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No. 106 — In the
Spotlight It’s May 15, 2025, and you’re reading the newsletter from Médianes.

Hello, everyone,

What if publishing an article were no longer an end in itself? This week, we’re heading over to L’Informé, where journalist Zoé Pinet brings economic investigations to life with TikTok videos and paper cutouts. The result: millions of views for these short, accessible formats.

This issue explores the concept of empowerment: later on, we take a closer look at this American streamer who uses macho tropes to convey progressive ideas to a young and sometimes politically disengaged audience.

We’re also telling you about this distribution cooperative that’s reviving the print media in Marseille, a newspaper looking for street vendors, and a wonderful idea to replace Cyril Hanouna with a cone of fries.

And since formats alone aren't enough without a vision, we're also taking you behind the scenes Médianesto explain why our mission is evolving, how we're working to strengthen independent media, and what that means for the future.

Enjoy the read,

— MARINE SLAVITCH, JOURNALIST AT MÉDIANES

The Strategy

IDEAS FOR YOUR MEDIA

As a video journalist at L’Informé, Zoé Pinet adapts articles from the business website into vertical videos for TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat every week. Working on her own, she transforms her colleagues’ investigative reports into short-form videos tailored to social media platforms.

Why is this interesting? Because publishing an investigative report is no longer enough. To reach a broad—and often younger—audience, L’Informé designs its video formats to give articles a second life: an accessible, dynamic, and engaging summary that conveys the essentials without compromising the substance. The result: millions of views right from the first releases, and an audience discovering investigative economic journalism. The strategy: focus on scoops for the general public, a handcrafted style, and formats designed as standalone showcases for the media outlet—even if they don’t directly lead to a subscription, since all of the outlet’s articles are behind a paywall. The goal: to introduce people to L’Informé. The key metrics are therefore page views and people reached.

The numbers: More than 30,000 followers on TikTok, two videos posted each week, and more than 270,000 total “likes.” Some videos even exceed one million views.

Why not? What if publishing an article were just the beginning? Each article could then serve as a foundation to be adapted for various platforms—provided that distribution is treated as a genuine part of the journalistic process.

Want to learn more? Read Owen Huchon’s article about this strategy, featuring testimonials from L’Informé, Mediapart and Disclose.

Over in Médianes

A GLIMPSE BEHIND THE SCENES

Since our inception five years agoMédianes, we have supported the emergence of new voices through our media outlet, studio, and network. Today, as the landscape and needs of independent media continue to evolve, we are taking the next step.

In this post, Marine Doux, co-founder and editorial director of Médianes, shares our reflections from the past few months as well as our new mission: to strengthen independent journalism for a united, inclusive, and sustainable society.

An article from our monthly "Coulisses" newsletter.

On Our Radar

OUR MARKET RESEARCH TO SUPPORT YOUR PROJECTS

Forced Cooperation

TIMOTHÉE VINCHON / ECONOMIC ALTERNATIVES

After Presstalis went under, former retail employees revived the business in Marseille by creating a cooperative that brings together workers, local governments, and publishers. Their strategy: combining newspaper delivery routes with the delivery of books or medications. A local, community-based (and eco-friendly!) response to the industry’s crisis.

⟶ Pooling resources—yes. But also pooling choices, roles, and decisions. Click here to learn all about the cooperative model, with examples from Alternatives Économiques, Rue89 Lyon, Le Crestois, and Fracas.

Bro code

JACK CROSBIE / NEW YORK TIMES

Athletic, good-looking, and outspoken: Hasan Piker embraces all the trappings of the ultra-masculine “bro” archetype to more effectively weave in a feminist, LGBTQIA+-friendly, and anti-capitalist message. On Twitch and YouTube, the streamer draws on references from pop culture and the alpha male lifestyle to reach a young audience—one that is sometimes not very politically engaged (or even conservative)—and take them in a different direction.

⟶ The relationship between the media and internet culture has never been a love affair. Yet taking an interest in it could help us reach new audiences.

Over at medianes.org

IT'S HOMEMADE

Ten Links to Check Out on Social Media

OWEN HUCHON / MEDIANES.ORG

This week, in the “Top 10 Links” newsletter, we’re taking a look at new news channels. Also: the dilemmas faced by media outlets setting up shop on tech giants’ platforms, the role of donations among independent media, artificial intelligence that invents news sources, and our new media calendar.

In Brief

THAT WAY, YOU'LL KNOW

• La Revue des médias, Reporters sans frontières, Logicomix : ces médias recrutent. Découvrez leurs offres.

• The environmental media outlet Vert, in partnership with our studio, is launching a series of themed conferences aimed at businesses, universities, and nonprofit organizations. This diversification allows us to reach out directly to new audiences.

• One video a day leading up to the CDI: On Instagram, freelance journalist Agathe Legrand shares tips and vlogs about what goes on behind the scenes in her line of work.

• To celebrate its 30th anniversary, *Arrêt sur images* is pasting up posters to replace Hanouna with a cone of french fries. It’s funny, and it gives these struggles a place in the public sphere.

• Speaking of the field, the collective Le Bruit Qui Court is launching its newsletter and looking for street announcers. A strategy that might give you some ideas…

• Editor’s Pick: Scomodo, a superb magazine distributed for free in Roman high schools and cultural venues. It strikes a balance between media dedicated to social initiatives and a graphic design project with polished artistic direction.

See you on May 29!

Thank you for your messages, which have helped us enrich this newsletter. We’d also like to take this opportunity to welcome the teams from Prison Insider and Ouest Medialab, the students from ESJ Lille, and everyone else who has recently joined us.

See you on May 29. Until then, take care of yourselves and your social media.

— THIS NEWSLETTER WAS PREPARED BY MARINE SLAVITCH IN COLLABORATION WITH THE MÉDIANES TEAM.