My Métier d’Excellence
I’m deputy editor for digital content and organization at the French newspaper Le Parisien. This means I manage the teams that provide editorial content for our digital media, including new video formats, podcasts and social media. I’m also responsible for the organization of our editorial teams since this is directly impacted by Le Parisien’s digital transformation.
My background?
I actually first got into journalism when I was an undergraduate at law school and began writing articles about sports for a local paper in Poitiers. Then instead of applying to journalism school I decided to get a master’s in web editorial content, because I was really interested in digital content and I wanted to develop a distinctive skillset. I had a series of jobs in digital content with various publications before joining Le Parisien in my current position in 2016, when I was just 30.
An anecdote?
Two and a half years ago we launched a podcast called Source Code, an initiative I’m really excited about. The context wasn’t really favorable for this type of format at the time, especially internally, but we were able to get it up and running in record time, just three months. Today Source Code is the top news podcast in France. Most importantly, it really showcases our editorial department because we give our journalists a medium where they can report in depth on stories thanks to a long format that’s totally different from the print edition. People are telling us that they really discovered our journalists thanks to these podcasts, and that’s something I’m tremendously proud of.
My advice for someone starting out in this profession?
Don’t think you always need to take the “classic” educational route. Never stop learning about yourself and remain open to learning additional skills. For example, I learned to code a little and I’m pretty good with graphic design software, even though it wouldn’t seem to have much to do with journalism. But I think it helps better understand the digital world.