Five years ago, we launched Médianes from Brittany, between two lockdowns and a blank Notion page. It was 2020. We were 25 years old, with a few convictions, lots of energy — and little idea what it would become.
What we did know, on the other hand, was that we had a very strong desire: to contribute, in our own way, to bringing new voices to the forefront of the media landscape. Independent voices, often removed from established circles — both media and financial. Narratives rooted in ecological, feminist, and social issues. Projects driven by people we weren't used to hearing from.
We enshrined these convictions in a first manifesto. Five years later, they still hold true, but the landscape has hardened. What we perceived then has taken hold, sometimes worsened: normalized far-right extremism, persistent concentration, fragile business models, and harmful dependence on platforms. The media outlets we support, like us, have grown. They have scaled up and their needs have changed. Our role had to evolve with them.
What we have built
On the studio side, we've supported the structuring of over a hundred media outlets. Vert consolidated an economic model centered on donations. La Déferlante defined a sustainable digital subscription strategy. StreetPress secured a third of its revenue through community support. We also worked on the communication of Contexte, on the digital strategy of France Médias Monde (RFI, France 24 and MCD), as well as on the web redesign of POLITICO in Europe. We cofounded Pays, a print magazine that explores a different territory in each issue.
On the media side, Médianes has become a resource hub for current and aspiring information professionals. We have published hundreds of analyses, guides, and case studies — as well as a practical book for creating a media outlet, designed to support those starting out. Through our newsletters, our media monitoring, the podcast Chemins, and the Festival Imprimé, we document the sector's transformations, share what we learn, and try to provide tools for those seeking to strengthen their impact.
On the network side, we have brought together a community of independent media outlets in France and Europe. We co-founded Media Off-Site, a club that enables media leaders to meet and exchange ideas outside formal settings. We created the Médianes Programme, a collective pathway combining training, mutual support and tailored guidance. Then in 2024, we took over the coordination of Sphera, an alliance of committed media outlets at the European level. We facilitate editorial cooperations, tool sharing, and pooling of resources — because working alone is no longer enough today.
A few months ago, we brought it all together—our actions, what we learned, what it changed—in an impact report. A checkpoint to see where we stand and lay the groundwork for what comes next.
What drives us forward
The context has changed. Platforms evolve, financing models are losing steam, demands on teams intensify. At the same time, the voices we wanted to amplify five years ago must now fight to persist or scale to a new level.
In recent months, we've taken time to reflect and step back. To listen to the media we reach or support. To look at what truly makes the difference. And to question our way of working, our priorities, and how we want to contribute to the ecosystem.
Médianes works, grows, and supports. And to remain useful, we're taking a step forward: we need to clarify our mission, make our offerings clearer, expand our scope. We're not aiming for growth at any cost, but rather seeking to better structure what we already do.
What we assert today
Our role is now to strengthen the new voices we helped bring to the forefront. To support them over time. To help them reach new heights, to become more structured, to endure.
That's why we're unveiling our new mission today:
Strengthen independent journalism for a united, inclusive and sustainable society.
It's not just a slogan. It's what we try to do every day, sometimes a bit messily, but always with the same idea in mind: independence isn't just about content. It's also economic, organizational, and technological. And it's built over time, with method and care.
What this means
We don't claim to have all the answers. We move forward as we started: by observing, testing, and learning with and from others. But five years later, we know better where to focus our efforts. And it's around our three missions—media, studio, network—that we'll strengthen our impact.
Stay informed — We are currently completing Médianes' editorial overhaul. Our goal: to offer more regular, more human, more useful formats. We want to continue analyzing how the media sector is transforming, sharing concrete strategies, and highlighting solutions that enable independent media to exist and thrive long-term. In a context where AI, platforms, and fragmented attention are reshaping the landscape, we want to establish ourselves as an analysis and resource space built with and for media professionals.
Putting it into practice — We will expand our studio-side consulting and support services and make our methods more accessible by offering more flexible formats tailored to different maturity levels. We will diversify our professional training offerings by developing certified programs, concrete resources, and ready-to-use digital tools. All with the aim of providing training that can truly be useful.
Coming together — We want to better structure what we're doing on the networking side. In addition to Sphera, the Médianes Programme and Media Off-Site, we'll be offering more accessible collective formats. Fostering mutual support. Building connections among those who lead, launch or develop media outlets, often with small teams. Because there are experiences, tools and questions to share — and these are better built together, over time.
What now?
This post is the first in a series we're launching here: "Behind the Scenes at Médianes." We'll share our choices, our doubts, our tools, our projects.
If you're interested, you can:
- subscribe to our Coulisses newsletter to receive our news each month ;
- tell us more about you and your needs if you're looking for strategic, editorial, design, technical, or economic support;
- write to me if you find yourself in these words, or if you'd like to help us strengthen our impact: [email protected]
Thank you for being here! Take care of yourself and your media.
— Marine
