Emelie de Jong should take the helm of France Culture

Radio France has in principle found a new director for France Culture.

According to our information, Emelie de Jong, the current director of programs and member of the management committee of Arte GEIE, the central pole of the chain should inherit the post, left vacant since the beginning of the year.

Weakened by accusations of "brutal" management, the former director of France Culture, Sandrine Treiner, announced her resignation at the end of January, at the end of an eight-year reign which helped to raise the station to audience levels record.

According to Médiamétrie, France Culture thus attracted 1.7 million daily listeners in November-December 2022, i.e. 25,000 more in one year, for a cumulative audience of 3.1%, compared to 2% over the same period in 2015, at the start of Sandrine Treiner's mandate.

Soothe a home crisis

Aged 59, Emelie de Jong, passed by Science Po and holds a master's degree in musicology, has spent almost her entire career with Arte France.

Between 2011 and 2021, she was notably the emblematic director of the arts and entertainment unit of the chain.

Woman of culture, Emilie de Jong will have a lot to do.

The challenge is twofold.

On the audience front, the future leader will have to maintain the station's good scores.

On the management front this time, it will be a question of appeasing a house in crisis, whose climate was considered to be harmful by many employees.

Contacted, the management of Radio France did not respond immediately to our requests.