Media in Seine 2021: Media in search of sustainable solutions to inhabit a common world

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By Chrystal Delfosse, MediaLab of Information and Louise Faudeux, Innovation and Foresight Department

The fourth edition of Médias en Seine was held on Tuesday, October 12, 2021, between the Maison de la Radio and the headquarters of the Les Échos group. Media professionals gathered to discuss a global theme: “Inhabiting a common world”.

The program was oriented around four axes: The question of trust between the media and citizens , the role of local information and the danger for democracy. The focus was also on the younger generation , the one that is growing up with a new culture, moving away from traditional media and forcing them to rethink their formats. Usages are changing and not only on the side of the youngest, with them new economic models are emerging that must be taken into account by the audiovisual industries. Finally, the debates revolved around the question of how to understand and cover the struggles of our time and recreate links with audiences . Neutrality, activism, impact: what is the right place for the media to make the world "better"? This 2021 edition was an opportunity to reinvent the written press, advertising, audio, the climate debate and even free television. Here are some ideas to remember from a day rich in exchanges.

The revival of local news: the need to (re)connect with the public

At the heart of the debates, Médias en Seine gambling data singapore wanted to emphasize the need to reconnect with the public. With a crisis of confidence that has lasted for many years, accentuated by the yellow vest movement, the press is facing a major challenge. For local media, the first in contact with the public, the stakes are all the more important . If for Jean-Emmanuel Casalta, the director of France Bleu, local news has experienced a certain revival in recent years. Thus, according to the LINC research project , presented by Nathalie Pignard-Cheynel, local media are increasingly putting the public at the heart of their editorial project. The study lists in particular 550 initiatives focused on the public in two years.


Eight categories to characterize the involvement of the public in the initiatives listed. The dotted lines distinguish the categories relating to the editorial process from those which, a priori, do not concern the production of information.
One of the levers favored by the media to connect with the audience is participatory journalism , which “ is not dead ,” insists Nathalie Pignard-Cheynel. The speakers alongside her attest to this: Faustine Sternberg, Jacques Trentesaux and Gilles Triolier are all three members of local investigative media. For them, the inhabitants of their territory are at the forefront of current events. It is therefore important to give them the opportunity to communicate their information. A way of involving the public and dealing with “concerning” subjects.

Faustine Sternberg, shares with the public the crowdfunding experience of the associative media “Splann!”. In addition to being a financing method, this system also allows to develop a community since the donors commit to reading the surveys by contributing to them. Also, it allows to exchange with the public before a publication and to “test” the product.

Another solution to favor: transparency . Local media, just like national media, are increasingly committed to transparency efforts. This involves explaining editorial choices, defining a media, and producing making-ofs . These initiatives are often carried out physically, by organizing visits to premises for example.

Finally, digital and social networks are, despite their problematic algorithms, considered important in this strategy. Local media, for example, use Facebook to build large communities and identify their needs. The audience measurement and interactivity tools set up by the platform allow editorial staff to understand the topics of greatest interest to the public. The local and regional press remains dependent on the platforms and aid offered by tech giants, including the Google News Initiative emergency aid fund, the results of which were reviewed in a round table with Damien Allemand, journalist, Nathania Cahen, co-founder of Marcelle and Carole Gamelin, editor-in-chief of actu.fr. Pierre Louette, CEO of the Les Échos/Le Parisien group, notes: " We have become news producers backed by digital broadcasters ."