This document helps the team navigate how we organize and work at Médianes, and share some ways of being, key moments, and methods. In its internal version, it is supplemented by links to our internal wiki with other resources, covering notably communication tools, remote work, and meetings, which we would be delighted to share with you.

A typical day at Médianes

At Médianes, the average working hours are 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM, Monday to Friday. However, these hours depend on each person (employment status, preferences, time zone, etc.). The idea is to be as flexible as possible so that everyone can find a balance between personal and professional life, while maintaining a framework for both individual and collective work.

📝 Check in

To start the day: we open our online work tools: Slack for communication, Spark for emails, and Google Calendar for, as the name suggests, online scheduling, and finally Notion for project management. A way to address priority items and schedule tasks that require time.

Based on the priorities set during the weekly team check-in and our shared task list (Kanban board/To-do list), we create a list of priorities and tasks for the day, either online (Notion) or on paper.

Mid-morning, early afternoon, and end of day: at the start and end of each half-day, we take stock of our to-do list and progress, reviewing Notion, Slack, Spark, and Google Calendar.

In the case of Monday, the first thing to do upon arrival is to update your priorities/requests in preparation for the weekly team meeting: the Projects Update. This meeting is conducted primarily in writing: each team member can easily share what they are working on and track their to-do list throughout the week.

🧘‍♂️ Take breaks

Throughout the day, and especially at lunchtime, it's essential to take breaks. For your mind, eyes, and posture: well-being is key! And that comes through taking breaks. Good organization also helps us enjoy more peaceful moments.

📆 Exchange or work solo

Depending on the day and/or period (morning/afternoon), we prioritize work time in half-day blocks as much as possible, alternating between solo work time and meeting time. The objective is to preserve as much uninterrupted work time as possible. Mornings are dedicated to solo work, afternoons are reserved for appointments (depending on the day).

🖊️ The passion for asynchronous

Agenda, written summary (Notion) and video (tl;dv): at Médianes, we're committed to an asynchronous culture that allows everyone to not always attend a meeting, but most importantly to resolve many topics in writing, and to catch up on a topic if absent. Often, a meeting can happen in writing, and that's what we push for as much as possible.

🔍 A Culture of Transparency

At Médianes, transparency is one of our key principles. To enable it, all of our notes, individual and/or collective, are accessible via our Notion spaces. All content is of course confidential and is shared according to each person's access level (client; studio vs. media). Thus, everyone can access and participate in a collective topic if they wish, and stay informed of key information.

A typical week at Médianes

Between solo work time (without meetings), exchanges with the team and with our external contacts, the week is marked by two collective times: at the beginning and midway through the week.

👥 Two weekly sessions

Two weekly 30-minute check-ins thus structure the standard week of the entire Médianes team: the Projects Meeting and the Editorial Meeting.

• Project Review: share your priorities

Every Monday from 2:30 PM to 3:00 PM, the Projects Update aims to inform the team in writing about what each person worked on last week and what they will work on this week. Through this weekly meeting, we raise topics that need to be addressed, identify potential blockers, and discuss our successes together. It also allows us to define topics that we'll cover in smaller meetings. This meeting always starts with 5 minutes of individual reading time to review the notes and annotate initial thoughts. Each person then presents their 3 priorities for the week and their requests for help or feedback.

• Editorial Note: sharing your monitoring

Every Wednesday from 2:30 PM to 3:00 PM, the Editorial Update is an opportunity to discuss our monitored topics. New projects, meetings, analyses, and behind-the-scenes insights: it's a chance to share our latest discoveries and reflections in writing, and to exchange orally. If a topic isn't documented in writing, it has no place in the discussion. This monitoring update is followed by an editorial meeting with a smaller group to prioritize our focus areas.

📝 Agendas for these meetings must be created and completed by Friday morning of the week before the meeting, via the dedicated Notion space for meetings and notes. To do this, the first available person duplicates the agenda from the previous meeting and shares it in the dedicated Slack channel.

🕘 Preferred work hours

Depending on the nature of the work (solo or collaborative), half-days are scheduled throughout the week. Specifically:

• Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday (mornings) solo: half-days recommended for working on solo projects/without appointments. You can of course schedule a meeting or discussion time, but we try to limit them as much as possible to leave ourselves concentrated work time each morning.
• Monday and Wednesday afternoons, in-house collaboration: half-days recommended for team collaboration, especially in-house with the team. Internal training sessions often take place Wednesday afternoons. Monthly one-on-one check-ins and team meetings (editorial conference; projects) happen during these half-days.
• Tuesday and Thursday (afternoons), in groups, with external contacts: within the team, Tuesdays and Thursdays are recommended for meetings with external stakeholders (clients, information requests, interviews, etc.). That is, whenever a meeting needs to be scheduled, it should ideally be placed on a Tuesday or Thursday, between 9am and 6pm. The best approach? These meetings should be concentrated on half-days, so you have a half-day available to work quietly on your own tasks.
• Friday (daytime), solo: Médianes is moving towards a four-day week. For now, Friday (daytime) is a recommended day to work differently: preparation, reflection and/or exchange work, external meetings, more individual/personal needs (commuting, etc.). Note that Friday is often a remote work day at Médianes.

👤 Points in smaller committees

• Every Monday, from 3pm to 3:30pm, the Editorial Conference brings together at minimum Médianes' editorial team (Marine Slavitch and Owen Huchon), Marine Doux and Baptiste Thevelein. Depending on current topics, it may include other team members. This time allows us to prioritize editorial subjects and review ongoing projects. The Editorial Conference agenda is open from Friday onwards.
• On Mondays, from 4pm to 4:30pm (in writing), and once a month orally (4pm to 5pm), the Marketing and Communications meeting ensures we track our output in light of our objectives and key performance indicators (KPI). This meeting brings together Marine Doux, Juliette Cahen and Mathilde Carlier and is open to all in writing.
• Every Friday, from 9:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., the “Partners’ Meeting”—as its name suggests—brings together Médianes’ partners: Christelle Perrin, Baptiste Thevelein, and Marine Doux. This time allows them to wrap up the week on a positive note and review the priorities for the coming week. It serves as an initial preparation for the Project Meeting.
• Monday through Thursday, from 9:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., Marine Doux and Baptiste Thevelein hold a brief daily meeting to review the day's priorities.
• Throughout the week, as needed, and while respecting everyone’s schedules and priorities, progress updates or weekly check-ins can be held on certain projects or topics.

A Typical Month at Médianes

🔍 A (re)definition of priorities

The beginning of each month is an opportunity to review the team’s priorities. Projects to launch or wrap up, newsletters to publish, assignments to invoice: these priorities are updated directly in the Project Update agenda and on the to-do list.

💸 Tracking Finances

On the finance and management side, Marine Doux, Christelle Perrin, and Baptiste Thevelein meet once a month for a finance update focused on Médianes’ strategic and financial development. They review revenue, cash flow, priorities—everything is on the agenda!

These topics are also monitored on a weekly or even daily basis by Marine, Baptiste, Christelle, and Melina—with Melina assisting us several times a month with management issues.

🎯 A monthly individual progress check-in

Every month, each team member meets with Marine Doux and Baptiste Thevelein for an individual progress review. Developments at Médianes, successes, challenges, areas for improvement, progress, goal tracking, and workload: the monthly check-in provides a 30-minute opportunity to review the past period, as well as expectations and aspirations within Médianes.

These discussions are confidential and provide an opportunity to check in with each team member. The schedule is set in advance, but additional meetings can be scheduled beforehand if needed. Twice a year (at the beginning and middle of the year), this takes the form of a progress review.

📌 Each monthly meeting is prepared in writing using a questionnaire that must be completed and contains confidential information. This questionnaire allows us to prepare and share topics in advance, keep a written record, and track their progress.

If you would like to review it, a copy of our questionnaire for preparing the monthly updates is available at this link.

💌 Industry updates and behind-the-scenes newsletters

Each month, the creation and distribution of our content are punctuated by the release of two “Veille” newsletters and one “Coulisses” newsletter.

• Twice a month, on Thursdays at 7 a.m., we share the best of our readings and insights in our “Monitoring and Analysis” newsletter. This newsletter is dedicated to sharing our monitoring findings and analyzing the latest trends in the media. Strategic analyses, new projects, and job openings are all on the agenda. Marine Slavitch is in charge of producing the newsletter, and Marine Doux and Baptiste Thevelein take turns editing it.
• One Thursday a month at 7 a.m., we share behind-the-scenes insights and case studies in our newsletter. This newsletter is dedicated to giving you a behind-the-scenes look at Médianes, our projects, and our expertise. As a more institutional newsletter, it allows us to provide an update on our entrepreneurial growth. Marine Doux is in charge of managing it, alongside Christelle and Baptiste Thevelein.

A Typical Year at Médianes

🍂 Médianes, Through the Seasons

As for our activities and workload: the spring and fall months are often busy times for the team (events, marketing or fundraising campaigns, new project launches, etc.).

The summer and winter months are often times for preparation and planning; we also prioritize internal projects during these periods.

🌞 Our highlights, month by month

Whether they are events we organize or those in which we participate, several highlights mark our year.

• In January, we’re hosting a back-to-work party in Paris, where we’ll be inviting our friends and family, clients, and contacts. It’s a way to officially celebrate Médianes’ anniversary (December 9), but above all, to have a good time together at a festive venue reserved for the occasion.
• In March/April, we co-produce the Festival Imprimé—an event dedicated to socially conscious journalism—in partnership with Revue Far Ouest. We sometimes participate in the Assises du journalisme in Tours.
• In May and June, we conduct and share an audience survey with our community (via newsletters and social media). This is a way for us to assess their needs, usage patterns, and expectations.
• In June, we’ll be producing and releasing a new season of *Chemins*, our podcast dedicated to media founders. We’ll also be participating in Web2Day, an innovation festival in Nantes, where we’ll be moderating panel discussions focused on the media.
• In July and August, we take the time to prepare for the start of the school year, and the entire team takes this opportunity to recharge their batteries in various parts of France and take some time off.
• In September, we hold a back-to-school seminar with the team. It’s a way to take stock of our progress, assess our achievements, set the roadmap for the year, and discuss our goals and projects. We also frequently participate in the Festival de l’Info Locale in Nantes, a professional event organized by Ouest Medialab.
• In November, we often take part in Independent Press Day, organized by Spiil, as well as Médias en Seine—two events dedicated to the media in Paris.

📊 Tracking our progress each quarter

Every quarter, Médianes’ partners review the progress of our key metrics: revenue, projected timeline, marketing metrics, etc. This is a way for us to measure our progress every three months and evaluate our performance. This information is most often shared during the weekly team meeting and/or during dedicated group sessions.

📈 An individual performance review, twice a year

In January and before summer, the monthly check-ins change format to provide a more in-depth review of each person’s progress and set new goals for the next six months. This is a way to take a closer look at how each person is growing within Médianes.

To go further

• To learn more about our work tools and how we use them, check out our dedicated column.
• This approach goes hand in hand with a certain knack for avoiding too many meetings. To learn more about our tips, follow the guide.