We're launching the "For the Media" community

Since this past summerMédianes, we’ve been looking for ways to offer you a space to connect with other media professionals—whether you’re a journalist, content creator, media executive, or a member of an audience, product, or tech team. In September, Marion Wyss told us she was leaving Audiencers—the international community focused on media audience and revenue strategies that she had co-founded—and that its French-speaking branch was shutting down. We often advise media organizations to pool their resources rather than each rebuild everything from scratch on their own, and this is a principle we’ve been following for a long time. Merging these two projects was therefore a natural step. In this three-author column, we’ll tell you about what we’re launching together—and why.

Why Create a Community for the Media?

This observation is far from new. For the past twenty years, search engines, social media platforms, and—more recently—AI have come between the media and their audiences. The direct connection with audiences has weakened, business models are constantly being called into question, and the freedom of the press is under threat, both in France and across Europe.

Whether small or large, print, broadcast, or digital, no newsroom is immune. Yet each one usually faces these challenges alone. We believe that by sharing our experiences, we’re already taking back control.

“Pour les médias” is therefore aimed at everyone involved in Francophone news, regardless of their profession or organization: journalists, editors, and teams working in audience engagement, product, tech, marketing, or development, as well as content creators. You don’t need to feel like you have a special claim to legitimacy—just asking yourself these questions is enough. It begins as a space for peer-to-peer exchange, supported by a nonprofit organization.

Stories That Intersect 

Our career paths have one thing in common: the belief that the media thrives when its members engage with one another. Yet we don’t come from the same background. On one hand, Marion Wyss, who has worked at ELLE, Le Nouvel Obs, and Challenges, has made Audiencers a leading authority on audience and revenue strategies, with more than 15,000 members, including 3,500 French speakers. On the other hand, Marine Doux and Baptiste Thevelein have built their work Médianesin close collaboration with independent and emerging media outlets that are pioneering new business models: they’ve supported more than 150 media outlets since 2020, have over 6,000 newsletter subscribers, and have established a European network through Sphera.

Our paths have crossed for several years now: contributions to our events and training programs, shared monitoring every Thursday in the French-speaking Audiencers group, and the Media Off Site support group launched with Max Leroy for media executives. There, we’ve discovered shared values, the same high standards, and the same desire to do our best. And a shared conviction: the media have everything to gain by moving forward together, because their independence isn’t just at stake within each newsroom. It’s also built collectively—by connecting similar needs, coordinating different roles, and pooling our resources.

From the Club to the Community

This summer, many of you responded to the call and filled out the survey aboutMédianes its future Club: there’s not enough time, teams are understaffed, and there’s a real need to connect with peers. This community is the first tangible manifestation of the Club envisioned by Médianes, and it’s even more open. As for the other ideas—from tools to the media directory—[name] continuesMédianes to work on them; we’ll come back to those below.

At the same time, Audiencers’ French-speaking community was on the verge of disappearing, even though French-language media outlets need to network with their peers in their own language. Our two communities complement each other. Marion Wyss’s community consists mainly of established media outlets with a tech and marketing focus, heavily exposed to AI, platforms, and declining traffic. The other communityMédianes, more editorial-focused and more European in scope, has been built around content creation and independent media.

Our opponents are not other media outlets, but the actors who distort the news.

What We're Launching

This is a free WhatsApp group that you can ask to join, and it’s organized around three needs:

• Staying on top of trends to understand the tools, practices, and models that are transforming the industry, with a product vision where editorial, design, marketing, and technology work in harmony.
• Supporting one another as we ask questions, share what works and what doesn’t, and dare to voice our doubts: vulnerability becomes a strength when it is shared in trust.
• Job postings for all levels of experience, published with clear job descriptions and salary ranges—whether you're looking for a new position or building your team.

How can you reach us?

1. Read our manifesto and our charter.
2. Request to join the community at pourlesmedias.org/communaute. New members are welcomed once a week.
3. Join the groups that interest you and introduce yourself.

What's next?

This community is a first step. Specifically, the nonprofit organization Pour les médias had previously published the media outlet;Médianes it now also oversees this community.

The “For the Media” section will shareMédianes its articles and industry updates with the community, while continuing to produce newsletters for media executives and creators. At the same time, Médianeswill continue to expand its network (a directory and map of independent media outlets in Europe, as well as more intimate discussion forums) and its studio (training programs, open-source tools developed with Socle, and customized projects). Marion Wyss, for her part, will continue her work as an independent consultant for media outlets and cultural organizations.

What brings us together remains the same: information as a common good, journalism at the core, and media outlets that retain control over their tools. We are well aware of the paradox of launching on WhatsApp, a platform owned by the American giant Meta: finding a more independent alternative will be one of our first priorities.

We'll build this community together with you. To share your feedback or ideas, please email us at [email protected].

We look forward to seeing you there,
Marine Doux, Marion Wyss, and Baptiste Thevelein