A Trip to Perugia
Hello, everyone,
Greetings from Perugia, Italy, where part of our team has just arrived to take part in the International Journalism Festival: three days of events that promise to be fascinating. If you’re in the area, Marine, Sasha, and Francesca would love to see you! Even better if you’re free tonight: we’re hosting a cocktail reception celebrating independent journalism in Europe, starting at 7 p.m. It’s a chance to meet members of our European network, Sphera, and to connect with journalists and media professionals to explore—who knows?—new opportunities for collaboration.
Next stop: Marseille. On Tuesday, our reporter Marine Slavitch will be meeting with local media outlets. As part of an upcoming video series, we’d love to stop by and see you. Ready to welcome us? Marseille media outlets, drop us a line!
Also on the agenda for April: a new format for our “Stratégie” industry watch newsletter, a closer look at innovative initiatives by Canadian media outlets, a new cohort for the Programme Médianes, and some good news to share with you!
Enjoy the read,
— Mathilde Carlier, Project Manager
MARINE SLAVITCH
Outmaneuver Bolloré: a collective strategy for independent publishing
In March, about 100 independent publishing houses came together to publish the anthology *Déborder Bolloré*, a critique of the concentration of the publishing and media industries in the hands of far-right billionaires. Beyond the book itself, the goal is to lay the groundwork for a lasting collaboration among socially conscious publishers.
Following a distribution through a network of co-publishers starting in May, the book will be available in bookstores in June, marking a first step toward broader collaboration within the sector. To mark the occasion, our reporter Marine Slavitch spoke with two of the project’s co-publishers.
From the media's perspective
MARINE SLAVITCH | MEDIANES
With its Micromag, URBANIA wants to break free from platforms
We’re launching a new format for our “Strategy” newsletter: each issue will feature an in-depth case study on a trend or independent media strategy in France or Europe. We’re kicking things off with URBANIA, which tells us about its Micromag: a 100% digital magazine hosted on their website, designed to better withstand the algorithms. Subscribe to the newsletter to receive our upcoming analyses.
OWEN HUCHON | MEDIANES
Banned by Meta, Canada’s independent press is breaking free—though not without difficulty
Banned from Facebook and Instagram in 2023, independent Canadian media outlets developed new formats and forged partnerships to bounce back. While this crisis dealt them a significant blow, it also prompted media outlets to reevaluate their relationship with these platforms.
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⟶ Program 3Médianes: Learn about the promotion
In late March, we met with our jury to finalize the selection of projects that will make up the new cohort of our support program. Discover the ten media outlets that will join the Programme Médianes starting in late April!
⟶ Roundtable: Democracy and Online
Journalism This Tuesday, Marine Doux, co-founder of Médianes, spoke at the roundtable “Journalism on the Internet” as part of Un Bout des Médias’s “Spring University,” whose program continues through the end of the week. A replay is available on Au Poste.
⟶ The Sphera community is growing
This month, we were delighted to see significant growth in the Sphera community on social media! There, you can explore content from our media partners across Europe. To better understand the network’s activities, be sure to watch this introductory video from our partner StreetPress.
⟶ Brand-new websites for La Déferlante and Tenoua
On the studio front, we recently launched the new homepages for the feminist media outlet La Déferlante and the Jewish thought media outlet Tenoua. While we wait to give you a behind-the-scenes look at these redesigns, feel free to check them out!
⟶ A New Collaboration with Têtu
We are thrilled to launch a new collaboration this month with Têtu, an LGBTQIA+ news outlet. We will be working alongside our colleagues at Studio9P to redesign the website, handling the strategic planning, design, and marketing.
Got a project?
Marketing, strategy, graphic design, transformation: Do you have a project? An idea? Write to us. In the meantime, see you on May 8, 2025, for the next edition!
See you soon,
Médianes
This newsletter was prepared by Mathilde Carlier, Marine Doux, and the team at Médianes.
