WHAT FUTURE FOR LOCAL NEWS? The crisis of the French regional daily press

The circulation of the French daily newspapers has been decreasing for several decades, which has caused much debate about a "press crisis'', both in academic and professional circles. This paper examines the crisis of the French regional daily press. First, it introduces some general elements about the press crisis in France and then identifies some of the possible reasons for this crisis. While some factors are economic and common to the daily press as a whole, others are sociological and more specific to the regional press. In particular, the question of the changes in the relations between regional dailies and territorial identities is studied. During the "second modernity'', from the 1960s to the present, phenomena such as individualisation and urbanisation contributed to such changes. Finally, the newspapers' reactions to the crisis are addressed. Changes in the treatment of local news are especially crucial to the survival of the regional dailies, but present obstacles and difficulties.