Making Teenagers Read Newspapers. A Nationwide Experiment in French High Schools
Recorded: Sept. 8, 2026, 5:08 p.m.
| Original | Summarized |
DP21706 Making Teenagers Read Newspapers. 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A Nationwide Experiment in French High Schools Simon Briole Published: 6 Jul 2026 English More Español Despite unprecedented access to information in the digital age, young citizens face growing challenges related to news consumption and misinformation. This large-scale randomized controlled trial examines the impact of two complementary interventions designed to foster media literacy and the consumption of high-quality news among high-school students, implemented in France over the 2024-25 academic year. The study involves 243 high schools (for a total number of 9,628 students), randomly assigned to a control group or to receive one or both of the following interventions: (i) a one-year free digital subscription to the leading national newspaper, and (ii) media education modules implemented by teachers. Exploiting unique data on students' actual online news consumption, we document a very large uptake of the free subscription, which translates into persistent and large increases in news consumption (+0.49 to 0.60 sd) and demand for future news, including an 8pp increase in paid subscriptions nearly a year after the intervention. We also observe a 0.20 to 0.31 sd increase in news knowledge for students enrolled in deprived schools, reducing baseline information inequality by 45-70%. Finally, we show that both free news access and media education improve media literacy skills (+0.08 to 0.26 sd), with larger effects among students taught by teachers with prior experience in media education. Translation created by Artificial Intelligence (LLM) Share Bluesky £6.00 Citation Copy citation to clipboard Programme areas Political Economy Public Economics JEL Codes D8 D83 D91 L82 L86 Share Bluesky 3 Conference CEPR Paris Symposium CEPR Paris Symposium 2026 3 Dec 2026 - 8 Dec 2026 Ageing and Longevity Artificial Intelligence Competition Policy European Economic Policy European Financial Architecture Fintech and Digital Currencies Geoeconomics and Security Growth, Innovation and Social Model in Europe Household Finance Media Plurality Political Economy of Migration Preventing Conflict: Policies for Peace Asset Pricing Banking and Corporate Finance Climate Change and the Environment Development Economics Economic History Industrial Organization International Macroeconomics and Finance International Trade and Regional Economics Labour Economics Macroeconomics and Growth Monetary Economics and Fluctuations Organizational Economics Political Economy Public Economics 3 Conference Ghazala Azmat Award 2026 3 Dec 2026 - 8 Dec 2026 Inequality and the Role of Firms Organizational Economics Labour Economics Public Economics Political Economy This Event is no longer receiving submissions. 19 Conference The Political Economy Programme Meeting CEPR Political Economy Symposium 2027 19 Mar 2027 - 20 Mar 2027 Political Economy Closes 14 Sep 2026 at 08:00 Themes & Current Issues Artificial Intelligence Business Cycles Central Banking Climate Change Competition Policy COVID-19 Development & Growth Economic History Energy EU Economic Architecture Exchange Rates Finance & Fintech Financial Markets Financial Regulation and Banking Health Economics Inflation International Finance International Trade Labour Markets Migration Monetary Policy Political Economy Poverty and Income Inequality Productivity and Innovation Taxation Ukraine Initiative Women in Economics Sign up to our newsletter follow us Copyright 2026 CEPR /designbysoapbox.com Contact Us Cookies Privacy Policy RSS Feeds |
A nationwide randomized controlled trial conducted in French high schools during the 2024-25 academic year investigated the impact of interventions designed to enhance media literacy and news consumption among students facing challenges related to information access. The study involved 243 high schools, encompassing a total of 9,628 students, which were randomly assigned to control groups or intervention groups receiving either a one-year free digital subscription to the leading national newspaper or teacher-implemented media education modules. The research documented significant effects stemming from these interventions on student behavior and knowledge. Regarding news consumption, the uptake of the free subscription led to persistent and substantial increases in both overall news consumption, with standard deviations ranging from 0.49 to 0.60, and an increased demand for future news, evidenced by an eight percentage point increase in paid subscriptions nearly a year after the intervention. Furthermore, students enrolled in disadvantaged schools experienced notable gains in their understanding of news; this resulted in an increase in news knowledge by 0.20 to 0.31 standard deviations, which effectively reduced baseline information inequality by forty-five to seventy percent. In terms of cognitive skills, both providing access to free news and implementing formal media education modules demonstrated positive effects on students' media literacy skills, with measured increases ranging from 0.08 to 0.26 standard deviations. A crucial finding related to the effectiveness of teaching methods, as the effects on media literacy were notably larger among students taught by educators who possessed prior experience in media education. Collectively, the experiment provides empirical evidence detailing how targeted access to high-quality news and structured media education can mitigate information inequality and improve the critical media literacy skills of young citizens. |