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The Médianes team

February 16, 2023

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Write your manifesto

A practical guide to writing your manifesto, the text that defines your media's identity.

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Want to learn more? This fact sheet is excerpted from our book Creating a Media Outlet, available in our online store. Discover it now by clicking here and let us guide you step by step in creating your media outlet!

Definition Elements

What is a manifesto? 🤔

Your media outlet's manifesto is a text that tells your story. It's a statement of what your media is: by reading it, one should understand why your project exists, who it's for, and what form it takes.

To write your manifesto, you will be asked to answer the following questions:

  • What vision do I want to convey with my media?
  • What is my editorial line?
  • Which community do I want to reach?

What for? 🎯

The manifesto revisits the media's origins and vision. By setting out its values in writing, the media also defines its audiences. Through the manifesto, audiences benefit from arguments that encourage them to follow the media's activities, embrace the values it upholds, and potentially make a financial contribution. It also serves as a guide for audiences and a reference tool for anyone new to the project.

Keep in mind that your manifesto should be around 1,500 characters long. It can appear on your website's landing page and in your

How to write your manifesto?

Write your manifesto in three steps:

Refine your editorial pitch ✅

To refine your editorial approach, identify the values and interests that drive your project. Explain what sets your media apart and what causes or topics you care about.

Summarize your editorial line 📝

Summarize your editorial line in a single sentence, choosing each word carefully. You must be able to explain the meaning of each term used.

A few questions might help:

• What problem are you trying to solve?

• What values and interests do you hold?

• Who would you like to contact?

Build your manifesto 💪

Write a structured text around these key elements:

The problem: Describe the issue your media outlet wants to address. This could be a statistic or an anecdote that captures attention.

Your vision: Explain why your project is unique and essential, and what you want to act on.

Your values: Highlight the principles your media outlet upholds and embodies.

Your editorial line: Summarize your project in one concise sentence.

Your interests: Indicate the topics and themes that your media explores.

Concrete examples: Give examples of formats or topics that your media covers.

Your target: Specify the community you are addressing.

Call to action: Invite your readers to take action (sign up for a newsletter, share your manifesto, etc.).

🔥
For inspiration, an excerpt from the manifesto of La Déferlante which you can read in full here. « La Déferlante is a feminist magazine in print and digital form created and run by women, to give voice to women and sexual and gender minorities* and make their experiences and struggles visible. Feminism is far from being one big united family. We celebrate this: a movement(s) of thought is a living thought. We chose as our motto "the magazine of feminist revolutions" to tell this multiplicity of struggles." (editor's note: Since 2019, we have supported La Déferlante in its strategic, marketing, design and technical developments.)

⟶ See our dedicated guide Tell Your Story for more.

I'm writing my manifesto, step by step

✏️ The Médianes team has prepared a practical document to help you apply the learnings from this sheet to your own project. To do so, please click the button below and follow the instructions.

Use the resource

To go further

💡 Get inspiration

We've compiled a few examples of manifestos so you can envision what's possible! Whether in the media we've been able to support through Médianes, the studio, or elsewhere.

  • Medians, of course. We're a studio and media outlet dedicated to engaged media.
  • Countries, one magazine, one region at a time.
  • Mediacités, an online local investigative media outlet.
  • StreetPress, an online media outlet focused on investigative journalism and urban culture.
  • La Disparition, an epistolary and political media outlet that chronicles the disappearances currently taking place in our world.
  • The 19th, a U.S. nonprofit media organization at the intersection of gender, politics, and public policy. [In English]
  • Far Ouest, a local, socially conscious media outlet that explores current debates and issues in the heart of southwestern France.
  • The Narwhal, a Canadian media outlet that covers environmental news. [In English]
  • Scalawag Magazine, a nonprofit American print and digital publication dedicated to the politics and culture of the Southern United States. [In English]

📖 See also

All our how-to guides are here.

Our book, “Creating a Media Outlet,” is a practical guide for anyone who wants to launch an independent and socially conscious media outlet.

Splice, the Asian equivalent of Médianes, summarized in an article the key points that should be included in your "About" section.

Before leaving

🛠 Finished reading and filling out this form? We'd love your feedback! Have a question or comment? Send us a message at [email protected]. Thank you for your help, the Médianes team.

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