At the Couthures International Journalism Festival, attempts to flee “info-anxiety”

2023-07-15 20:38:45
Laurence Bloch, director of antennas and editorial strategy at Radio France, speaks during a conference organized at the Couthures International Journalism Festival, in Couthures-sur-Garonne (Lot-et-Garonne), Saturday July 15, 2023 CAMILLE MILLERAND / DIVERGENCE FOR THE WORLD

“To inform without depressing, is it possible? ». “The title of our theme is simple, but the answer is more complicated”agrees Simon Roger, head of the Planet department at Monde, responsible for several round tables on the subject at the International Journalism Festival. Organized by the group Le Monde (The world, Courrier internationalthe HuffPost, Telerama et The life) et The Obsthe meetings, exchanges and debates continued on Saturday July 15 in the village of Couthures-sur-Garonne (Lot-et-Garonne), which welcomes journalists and news enthusiasts until Sunday July 16.

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How to deal with the phenomenon of “info-anxiety”, this new kind of malaise felt by many French people? In a study published by the Jean-Jaurès Foundation in September 2022, 53% of those questioned said they suffered from “information fatigue”. Emotional overload linked to anxiety-provoking information, depressing news that can sometimes loop on continuous news channels… To the point where some French people end up creating avoidance strategies.

Alongside Quebecer Luce Julien, director general of information for Radio-Canada and Mariam Pirzadeh, journalist at France 24, Fabien Namias, deputy director general of the LCI channel, is challenged on the responsibility of news channels in streaming, often criticized for causing viewers anxiety. “We must not refrain from addressing environmental disorder, the social climate or urban violence because it is anxiety-provoking, but we must keep the power to prioritize, accept not to show everything”thinks Mr. Namias, who says to himself “very attached to the long term”.

Live hazards

“On LCI, we assume to dig into the subject of the war in Ukraine, to bring expertise, depth and nuance. It’s the beginning of an anxiety response.”, argues Fabien Namias. It is also a profitable editorial choice because the coverage of the conflict has boosted its channel’s audience, which peaked at 2.4% in May, thus surpassing its rival CNews by 0.2 points (2.2 %), even if it remains behind BFM-TV (3.1%). “By moving from one subject to another, we devalue the different subjects”believes one of the festival-goers.

How do you manage, as a journalist, an event that arises live without causing even more anxiety to the viewers? The need to keep calm is essential for Mariam Pirzadeh, of France 24, who was working the evening of the assault on the Capitol in Washington. “At a time when democracy is faltering in the United States, we have to tell the information while we are struggling to understand what is going on for several hours”she says.

Luce Julien, who for five years directed the Canadian public news channel Ici RDI (Le Réseau de l’information), believes that we must be as transparent as possible, particularly in these fluctuating news moments. “We must not hesitate to simply tell the public that we are going to stick to what we know at the moment T”assumes Ms. Julien, who wishes to avoid any speculation. “Ethical issues are now very much integrated into newsrooms, much more than ten years ago”she assures, while a downpour falls on Couthures and causes a cut in the sound system. “The hazards of live”rebounds Simon Roger, before learning to use a megaphone in general hilarity, while the rain stops.

“Race to the Audience”

Time to remember that ten years ago, only 17% of French people had a smartphone, while today they are 84%, according to the Regulatory Authority for Electronic Communications, Posts and the Distribution of press (Arcep). This upheaval in uses has changed everything for the role of news channels, according to the various stakeholders. “Today, we must be a complement”judge Fabien Namias, of LCI. “We have already asked ourselves the question of maintaining our news channel, but despite the criticism, as soon as there is an event, the impact of television remains extremely significant”explains Luce Julien, speaking « de pics d’audience » during these sequences.

In the audience, the question of the responsibility for the images broadcast in a loop on the continuous channels comes up, giving as a last example the video of the police control which led to the death of Nahel M. in Nanterre, on June 27, and the urban violence that followed. “I prefer a freeze frame to stay neutral rather than looping the video in full screen”defend Mr. Namias. “Yet you do it, it’s tiring!” »we hear burst in the public. “What place do you give to positive information? We do not see it and we wonder if you are not in a race for the audience, in search of the permanent buzz “retorts another festival-goer who was highly applauded for her intervention.

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Slow down the pace

“Audience is not a dirty word, because it allows us to earn money and fund our journalism”replies Fabien Namias, denouncing “the business of fear” of certain media, without naming the reactionary competitor channel CNews, controlled by the businessman Vincent Bolloré. “We try to show lighter images of the end of the newspaper, but we have to talk about what is happening, even when the news is not happy”added Mariam Pirzadeh. “We should perhaps find more light in the darkest themes”concludes the deputy director general of the LCI channel.

To escape the urgency of live, some are imagining new types of stories and opting to slow down the pace of information. After “slow food”, here is “slow news”, understanding journalistic treatment over the long term. Like what David Servenay, editorial director of the journals XXI et 6Moisor the British journalist Basia Cummings, editor of the English investigative media Tortoisefounded in 2019.

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“With our journalism, we hope to address the root causes of malaise in society and not just the symptoms”, imagine the latter. A need shared by the journalist from GuardianJon Henley, who organized the debates on “info-anxiety” with Camille Hurcy, a student at the Institute of Journalism of Bordeaux-Aquitaine (IJBA) and Simon Roger. “The fundamental role of journalism is to allow citizens to have the most enlightened view possible”estime M. Henley. “We simply want to give our readers the power to act on the reality that surrounds them, keys to reclaiming their lives in an anxiety-provoking world”promises Mr. Servenay.

Brice Laemle (Couthures-sur-Garonne (Lot-et-Garonne))