FM*
Radio des autoroutes SANEF
Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...
*
Radio FG
Radio FG (; since February 2013, formerly FG DJ Radio, acronym for Feel Good) is a French-language radio station that began broadcasting from Paris on 98.2 MHz in the FM band in 1981. It is France's first radio station that broadcasts deep h ...
*
Radio France
Radio France is the French national public radio broadcaster.
Stations
Radio France offers seven national networks:
*France Inter — Radio France's "generalist" station, featuring entertaining and informative talk mixed with a wide variety of ...
**
France Inter
France Inter () is a major French public radio channel and part of Radio France. It is a "generalist" station, aiming to provide a wide national audience with a full service of news and spoken-word programming, both serious and entertaining, li ...
**
France Info
France Info (stylised as franceinfo:) is a French public broadcasting service produced in collaboration with France Télévisions, Radio France, France Médias Monde and the Institut national de l'audiovisuel.
The service includes a radio ...
**
France Culture
France Culture is a French public radio channel and part of Radio France. Its programming encompasses a wide variety of features on historical, philosophical, sociopolitical, and scientific themes (including debates, discussions, and documentari ...
**
France Musique
France Musique is a French national public radio channel owned and operated by Radio France. It is devoted to the broadcasting of music, both live and recorded, with particular emphasis on European classical music, classical music and jazz.
Hist ...
**
France Bleu
France Bleu is a network of local and regional radio stations in France, part of the national public broadcasting group Radio France. The network has a public service mission to serve local audiences and provides local news and content from each ...
**
FIP (radio)
FIP (originally France Inter Paris) is a French radio network founded in 1971. It is part of the Radio France group.
Concept
The concept behind FIP has scarcely changed since its founding: Radio commercial, commercial-free music interrupted only ...
**
Le Mouv'
''Mouv '' (formerly ''Le Mouv'') is a French youth-oriented radio station which began broadcasting on 17 June 1997. As part of Radio France, it is a public radio station. The station primarily plays youth-oriented music, centered on urban musi ...
*
RMC (France)
RMC is a private French- Monégasque radio station created in 1943, broadcasting from France with studios in Paris and Monte-Carlo. RMC stands for Radio Monte-Carlo.
History
Radio Monte-Carlo was created on 1 July 1943.
In 1950 Radio Monte- ...
*
RTL
* RTL2
*
Skyrock Skyrock may refer to:
*Skyrock (social network site), a French social network site
*Skyrock (radio)
Skyrock is a French radio station based in Paris created in 1986, and is mainly dedicated to mainstream rap music
Rapping (also rhyming, s ...
See also
*
Culture of France
The culture of France has been shaped by geography, by historical events, and by foreign and internal forces and groups. France, and in particular Paris, has played an important role as a center of high culture since the 17th century and from t ...
*
History of French journalism
Newspapers have played a major role in French politics, economy and society since the 17th century. 1789-1815: Revolutionary era Pre- and Early Revolution
Print media played a significant role in the formation of popular public opinion towards t ...
*
Office de Radiodiffusion Télévision Française
L'Office de Radiodiffusion-Télévision Française (ORTF; ) was the national agency charged, between 1964 and 1975, with providing public radio and television in France. All programming, and especially news broadcasts, were under strict control ...
*
Telecommunications in France
Telecommunications in France are highly developed. France is served by an extensive system of automatic telephone exchanges connected by modern networks of fiber-optic cable, coaxial cable, microwave radio relay, and a domestic satellite system; ...
*
Open access in France
In France, open access to scholarly communication is relatively robust and has strong public support. Revues.org, a digital platform for social science and humanities publications, launched in 1999. Hyper Articles en Ligne (HAL) began in 2001. ...
References
Bibliography
*
*
External links
Regular French Press Review- Radio France International
Broadcast Media in France - at ''Discover France'' (English)Print Media in France - at ''Discover France'' (English)English translations of articles from French newspapers at nonprofit WorldMeets.US*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Media Of France
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...