Alliance magazine reposted this
Independent advisor on strategy, policy & funding for public interest journalism and information
An important and timely alarm bell on the state of media in #France from Charlotte Clavreul & Juliette Decoster in Alliance magazine below. In the strategy and policy work I do on public interest #journalism, I’ve argued for a long time that working at the European (or any regional) level alone is not enough - the battle for press freedom, sustainability, diversity, innovation has to be fought at all levels, from the local to the municipal, from the county to the country. The work that Charlotte and the Fonds pour une Presse Libre have spearheaded in France is a powerful example of this. This isn’t just about journalism and #democracy, but the #informationintegrity of our respective countries and their communities. Journalism sectors need to work together, and those that fund, finance and support them need to take this seriously and get organised too. This is as true in France - and my own country, the UK - as it is in many other countries across Europe (and other continents). This needs, as I’ve argued before, a #mission framing (see Mariana Mazzucato, Rowan Conway, UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP) and others) it’s a crosscutting, complex issue that needs a coalition of expertise and support. There are bright spots - #Germany is doing good things with Publix and Media Forward Fund, for example - but we need action in #Portugal, #Spain, #Greece, #Italy, #Austria and beyond. The election results in the UK and France offer some hope that there will be governments in place with the will and seriousness to start addressing these issues, but it’ll be a lot less difficult for them if journalism, philanthropy, investment and policy people and institutions are honest and clear-eyed about the problems, aligned on responses, and prepared to work together in the common interest.
'In its strategy for power, the media was a focus for the extreme right. Billionaires associated with the movement sought the takeover of publications, television channels, and radio stations The situation of the press in France is an example of the wider media crisis across Europe. France may have narrowly avoided a far-right government – for now – but the task of funding independent newsrooms is just beginning.' The latest in our Alliance magazine series by Charlotte Clavreul and Juliette Decoster looks at the critical role of public interest media in safeguarding democracy in France Jonathan Heawood Sameer Padania