Do you want support developing your media outlet? Would you like to surround yourself with a collective of independent and committed leaders? From August 19 to September 13, applications are open for the second edition of the Médianes Program.
This fall, the Medianes Program returns for its second edition! The heart of the program remains the same, driven by the same intention: to help you scale up by providing you with the keys and methods to develop a viable and virtuous editorial and economic model.
In a context of heightened political tensions, and because we believe it is essential – now more than ever – that strong independent media can continue to play their role in society, we wish to propose a new edition focused on the challenges faced by independent and committed media, and on the tools necessary for their proper development.
Supporting your growth
For this edition, we took into account feedback from participants in the first cohort of the Médianes Program, both supported leaders and facilitators, and adapted the content to optimize our support and to be increasingly useful and accessible to you.
We offer you a nine-month collective support program with masterclasses, workshops, exchanges, individual meetings with experts, and mentoring.
Management, business models, organizational practices, administrative and legal matters, financial management, visual identity, marketing, communications… For this second edition, we have retained these topics because they appear essential to us for strengthening the structures of independent and engaged media.
What's new: For this edition, we also want to support you with issues related to security and media law, particularly in the event of legal attacks, cyberattacks, etc.
Standing by your side
For 4 years, Médianes has been supporting media outlets to produce better journalism and monetize it through their audiences. And we know how complex it is to develop and manage an independent, sustainable and ethical media business.
Recent months have reminded us of the fragility of our ecosystem and the necessity of editorial and economic independence. For Médianes, it is essential to commit alongside you to try to provide you with as many tools and knowledge as possible so that you can develop sustainably.
Who is the Medians Program for?
The Medianes Program is designed for independent and committed media leaders who launched their project between one and eight years ago and are looking to scale up.
Whether in form or content, the program was designed to address people already working in their field, and to ensure it doesn't rely on a single person. Beyond their founder, selected projects can involve multiple team members based on skills and task distribution.
The program is designed to be accessible to editorial and creative professionals, particularly journalists, who wish to develop their skills in management, entrepreneurship, marketing, or leadership to advance their media. It is of course open to leaders from other professional backgrounds.
Print magazine, newsletter, video, podcast, website: the program targets all formats.
In what's new:
- Stage of development: while the first edition was limited to media outlets launched less than 5 years ago, this second edition now opens to media outlets launched between 1 and 8 years ago. Why 1 year? We created this programme to help media outlets that have already moved past the creation phase, particularly to support those needing to scale up (Spoiler: a dedicated training programme for media creation, stemming from our book, is about to launch). And why 8 years? We want to continue supporting media outlets in their emergence phase, without strictly limiting ourselves to an administrative date tied to your project's official status. We won't be rigid with you if you launched 9 years ago, or 8 months ago.
- Editorial, economic and management models: for this second edition, we will emphasise the socially committed and useful nature of the selected editorial projects. Fighting far-right extremism, ecology, feminism, defending a more inclusive and sustainable society, anti-racism and diversity, representation of territories at local and European level… These projects will be studied carefully. From an economic perspective, we will prioritise models centred on audiences (donations, subscriptions, memberships, direct purchases), as opposed to advertising-centred models. To learn more about the values and models advocated by Médianes, you can consult our editorial and ethical charter. From a management perspective, we will prioritise projects that seek to develop healthy and virtuous management within their media outlet (respect for labour law, wellbeing, transparency, collective approach, etc.).
How does the support work?
The Médianes Program offers 9 months of support, starting from October 2024, split into 3 months of collective training, followed by 6 months of individual coaching, plus a post-program review 12 months after launch.
Through masterclasses, workshops, exchanges, and individual mentoring, 10 selected founders will be supported by the Médianes team and a network of media experts to develop their project.
Among the participants in the first edition, we notably counted: Augustin Naepels (Les Jours), Clémentine Forissier (Contexte), Clarence Edgard-Rosa (Gaze), Marion Wyss (Poool/The Audiencers), Alix de Crécy (Mediavivant), Maxime Loisel (Hypernews), Max Boire (Spiil), Benoit Huet (Cabinet Avrillon Huet)…
Beyond training and implementation periods, various formats are planned to support you concretely in developing your project: individual audits, meetings with experts, mentoring, contact sharing, etc.
Three months of themed support from October to December 2024
The first three months of the program aim to consolidate the project and help the project leader develop strong convictions, while setting clear objectives and indicators to track over the medium term. Key areas for these initial weeks include:
- Module 1 (October 2024): Structure and manage your media responsibly
- Module 2 (October 2024): Know your rights, duties, and how to defend yourself
- Module 3 (November 2024): Solidifying your business model
- Module 4 (November 2024): Develop an efficient marketing strategy tailored to your audiences
- Module 5 (December 2025) : How to leverage social media and digital platforms to your advantage
It offers on average a half-day of work per week; some sessions are also available remotely and by video (asynchronous).
Six months of follow-up from January to May 2025
Multiple mentoring sessions are then scheduled over a six-month period to support the implementation of the tools and strategies developed during the first phase of the program. This period will allow for close monitoring of each founder's work and support for each individual in achieving their objectives, while enabling a lighter pedagogical structure.
This follow-up will take the form of a half-day per month, for six months (2 hours of mentoring, 2 hours of preparation).
Where does the program take place?
The Medianes Program was designed to meet the daily needs of leaders and be compatible with both professional and personal life. We offer a hybrid format with most sessions available in your choice of in-person (Paris) or videoconference. Some sessions will also be accessible asynchronously (video recordings of sessions).
Like the Médianes team — a team of 12 people spread across different locations — this program is designed to be accessible throughout France.
How much does the program cost?
The program costs €150 excluding tax per month per participant, limited to three people per project. An affordable price made possible by support from the Ministry of Culture and the commitment of Médianes studio, which wants to make coaching as accessible as possible.
How do I join the Medians Program?
To join the second 2024 cohort, a three-stage selection process has been designed: completing a form before September 13 (stage 1); pre-selection and interview with the Médianes team (stage 2); final selection by a panel of media experts (stage 3).
You have until September 13 inclusive to submit your application by completing the dedicated form. Visitthe Médianes Program website for more information.
A few words about the selection process: We are looking to support impactful projects that demonstrate potential for editorial and economic development, a desire to be guided and to share their expertise with the rest of the cohort, and that share our vision of a dynamic, inclusive and sustainable media ecosystem. These different aspects will be carefully examined during the selection of applications.
How to stay updated? Ask your questions?
More information about the detailed program, the jury members and speakers for this new edition is coming soon. To be notified, you can subscribe to the mailing list.
And if you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact Pauline Butel, head of the Médianes Program, at [email protected]. She'll be happy to help!
