After the historic decision of the Council of State this week, calling on Arcom to tighten its control in matters of information pluralism, the media regulator took its time to respond to the controversy caused by this real paving stone in the pond.
Finally, this Sunday, its president Roch-Olivier Maistre returned to this decision of the highest administrative court in an interview with
La Tribune Dimanche
.
Recalling that the Council of State now asks Arcom to assess the pluralism of information
“by taking into account all the participants”
of an audiovisual media,
“in particular the columnists, presenters and guests”
, Roch -Olivier Maistre wanted to dot the i's:
“We are not asked to count each of the speakers.
There will be no cataloging of journalists and guests,”
specifies the head of the Audiovisual and Digital Communication Regulatory Authority, adding that
“it will be a global assessment of all the programs broadcast »
.
“Arcom is neither the thought police nor a court of opinion”
, he defends himself, stressing that
“this decision does not only concern CNews, but all audiovisual media, whether public or private
.
Read alsoWhy the Council of State is forcing Arcom to tighten editorial control of television channels like CNews
The European campaign concerned
How will Arcom go about controlling this extensive appreciation of pluralism?
To this question, Roch-Olivier Maistre procrastinates.
“Our services have started a work of reflection and we will be required to specify the rules for its implementation, while respecting the editorial freedom of the channels
,” he told
La Tribune Dimanche
.
Under what timetable?
If the boss of Arcom does not specify it, he still indicates that this decision of the Council of State will be taken into account
"in the deliberation that we will adopt at the end of the month and which will set the applicable rules"
for the European elections, which will take place on June 9 in France.
Furthermore, when asked about the renewal of the frequencies of 15 TNT channels in 2025, for which a call for applications will be launched on February 28, Roch-Olivier Maistre believes that this is an “
unprecedented moment in the history of French television
.
Among the criteria which will guide Arcom's choices, its boss mentions
"the criteria of pluralism of offer and public interest"
.
“We want there to be a wide diversity of actors and we want to offer viewers a very wide choice, with varied channel formats: news, general, youth channels…”,
he explains, also saying he hopes
“that the candidates will put forward a “best bid”, for example in terms of support for audiovisual and cinematographic production or concerning societal commitments”
.
And the president of the independent authority warns C8 and CNews in covert words.
“Taking into account the shortcomings of an outgoing channel that applies again is one of the parameters that the regulator can take into account.
But it is not the only one
,” he points out, in reference to the multiple sanctions imposed on the two channels of the group of billionaire Vincent Bolloré.