He has two important hats.
That of general manager of the station and morning worker.
Patrick Roger
, 58 years old, boss of Sud Radio since 2016. “
The days are long
,” recognizes the person concerned who gets up at 4:30 a.m. and leaves the radio around 9 or 10 p.m. each day.
“
We are in start-up mode.
When in a radio station there are five people in one place, in our case there are one or two
,” he adds.
To discover
TV tonight: our selection of the day
Judge and party Patrick Roger?
Could he ever stray from his own morning routine?
“
At the end of each season, I don’t know if I should continue the morning show and I tell those around me.
I am critical of myself, of what I do every day, which allows me to be critical of others
,” he assures.
The proof is that he happily left the political interview to Jean-Jacques Bourdin last September.
“
It seemed completely natural to me to leave him this exercise that he loves.
There is no ego problem
,” he says again.
Also read “Marc-Olivier Fogiel wanted to stick his nose in the political interview”: the truths from Jean-Jacques Bourdin about his last months at BFMTV
During this interview, Patrick Roger also responded to criticism of Sud Radio, often accused of being a reactionary station.
“
It’s a multi-colored radio, not a single-color one
,” he believes.
When you look at all the columnists and editorialists, from Françoise Degois to Elisabeth Lévy, including Amine El Khatmi and Éric Revel.
There are people from all sides, and it is this wealth of speech and opinions that brings debate
,” he wants to emphasize.
“
I tell him and repeat to him constantly: pay attention to the choice of guests”
Patrick Roger with regard to André Bercoff
What about André Bercoff, who is often accused of spreading conspiracy theories through controversial guests.
“
André Bercoff is someone who will give a voice to people who are not necessarily in the media
,” defends Patrick Roger.
Sometimes it makes you cringe.
But if we lock ourselves into a certain pattern, we arrive at a form of dictatorship of expression where there would only be a few people who would have access to microphones,
confides the man who nevertheless regularly warns his journalist.
“
Often and every week we have discussions (...).
I tell him and repeat to him constantly: pay attention to the choice of guests
.”
Today, Sud Radio relies on a base of 600,000 daily listeners.
“Two and a half million listeners listen to us at least twice a week
,” rejoices Patrick Roger, who is aiming for a million subscribers on YouTube (the channel has more than 800,0000).
An FM frequency opened last Tuesday in Lyon, which should automatically increase the audience.
The former editorial director of Europe 1 and BFMTV is finally counting on listening on DAB+ (digital radio).
“
All cars less than five years old are equipped with it.
We cover 66% of the population, which makes Sud Radio the leading DAB+ radio station
,” he further emphasizes.