JANUARY 2026 ISSUE
Cooperate to Grow Stronger
Hello, everyone,
Building independent media today is no longer just about producing news. It’s about creating structures that can endure, cooperate, and withstand the economic, political, and technological pressures affecting the media ecosystem in France and across Europe.
In this new edition of Coulisses, we’re taking you to Milan, where part of our team and our European partners launched the fifth edition of Sphera, a media network coordinated by Médianes. Over four days, we laid the groundwork for the coming months in terms of editorial collaborations, training, and resource-sharing, with a clear goal: to collectively strengthen socially conscious media across the continent.
You’ll also find our latest publications, discussions shaping the industry—from giving in the age of AI to choosing the right tools for newsletters—as well as a behind-the-scenes look at our support services, including the launch of Socle, a new service designed to help you regain control of your tools and data, and new projects with Koï, Socialter, K magazine, Mouvement, Vert, and the Palais de la Découverte.
Enjoy the read, and welcome behind the scenes!
MARINE DOUX, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF MÉDIANES
Over in Médianes
ABOUT US
Sphera: A Look Back at Our Kickoff Event in Milan
A few days ago, part of the Médianes team was in Milan for the launch of the 5th edition of Sphera, alongside its European partners. No sunshine, but four days of collaborative work to plan the network's next 14 months and strengthen cooperation among independent media outlets across the continent.
Coordinated by Médianes for the past year, Sphera brings together independent European media outlets — 444, El Salto, Popaganda, StreetPress, Krytyka Polityczna, VD News… — around concrete editorial collaborations: investigations, podcasts, videos, and joint events.
What’s on the agenda for 2026? Co-produced reports on a Europe that speaks to young people, customized training programs, a map of independent European media outlets, and the launch of our Club to bring together and strengthen socially conscious media outlets across the continent. We’ll share more details very soon!
In the meantime, here's a quick video preview at this link.
To go further
- Media, studio, network: Wondering exactly what we do? Check out our About page!
- Want to learn more about Sphera? Visit the network's website.
From the media's perspective
OUR LATEST PUBLICATIONS
The Battle for Donations: Le Monde vs. Independent Media Outlets
BY MARINE DOUX
Why have *Le Monde*’s appeals for donations sparked such a strong negative reaction in the independent media? A controversy that reveals deeper tensions within the media ecosystem in the age of AI, highlighted by Marine Doux based on an interview with Louis Dreyfus, chairman of the executive board of the Le Monde Group, in the Columbia Journalism Review.
Print and Sell Your Free Articles
BY OWEN HUCHON
Offering readers the chance to buy print versions of articles that are already available for free online? That’s the approach taken by Splann!, a Breton investigative media outlet, which sells its booklets on its website or in bookstores. The goal: to offer a different reading experience and distribute its journalism more widely, away from social media.
Newsletters: the questions to ask when choosing your platform
BY OWEN HUCHON
There are many platforms that promise to make it easier to design and send newsletters. But they don’t all involve the same editorial, financial, and technical considerations. How can you choose the right one? Our reporter Owen Huchon shares a few criteria to help guide your decision.
Our approach
STUDIO NEWS
Socle: a solution for achieving digital independence—easily and at a low cost.
How can you regain control over your tools, data, and business model without sacrificing simplicity? As technological independence has become a key issue for media organizations, we are thrilled to announce the launch of Socle, a solution that allows you to launch a media project at a lower cost, on a reliable and independent technical infrastructure.
In contrast to newsletter platforms that create technological and economic dependency, Socle offers an alternative: publishing on your own terms, with your own tools, subscribers, and business model. This offering is led by the Médianes studio and is built on open-source tools, with no commissions or lock-in.
Want to learn more? Join us on February 5 for our webinar, and stay updated on the project by signing up for our mailing list.
To go further
- More than 5,500 pre-orders for Socialter’s latest special edition. This campaign was run for the first time on the publication’s website, completely independently, thanks to our studio.
- Koï Europe, a special edition of Koï, the leading media outlet on Asian cultures and communities, also hit its mark, with Médianes supporting it every step of the way during its European launch. Take a behind-the-scenes look at this project.
More than Médianes
CHECK OUT OUR OTHER NEWSLETTERS
The 10 Links
In this newsletter, we’ve selected 10 essential links for anyone who wants to understand the media ecosystem, identify best practices, and anticipate the challenges facing the industry.
Strategy Newsletter
Management, marketing, design… In this issue, we offer in-depth and creative insights, as well as practical resources, for anyone who wants to create and innovate in the media.
Advertisements
THAT WAY, YOU'LL KNOW
→Médianes Wavelength
For the first time, Médianes will be taking part in the Longueur d'ondes festival, a leading event for radio and audio, this Thursday, January 29, in Brest. Baptiste Thevelein, CEO of Médianes, will present our media, studio, and network projects there.
→ Mouvement, Le Palais de la découverte, and Vert have placed their trust in us
We are thrilled to announce that Médianes has won the bid for the Palais de la Découverte magazine, launched a marketing training program with Mouvement magazine, and begun an ambitious digital project with Vert. Until we can tell you more, check out our projects on our website.
→ Sphera: a new podcast
Want to know what’s going on with your European neighbors? Europod, a member of Sphera, is launching its new news podcast, Briefed. Every morning, in five minutes, Léa Marchal takes a fresh look at the latest news from the Old Continent, from technological sovereignty to the rise of extremism.
→ Media that are harder to silence
As a guest on the Columbia Journalism Review podcast, Marine Doux, editorial director, discussed Médianes' work in France and Europe to strengthen media independence, noting that it rests as much on solid structures — cooperation, resource-sharing, independent tools — as on funding.
→ A new multilingual website for K magazine
An online media outlet founded by academics and journalists from across Europe, the magazine K enlisted Médianes and Nuuk to redesign its website. Would you like help creating or redesigning your website? Learn more about our expertise.
Got a project?
WE'RE HERE!
Marketing, strategy, graphic design, transformation: Do you have a project? An idea? Write to us. In the meantime, see you on February 26 for the next event!
THE MEDIA WEBSITE — THE STUDIO WEBSITE — THE NETWORK WEBSITE
Médianes is on LinkedIn — Instagram — Bluesky
Médianes
We are a media outlet, a studio, and a network dedicated to independent journalism.
