5 ms·

They have a history of strong independence, are self-owned, do not accept sponsors. They have revealed several scandals, from both left-wing and right-wing part

by Iv 10y ago

They have a history of strong independence, are self-owned, do not accept sponsors. They have revealed several scandals, from both left-wing and right-wing parties. Mediapart (only online) and Le Canard Enchaîné (only on paper) are probably the french newspapers with the most independence from business and the government.

oelmekki 10y ago
This. To provide context, we have a problem in France (I suppose we're not alone in that) with super rich people buying most press channels, to the point where we can't trust them anymore to do proper investigation job (when people wonder "why do billionaires buy press?", the usual answer is "to have leverage with politicians"). Mediapart is a symbol of fighting this trend, here.
- sandworm101 10y ago
  I suspect that is changing. Rather than threaten individual politicians, I think they now use their media outlets to directly alter the public narative irrespective of politicians.
agumonkey 10y ago
The thing is to evaluate the size of this "most". Sure, the others are biased, even pressured by powers, but how close to zero are mediapart and the likes ?
- mti 10y ago
  The claim was that they are independent, in the sense that they do not depend on monied interests for their financial survival, and have a real commitment to investigative journalism. I think even their opponents will acknowledge that they won't shy away from running a damaging story on anyone regardless of which "team" they belong to. (Disclaimer: also a subscriber here). On the other hand, what they are not is "unbiased" or "neutral". They are quite vocal about their political views. On most issues their stance is usually around the leftmost end of the French MSM Overton window, if that means anything. I happen to disagree with quite a few of these views, but I have a lot of respect both for their journalistic integrity and for the role they play within the French media.
- pyrale 10y ago
  The problem is not about bias (every news outlet has, and it's harmless if public). The problem is about being free from outside pressure.
  - mc32 10y ago
    They both can be problematic. They both can lead to "agendas" by agendas I mean they may not be out there to solely find out and expose things but expose particular things to drive or influence opinion to further their political views. So far as I know there isn't an easy answer and some of these alternatives may be better in practice than others, but only marginally so.

by Iv 10y ago

oelmekki 10y ago

This. To provide context, we have a problem in France (I suppose we're not alone in that) with super rich people buying most press channels, to the point where we can't trust them anymore to do proper investigation job (when people wonder "why do billionaires buy press?", the usual answer is "to have leverage with politicians"). Mediapart is a symbol of fighting this trend, here.

sandworm101 10y ago
I suspect that is changing. Rather than threaten individual politicians, I think they now use their media outlets to directly alter the public narative irrespective of politicians.

agumonkey 10y ago

The thing is to evaluate the size of this "most". Sure, the others are biased, even pressured by powers, but how close to zero are mediapart and the likes ?

mti 10y ago
The claim was that they are independent, in the sense that they do not depend on monied interests for their financial survival, and have a real commitment to investigative journalism. I think even their opponents will acknowledge that they won't shy away from running a damaging story on anyone regardless of which "team" they belong to. (Disclaimer: also a subscriber here). On the other hand, what they are not is "unbiased" or "neutral". They are quite vocal about their political views. On most issues their stance is usually around the leftmost end of the French MSM Overton window, if that means anything. I happen to disagree with quite a few of these views, but I have a lot of respect both for their journalistic integrity and for the role they play within the French media.
pyrale 10y ago
The problem is not about bias (every news outlet has, and it's harmless if public). The problem is about being free from outside pressure.
- mc32 10y ago
  They both can be problematic. They both can lead to "agendas" by agendas I mean they may not be out there to solely find out and expose things but expose particular things to drive or influence opinion to further their political views. So far as I know there isn't an easy answer and some of these alternatives may be better in practice than others, but only marginally so.