The departure of Edwy Plenel from the management of Mediapart was known, but not the name of his replacement.
It's now official: journalist Carine Fouteau, 49, becomes this Thursday the new president and publishing director of the investigative site.
“This step, which has been prepared for a long time, is written in accordance with our values, which have always placed collective intelligence above personal adventures,” said the journalist in a text posted online on the site.
Huge honor to succeed @edwyplenel at the head of @Mediapart;
immense pride in leading a great team, with Cécile Sourd, general director, and @LenaBred + @valentineoberti as editorial director by my side 🔥🌟🔥 pic.twitter.com/tYzdeUV5TI
— Carine Fouteau (@CarineFouteau) March 14, 2024
Editorial director of Le Monde from 1996 to 2004 and emblematic face of investigative journalism in France, Edwy Plenel co-founded Mediapart in 2008 with François Bonnet, Laurent Mauduit and Marie-Hélène Smiejan.
He announced in mid-February that he was going to leave the presidency, but that he would continue to write there.
He was the last of the co-founders still on the management team.
100% female management
The four main management positions at Mediapart are now occupied by women: Carine Fouteau, Cécile Sourd (general director since 2023), Lenaïg Bredoux and Valentine Oberti (co-editorial directors since 2023).
Carine Fouteau has worked at Mediapart since its creation, after leaving the daily Les Échos.
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Before taking the helm of the investigative site, she covered migration issues and was co-editorial director from 2018 to 2023. “Our project is to make Mediapart a major popular newspaper, which both disturbs and brings together, by the strength and quality of its information,” she said.
Like every year, Mediapart has also published its figures for the past year.
In 2023, it had nearly 220,000 subscribers (210,500 in 2022), with a turnover of 22.45 million euros (21.23 in 2022) and a net profit of nearly 2.3 million euros. euros (2.6 in 2022).
Mediapart is made up of 137 employees, including 65 journalists.
In 16 years, the site marked on the left “has established itself as an essential counter-power” thanks to its investigations into political scandals, police violence or sexual violence, underlined Carine Fouteau.