In France there is very little research focused primarily on thinking the social uses of news. This situation contrasts sharply with the sociology of the media in the English-speaking world, which regularly studies the encounter between media consumption and civic activities. In this article, the authors shed light on a part of this literature which has explored the social uses of news. They present some of the most controversial researches which still serve as a counterpoint or framework of analysis for many studies on the social uses of news content in the Internet age.