Prepare for what's next

OCTOBER 2026 ISSUE

Prepare for what's next

Hello, everyone,

As the end of the year approaches, we’re all looking ahead to 2027 and the uncertainties it brings: dwindling funding, tight budgets, and business models that need to be reinvented. In this context, securing new sources of revenue is becoming essential for long-term survival.

That’s the whole point of Socle Dons, which we launched last month: to enable media outlets to collect and manage their donations independently. Many of you have shared your enthusiasm with us—thank you! This launch wasn’t the only thing on our minds (and on our meeting agendas) in recent weeks: our new website is now live. Come check it out!

For many of you, October is also a time for preparations: your fundraising, presale, and end-of-year sales campaigns are being planned right now. These are all ways to approach 2027 with greater peace of mind—and we’d be delighted to support each of these projects.

Enjoy the read,

AGATHE KUPFER, IMPACT MANAGER

Behind the Scenes

OUR SOCLE TOOLS

A donation tool conceived and designed in collaboration with the media

After months of work, Marine Doux and Baptiste Thevelein, co-founders of Médianes, unveiled Socle Dons at The Audiencers festival in September.

While donations to media organizations—particularly through tax-deduction programs—are steadily increasing, publishers told us that there are several factors limiting this growth: inadequate tools, high costs, and a limited donor experience.

In practical terms, how does Socle Dons change your day-to-day routine? You have greater visibility into the conversion funnel, you have access to your data in real time, you can use the tool independently, and your data is stored securely in Europe.

During the festival, we issued a call for applications to help the first ten media outlets implement the tool by the end of 2026, and more than thirty of you reached out to us—including both well-established and newer media outlets! Thank you all.

→ Want to join us? It’s not too late. Sign up to learn more and receive invitations to our webinars.

To go further

• Our manifesto on technological independence,
  so that media organizations can regain control over their tools.
• E-reader, CMS, campaign page… discover the open-source and sovereign tools developed by Médianes.

From the media's perspective

OUR LATEST POST

Médianes has a new website!

If you follow us, you know that our media outlet and studio were previously hosted on two separate websites. Now, a single website showcases all of our activities: the media outlet, the studio, and the network.

This project gained momentum in the spring, after we redefined our value proposition and vision. Led by Dorine Planté, our support manager, it brought the entire team together this summer—from journalists to web developers.

We now have a single entry point that allows everyone to find what they’re looking for, whether you’re searching for articles on the latest media trends or seeking support from our studio.

→ On our website, we’ll tell you all about this project, what’s new, and what goes on behind the scenes during its development.

Our approach

STUDIO NEWS

End the year on a high note!

The start of the school year is behind us—now it’s time to move on to the next steps: end-of-year reverse planning, the 2027 budget forecast… This is often the ideal time to launch or relaunch a sales, presale, or fundraising campaign. Especially since, as the end of the year approaches, readers are more inclined to donate, particularly thanks to the tax deduction for eligible media organizations.

A successful campaign, regardless of its goal, isn’t just a single page on your website—it requires the right tools and the right strategy. At [Company Name]Médianes, we support you from strategic planning through to distribution, and can even train your teams.

Do you just need a campaign page? Our turnkey tool provides it in your brand colors, without the cost of a custom design.

→ Would you like some support? Write to us!

Looking for inspiration?

• Take a look behind the scenes at the media outlets our studio has supported in their campaigns, including Socialter, Vert, StreetPress, Le Cri, and Reporters Without Borders.

• Several media outlets we've worked with—such as Greenletter and Jeux & Stratégie—are currently running fundraising campaigns. Please feel free to support them!

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THAT WAY, YOU'LL KNOW

→ Marion Wyss and Médianes launch Pour les médias

Marion Wyss, co-founder of Audiencers, is bringing her French-speaking community together with that of Médianes within Pour les médias, a nonprofit association that we now run together. Industry watch, mutual support, and peer job listings: ask to join us at pourlesmedias.org.

→ What role does design play in the media?

Earlier this month, Christelle Perrin, director of design, was in Nantes at the Media Design Lab to discuss how design can strengthen the media. Watch her presentation and those of the other speakers on YouTube.

→ Interested in joining our “Creating a Media Outlet” program?

We’re welcoming our new class to the “Creating a Media Outlet” program: whether they’re journalists, freelancers, or come from the publishing world, we support their media projects to ensure they’re sustainable. Want to join the next class? That’s great—registration is still open for November.

→ Defend independent journalism

How can we safeguard and strengthen our independence? Let’s come together and support one another in the face of rising anti-democratic forces at the Sphera Media Lab, our Sphera network’s annual event, on December 3 in Brussels. Check out the program.

→ The disappearance of the "Print" button

Have you noticed that a certain feature has disappeared from media websites? Over the past few years, the “Print” button has slowly vanished, almost without anyone noticing. In any case, it didn’t escape the attention of our reporter Owen Huchon, who has written a column about it.

Médianes

We are a media outlet, a studio, and a network dedicated to independent journalism.