His charge hit the target, ignited social networks and toured the newsrooms. “I have been struck since the beginning of this crisis by the number of commentators with a perfectly clear vision of what should have been done at all times. Modernity has often taken them from commercial coffee to television sets. Audience curves gain what the conviviality of the bistros loses. And I do not think that this will increase the public debate, "tacled Edouard Philippe Tuesday during his speech to the deputies.
In the hemicycle, the parliamentarians applauded. Who was the Prime Minister specifically talking about? “Without doubt the news channels and all these shows where political figures repeat over and over: Where are the masks ? But it was deliberately vague to aim broadly, assures the chief editor of a large chain.
A climate of mistrust
Already on March 16, Emmanuel Macron pointed to "the half-experts and false-knowing". "This new sentence is part of a continuity of communication within a five-year period marked by distrust of journalists," observes Alexis Lévrier, media historian. “In times of crisis, the risk is that the press will follow government speeches. There, she investigated, on the masks, on the unpreparedness, and fully plays her role "he continues, judging the formula" à la Audiard "but the background voluntarily blurred. "The Prime Minister wants to signify that everything that is written in the media is of the order of comment and thus to put on the same level all the speeches held. It is an amalgamation between commentary broadcasts and journalistic inquiries. "
VIDEO. Edouard Philippe's speech on the deconfinement strategy (in full)
Bruno Gaston, producer of "C dans l'air" on France 5, believes that the media have remained in their role. “The time is for comments all the time. The initial social media project was hijacked: they turned into a stripper. Programs have followed this trend, and others have done the exact opposite. Like C dans l'air , whose editorial positioning I defend. But what is the point of opposing us? There are 25 ways to cover the news and they complement each other, ”explains the man who also worked with Cyril Hanouna on Europe 1.
"You shouldn't underestimate people's intelligence"
Elisabeth Quin, who hosts "28 minutes" every evening at 8:05 pm on Arte
She admits it with a laugh: Elisabeth Quin is "light years away" from having felt targeted by the Prime Minister's little phrase which compared the television sets welcoming commentators to the "café du commerce". And for good reason, the commentators, "28 Minutes" proscribed them. “Arte is not a news channel, so we decided quite naturally not to give in to this seductive addiction which is to react instantly to all the news. This is useful for our democratic life but it is possible to do something else ”, explains the journalist who details her recipe.
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“It depends on the choice of guests, says the one who does not have a television at home. We do not receive political personalities who speak of antics, or editorialists. The clash, the buzz, the recovery on social networks, it's not at all our thing. But it is also a question of the subjects covered. 28 Minutes is in a logic of counter-programming. We try to make our viewers think about the world around us, the world that awaits us. Our guests never react hot, they are not scum, ”she adds.
However, for forty-five days, the daily newspaper of Arte speaks almost exclusively of the coronavirus, like all the magazines still on the air. “Like everyone else, this confinement stuns us and petrifies us. But on Tuesday, as soon as the Prime Minister finished his speech, we turned off the TV and we reflected with our entire team. And we decided to talk about the functioning of Amazon and ecology, a concept completely absent from the plan of Edouard Philippe and which will however be at the center of the world according to. Social rights and long-term health are not anecdotal. The economy must continue to function, but at what cost? These subjects are at the heart of this health crisis. We go a little further than the practical problems on travel certificates, ”says Elisabeth Quin.
“You shouldn't underestimate the intelligence of people watching. They are finer and more subtle than what we show them. Obviously the news channels are very dependent on the immediacy and the short term. And that Edouard Philippe probably had in mind the articles on tensions with the Elysée. It was a response from the shepherd to the shepherdess. But it is up to us, the media, to open up the prospects, ”concluded the journalist.
"We are complementary to other programs"
Pascal Praud, who hosts “L'Heure des pros” every morning at 9 am on CNews
"The Prime Minister spoke about you! "Pascal Praud launches to his debaters, this Wednesday, at the opening of his debate show" The Hour of the Pros "on CNews, whose audience has doubled since the start of confinement. Before replying to Edouard Philippe, ironic: “All the commentators of France thank the executive for the lesson of rigor which it gave for weeks! No contradiction in the words of the ministers, total consistency of the decisions, thank you, really ... ”
The host felt targeted, at least his show, by the exit Tuesday of the head of government in the hemicycle. “I was surprised by this sentence in the mouth of a Prime Minister, but it amused me more than it dived. Basically, his analysis is correct. We are commentators. We are asking questions. Do we still have the right? It is much easier to comment than to decide, but each one has its role. Claude Lelouch said: In life, there are those who watch and those who do, the problem always comes from those who watch ... I do not feel targeted personally because I do not give my opinion on the virus. Edouard Philippe does like Didier Deschamps, the coach of the Blues who, last September, criticized the commentators of sports matches and got angry with the y'a que, we have to . "
For Pascal Praud, “L'Heure des pros” is not a “café du commerce” program. “We talk about themes that people talk about at the coffee machine. We complement other programs. I favor two axes: the human testimonies of former patients of Covid-19, of traders, of truckers, who give strength to the program. And the experts, who do not all think the same and whom I like to see debate. It is obvious that everyone is talking about such an epidemic and everyone has an opinion. In this crisis, medical specialists invaded the plateaus. We must hear everyone, from Professor Didier Raoult to the Nobel Prize in medicine Luc Montagnier. The reality is that doctors have shown that there are many differences in analysis between them. They are also the target of Edouard Philippe. I receive scientists as city doctors ... And none of them agree. "
