Study links political, social activism
to early-life newspaper exposure

A study by a newspaper industry group claims that the earlier a youngster is exposed to newspapers, the more active he or she will become in civic affairs later.

The study, conducted for the Newspaper Association of America Foundation, found that 61 percent of the targeted audience — 25-34-year-olds who read newspapers as children — voted in their 2006 local elections. Twenty-seven percent said they were active in those elections, mostly in get-out-the-vote drives.

Seventy-two percent of those surveyed also said that they voted in the 2004 presidential election. Fifty-six percent said that they boycotted a certain company over disagreement with its political or social stance.

Survey participants indicated that they had three newspaper influences in their young lives: newspapers in the classrooms, assignments based on newspaper information and the presence of teen-oriented content in their local newspapers.

“This research provides further evidence that encouraging young people to read newspapers has a positive influence in later life,” said Margaret Vassilikos, senior vice president of the NAA Foundation. “The data show civic engagement is more prevalent among those who read youth content and whose schools used newspapers as part of the curriculum, a testament to the role young reader programs play in helping transform young readers into civic-minded, engaged adults.”