In this episode of Chemins, I'm welcoming Sarah Ichou, director since 2023 of Bondy Blog, a media outlet born from the urgency of the 2005 riots, following the tragic deaths of Zyed Benna and Bouna Traoré. This blog, conceived by the Swiss magazine L'Hebdo, was only meant to last three months. But what was supposed to be a brief interlude grew, driven by an ambition: to make working-class neighbourhoods visible and heard. Sarah today embodies a new generation leading a media outlet that has always sought to tell stories and share expertise. How does a media outlet conceived as temporary become a lasting player? How do you manage a media outlet that trains and supports talent while accepting that they move on to other horizons?
- The origins of Bondy Blog: a media outlet born out of urgency
In 2005, France is shaken by riots in numerous cities and suburbs following the deaths of Zyed Benna and Bouna Traoré in Clichy-sous-Bois, after a police pursuit. In this context of social tensions and biased representation of the suburbs in traditional media, the Bondy Blog is launched. Originally, this blog emerges from an initiative by Serge Michel at the Swiss newspaper L'Hebdo, which sends journalists to the field to document ground reality.
« Le Bondy Blog was born out of urgency. The urgency to tell stories, to bring narratives to life with dignity. Back then, residents of working-class neighborhoods were neither heard nor seen by traditional media. So this project was born as a remedy: to represent ourselves. »
In its early days, Bondy Blog was not intended to be a permanent news outlet.
« You don't wake up one morning and say: "We're going to create a media outlet, here's the business plan, here's the team." It was an immediate response to a pressing problem. Today, nearly 20 years later, we're still here, telling stories. Nothing is resolved, and sometimes it's even worse. »
- A school media outlet
Bondy Blog is more than just a media outlet; it's also a kind of open school where aspiring journalists can learn without necessarily having the codes or qualifications traditionally expected in the profession. This dual role is what defines its identity today.
" Our editorial conferences are open to everyone. Anyone can come share an idea, learn, and get support. But it requires a commitment from the team that goes far beyond traditional journalism. We don't just teach writing: we guide, we mentor. "
Some might nevertheless think that such a model, where anyone can write and produce information, could harm the media's journalistic rigor and give an impression of amateurism.
« I've often heard: "You have to choose, either you're a media outlet or you're a school." But why choose? People who come to Bondy Blog learn by doing. What they produce is journalism, with the rigor of professional journalists. We're both a launchpad and a learning space. And criticism, for better or worse, also forces us to be even more irreproachable. »
- Journalism that stands by its commitments
Sarah Ichou champions a vision of journalism deeply rooted in commitment. In her view, the notion that a journalist could be entirely neutral or objective is not only an illusion, but also a denial of the reality of the profession.
« I don't understand this idea that you need to apologize for being committed. Every journalist is committed in one way or another: in their choice of words, of subjects, in the tone they use. When people in the profession tell me they're not committed, it doesn't reassure me. I think: but what are you doing this work for? If it's not with commitment, why do it? »
« At Bondy Blog, we cover topics that matter to us, that concern us. It's not activism but honesty. I much prefer someone who owns their point of view over a robot claiming absolute objectivity. »
- Running Bondy Blog
Sarah Ichou published her first article on Bondy Blog at age 14, and has never strayed far from the media since. She now ensures its direction, and brings a unique perspective to this responsibility, marked by the importance of heritage and passing on knowledge.
"Being director of Bondy Blog is both a privilege and an immense responsibility. You can't understand this media unless you've experienced it from the inside. It's like an old car: you have to know how to turn the key to make it start."
"You can't just arrive and say "ok, this is how it's going to be, we'll put in this management style, this principle"… No. Bondy Blog isn't a start-up with a ping-pong table and people in Stan Smiths. Bondy Blog is a school, a newsroom, a place where we do investigations and sometimes write in the first person, with both in-depth articles and funny content on social media. It's a deeply hybrid place. To understand all of that, you really need to have spent considerable time around here. You need to know its history: be aware of everything Bondy Blog stands for, all the complicated phases the media has gone through."
Running Bondy Blog also means accepting to invest yourself entirely in it. A mission that can become exhausting, as it demands intense personal commitment. About Nordine Nabili, co-founder and former director of Bondy Blog, StreetPress wrote in 2020: "Five years have passed since Nordine Nabili, the historical director, left his post. He came out of it drained. "I was obsessed with managing overdrafts, with paying everyone on time." More personally, he talks about his "ten-year tunnel, where [he] didn't see [his] kids grow up". "It was exhausting.""
A pressure that Sarah Ichou is aware of, but knows is temporary. "When you take the torch, you know you're putting your life on hold. You're solicited constantly, and you feel this pressure to always do better. But you know there's a beginning and there's an end. You know that at some point, you'll pass the torch on because it's healthy to do so. It's a very strong commitment for a certain period of time. I was given the advice you'd give to an athlete: maintain a good lifestyle, sleep well at night, drink water."
- A first fundraising campaign
Facing the decline in its subsidies, Bondy Blog must now find new solutions to survive and continue growing.
"Making news costs money. But with us, everything is free: access, content, training. Yet all of this has a cost. So we're asking our readers to support us by launching our first fundraising campaign to remain free and independent."
Despite the constraints, Sarah Ichou stresses Bondy Blog's capacity to find solutions. A resilience that defines its identity.
"We were always told: "The door is closed." So we learned to climb through the window. That's our strength: never give up, find solutions even in emergencies."
She sees the current fundraising as a necessary step to ensure the media's sustainability: "After 20 years, it's time for Bondy Blog to have the means to match its ambitions, and to fully achieve its independence."
- Training and letting go: a newsroom as a springboard
Bondy Blog has always served as a springboard for its members, training journalists who then pursue careers in other newsrooms.
"Bondy Blog is a school, and it's essential that it remains one. But we'd like to be able to keep our talent longer, offer them stability. That requires developing our resources. But on the other hand, I think we shouldn't be selfish. We also need to accept that sometimes it's necessary to let people leave so they can come back stronger. Many do, because Bondy Blog is a family."
To go further
- Direct public aid to the press represents approximately 100 million euros per year — most of which goes to large media groups. Beyond the Ministry of Culture, the notion of press aid covers numerous mechanisms, each with its own complexities.
- Steps, resources… This practical guide supports you in launching your fundraising or pre-sales campaign from an operational perspective.
- Facing the far right, independent media are taking action. Our survey of the actions, practices and formats implemented since the dissolution of the National Assembly in June 2024.
- Rémi-Kenzo Pagès, one of AJAR's spokespersons, reviews the first year marked by rapid scaling for the young association and several major media events.
