Abstract
The study presented here by Loïc Ballarini, Emmanuel Marty and Nikos Smyrnaios examines the reasons which led French media organizations to conduct crowdfunding campaigns between 2013 and 2016, and places them within a larger social and historical context. The issue of the extent to which revenue sources and capital ownership affect content has indeed been brought to the fore since the early twentieth century. This is what the authors refer to as “the quest for clean money”, or the search for funding that guarantees independent news production in accordance with journalistic ethics. This quest has taken many forms throughout the twentieth century, with the most recent one being crowdfunding. Interviews with journalists reveal that while the aims are still the same, and as with previous solutions, crowdfunding also has its limits and seems to be used only by niche media or for special ventures.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsNotes
- 1.
This sentence was repeated during the interview with Raphaël Garrigos, journalist and cofounder of Les Jours, on 12 July 2017.
- 2.
In particular here http://www.leravi.org/spip.php?article1945, but the slogan also appears along with calls for donations, in the print newspaper, and on the newspaper’s website and its Facebook page. N.B.: All URLs cited in this article were accessed on 24 June 2018.
- 3.
Especially here, in 2015 https://blogs.mediapart.fr/la-redaction-de-mediapart/blog/110115/mediapart-seuls-nos-lecteurs-peuvent-nous-acheter, but the slogan has been used since at least 2013 https://blogs.mediapart.fr/la-redaction-de-mediapart/blog/311213/mediapart-seuls-nos-lecteurs-peuvent-nous-acheter.
- 4.
Plenel, E. 2020. “Mediapart publie ses comptes et résultats 2019”, Mediapart, 10 March 2020, https://blogs.mediapart.fr/edwyplenel/blog/100320/mediapart-publie-ses-comptes-et-resultats-2019.
- 5.
Today known as the Syndicat national des journalistes (French national union of journalists, SNJ), the industry’s leading union organization.
- 6.
The text was revised in 1938 and in 2011 and is now called the Charte d’éthique professionnelle des journalistes (Professional journalistic code of ethics). Texts from 1918 and 1938: http://apcp.p.a.f.unblog.fr/files/2008/11/versions-anterieures-snj-1918-19382.doc. Text from 2011: http://www.snj.fr/spip.php?article1032.
- 7.
Average daily sales reached their maximum in 1988 at 195,000 copies (Rimbert 2005, p. 36). By 2017, this figure had dropped to 75,000 copies (ACPM , Diffusion France payée [paid distribution in France], http://www.acpm.fr/Support/liberation).
- 8.
The blocking minority set out by the 2010 shareholders’ agreement was replaced in 2017 by a “golden share”, which maintains the political rights of the independence centre, regardless of its stake in the group’s equity. See, for example: “Ce que change le nouvel accord entre les personnels du “Monde” et les actionnaires du groupe”, Le Monde , 27 January 2017, access: https://lemonde.fr/actualite-medias/article/2017/01/27/ce-que-change-le-nouvel-accord-entre-les-personnels-du-monde-et-les-actionnaires-du-groupe_5070198_3236.html; and “Groupe Le Monde : évolution du capital et indépendance éditoriale”, Le Monde , 6 October 2017, access: https://abonnes.lemonde.fr/actualite-medias/article/2017/10/06/groupe-le-monde-evolution-du-capital-et-independance-editoriale_5197080_3236.html.
- 9.
Directed by Gilles Balbastre and Yannick Kergoat. The film, released in 2012, won the César for best documentary the following year.
- 10.
First published in 2007 by Le Plan B, and updated in 2012 for the release of Les Nouveaux chiens de garde, it has regularly been updated since its publication in the December 2016 issue of Le Monde diplomatic on the monthly’s website: https://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/cartes/PPA.
- 11.
The interviews were conducted in 2016 and 2017.
- 12.
Unless otherwise noted, this is the date used for sales figures or financial results given in the text.
- 13.
Interview by the authors, 29 June 2016.
- 14.
Interview by the authors, 29 June 2016.
- 15.
Site of the campaign “Les Jours se lèvent avec vous” (Les Jours stands with you), https://www.kisskissbankbank.com/fr/projects/les-jours-se-levent-avec-vous.
- 16.
Interview by the authors, 12 July 2017.
- 17.
Interview by the authors, 28 January 2016.
- 18.
Source: « L’économie du projet », https://www.bastamag.net/L-economie-du-projet.
- 19.
La Correspondance de la Presse, 20 February 2015.
- 20.
Project presentation page: https://www.kisskissbankbank.com/fr/projects/society-abonne-fondateur.
- 21.
Interview by the authors, 13 July 2016.
- 22.
For a study of online news content moderation related to information pluralism, refer to Smyrnaios and Marty (2020).
- 23.
- 24.
“Nice-Matin, bientôt bénéficiaire, joue la carte musicale avec deux festivals”, AFP, 15 May 2018.
- 25.
“Du beau monde investit dans Les Jours”, La Lettre A, 4 May 2018. The nine founders maintain a 74% stake.
- 26.
Access: https://lesjours.fr/objectif-5000.
- 27.
“Nice-Matin passe sous le contrôle total de Xavier Niel”, Le Monde, 13 February 2020, access: https://www.lemonde.fr/economie/article/2020/02/13/nice-matin-passe-sousle-controle-total-de-xavier-niel_6029430_3234.html.
References
Aitamurto, T. (2011). The Impact of Crowdfunding on Journalism. Journalism Practice, 5(4), 429–445. https://doi.org/10.1080/17512786.2010.551018.
Alves, A., & Stein, M. (2017). Les mooks. Espaces de renouveau du journalisme littéraire. Paris: L’Harmattan.
Ballarini, L. (2017). Médias en crise, journalisme en réinvention. Mediadoc, 19, 40–47. http://www.apden.org/Medias-en-crise-journalisme-en.htm.
Becquet, N. (2017). Facebook a versé des millions aux médias français: la stratégie “VIP-VRP” et ses effets. European Journalism Observatory, 14 novembre, https://fr.ejo.ch/economie-medias/facebook-remuneration-medias-francais-live-video.
Boegner, P. (1969). Presse, argent, liberté. Le journaliste face au capital et à la publicité. Paris: Fayard.
Cagé, J. (2016). Saving the Media. Capitalism, Crowdfunding, and Democracy. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Cagé, J., & Godechot, O. (2017). Who Owns the Media? Paris: SciencesPo/Reporters Sans Frontières. https://www.sciencespo.fr/liepp/fr/content/qui-possede-les-medias-une-analyse-de-lactionnariat-des-medias.
Carvajal, M., García-Avilés, J. A., & González, J. L. (2012). Crowdfunding and Non-profit Media. The Emergence of New Models for Public Interest Journalism. Journalism Practice, 6(5–6), 638–647. https://doi.org/10.1080/17512786.2012.667267.
Chupin, I., Hubé, N., & Kaciaf, N. (2009). Histoire politique et économique des médias en France. Paris: La Découverte.
Delporte, C. (2010). La justice professionnelle en 1945: le journaliste face à la commission d’épuration. Le Temps des médias, 15(2), 293–296. https://doi.org/10.3917/tdm.015.0293.
Fontenelle, S. (2014). Éditocrates sous perfusion. Les aides publiques à la presse, trente ans de gabegie. Paris: Libertalia.
Goasdoué, G. (2017). Analyse sociologique et économique du financement participatif. Ressorts et critiques dans le cas du journalisme (2010–2015). tic&société, 10(2–3). https://doi.org/10.4000/ticetsociete.2154.
Lindon, R. (1970). Rapport sur les problèmes posés par les sociétés de rédacteurs. Paris: La Documentation française.
Martin, M. (2006). Retour sur « l’abominable vénalité de la presse française ». Le Temps des médias, 6(1), 22–33. https://doi.org/10.3917/tdm.006.0022.
Mauduit, L. (2016). Main basse sur l’information. Paris: Don Quichotte Éditions.
Rebillard, F. (2020). Funding Print and Online News Media in France: Developments and Challenges. In L. Ballarini (Ed.), The Independence of the News Media: Francophone Research on Media, Economics and Politics (pp. 7–17). Palgrave Macmillan.
Rebillard, F., & Loicq, M. (2013). Pluralisme de l’information et media diversity. Un état des lieux international. Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium: De Boeck Supérieur. https://doi.org/10.3917/dbu.loicq.2013.01.
Rimbert, P. (2005). Libération de Sartre à Rotschild. Paris: Raisons d’agir.
Ringoot, R. (2004). Discours journalistique: analyser le discours de presse au prisme de la ligne éditoriale. In R. Ringoot & R. Robert-Demontrond (Eds.), L’Analyse de discours. Rennes: Editions Apogee.
Rouzé, V. (2017). Participatif. Publictionnaire, Dictionnaire encyclopédique et critique des publics. http://publictionnaire.huma-num.fr/notice/participatif/.
Rouzé, V. (2019). Crowdsourcing and Crowdfunding: The Origins of a New System?. In V. Rouze (Ed.), Cultural Crowdfunding: Platform Capitalism, Labour and Globalization (pp. 15–33). London: University of Westminster Press. https://doi.org/10.16997/book38.b. License: CC‐BY‐NC‐ND 4.0.
Ruellan, D. (2001). Nous, journalistes. In Déontologie et identité. Grenoble, France: Presses universitaires de Grenoble.
Sire, G. (2013). La production journalistique et Google: chercher à ce que l’information soit trouvée. PhD thesis, Université Panthéon-Assas. https://www.theses.fr/2013PA020040/document.
Smyrnaios, N. (2013). Les pure players entre diversité journalistique et contrainte économique: les cas d’Owni, Rue89 et Arrêt sur images. Recherches en communication, 39, 133–150.
Smyrnaios, N. (2018). Internet Oligopoly: The Corporate Takeover of Our Digital World. Bingley, UK: Emerald Group Publishing Limited.
Smyrnaios, N., & Marty, E. (2020). Occupation: “Net Cleaner”. The Socio-economic Issues of Comment Moderation on French News Websites. In L. Ballarini (Ed.), The Independence of the News Media: Francophone Research on Media, Economics and Politics (pp. 103–131). Palgrave Macmillan.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2020 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Ballarini, L., Marty, E., Smyrnaios, N. (2020). French Media: Can Crowdfunding Serve Pluralism?. In: Ballarini, L. (eds) The Independence of the News Media. Global Transformations in Media and Communication Research - A Palgrave and IAMCR Series. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-34054-4_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-34054-4_3
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-34053-7
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-34054-4
eBook Packages: Literature, Cultural and Media StudiesLiterature, Cultural and Media Studies (R0)