French papers appeal to the young

In an age when so many children are addicted to computers, iPods and iPads — and when printed newspapers are going out of fashion — three French newspapers for youngsters appear to be defying the trend. Mon Quotidien (My Daily) has caught the imagination of its target audience - children aged from 10 to 14 - by selling 60,000 copies every day. Its sister publications - Petit Quotidien (for 7 to 10-year-olds) and L'Actu (for 14 to 17-year-olds) - sell 75,000 and 30,000 respectively. The young readers also help to edit the papers, which are sold by subscription. They were founded by François Dufour , beginning with Mon Quotidien in 1995. They are lively and colourful mixes of news, pictures, cartoons and quizzes, and this recent issue of Mon Quotidien featured a front-page photo of Paul the Octopus, the successful World Cup tipster. But note the diminishing sales at each successive age range. In spite of the enthusiasm at a young age, there is no sign that it is breeding long-term print buyers. Source: New York Times