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This article was originally published in Medians' 10 Links newsletter, sent every other Monday at 2pm. Sign up here!
- AI (Medians) — Should generative AI be banned from newsrooms? Reporterre decided yes, to preserve artisanal journalism and a relationship of trust with its readers. We spoke with one of their journalists, Erwan Manac'h, to understand the implications of this commitment for a newsroom funded over 90% by donations.
- DESIGN (Médianes) — In a context where budgets demand faster and more efficient work, our design director Christelle Perrin returns from a three-week artistic retreat in the Corsican mountains with a conviction: slowing down in design is not only possible, but necessary, especially in the age of AI. She shares her thinking (and some beautiful illustrations) in her latest column.
- DESIGN (La Revue des médias) — Illustration is more than a visual matter: some media outlets commission drawings to accompany their articles and accurately portray sometimes violent subjects without resorting to sensationalism or poor taste. Illustrators share how they maintain this balance.
- INDEPENDENCE (Apache) — Degoogling internally and decentralized community applications: European media outlets continue their technological emancipation, following the example of Médor, Contexte, and Fumaça. Some turn to the Newsmast Foundation, like the British Bristol Cable, to develop applications that sit between article-sharing platforms and social networks.
- TECH (The Cut) — Tech without the guys. Facing the threat of technofascism, compounded by the omnipresence of algorithms and AI, women and LGBTQIA+ people are determined to take back control of tech rather than abandon it: building mini-computers, developing communication networks, coding microsites. On social media, they explain how to do it.
- FREEDOM (Disclose) — Public interest journalism under threat once again. For five years, Disclose's work on French military activities has been the subject of legal proceedings. Despite the dismissal of charges in December, the public prosecutor's office has appealed, calling for Ariane Lavrilleux to be charged, for articles to be censored, and for other signatories to be summoned. A ruling is expected on July 8.
P.S. In the spirit of the Streisand effect: Disclose's work on France's role in military operations targeting civilians and on French arms sales internationally is available free on their website.
- FREEDOM (Le Monde) — Since Viktor Orbán's defeat, the former Prime Minister's media machine is being progressively dismantled, while the profession wonders about the future of those who took part in propaganda efforts. Yet paradoxically, some independent media are sounding the alarm: thinking the crisis is over, Hungarians are giving fewer donations.
- COMMUNITY (Press Gazette) — Wired is pursuing its strategy to turn its journalists into brand ambassadors with the launch of an app offering forums for its subscribers, so they can exchange ideas with each other and with the editorial team. The stakes are threefold: strengthening its connection with readers, asserting the human nature of its output in the face of AI, and reducing its dependence on social networks.
- EMBODIMENT (Médor) — The "I" creeps into press articles as a hoped-for antidote to the crisis of trust, in a context where current narrative trends (cinema, literature, etc.) privilege embodiment. A practice that allows one to openly examine one's legitimacy to speak about a subject… at the risk of a form of self-censorship or of sacrificing one's personal life on the altar of embodiment?
- DESIGN (handwritten.blog) — We were talking about the importance of slowing down in design, and here's an example: a blog written by hand. The task is obviously tedious, but this method gives it a strong artisanal quality. Even more interesting: the comments from readers, also handwritten, which reveal something about them through the shape of their letters.
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ANNOUNCEMENT — 73 applications, 15 countries, six winners: our Sphera network's Media Collabs program welcomes its new cohort. Three independent media outlets and three European content creators will benefit from eight months of mentorship to share their expertise and build connections among independent news makers. Discover the selected projects.
