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| Le Monde's Natalie Nougayrède: 'This is quite a revolution' | Le Monde's Natalie Nougayrède: 'This is quite a revolution' |
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| In her office at the top of Le Monde's Paris headquarters, Natalie Nougayrède, the first woman to run the French national daily, admits that she has arrived at an emotional moment for the country's biggest selling national newspaper. | In her office at the top of Le Monde's Paris headquarters, Natalie Nougayrède, the first woman to run the French national daily, admits that she has arrived at an emotional moment for the country's biggest selling national newspaper. |
| After a decade of crippling debt and near collapse , Le Monde was bought out two years ago by a conglomerate of three businessmen, Pierre Bergé, former partner of Yves Saint-Laurent, Xavier Niel, a telecoms tycoon who made his billions in online sex-chat services, and Mathieu Pigasse, a banker. Promising to protect the editorial independence of the centre-left paper of record, they funded a revamp of the daily which in its early days had been famous for somewhat turgid prose and having no photos. | After a decade of crippling debt and near collapse , Le Monde was bought out two years ago by a conglomerate of three businessmen, Pierre Bergé, former partner of Yves Saint-Laurent, Xavier Niel, a telecoms tycoon who made his billions in online sex-chat services, and Mathieu Pigasse, a banker. Promising to protect the editorial independence of the centre-left paper of record, they funded a revamp of the daily which in its early days had been famous for somewhat turgid prose and having no photos. |
| The paper launched major supplements including an award-winning weekend magazine, M, and a popular Saturday science supplement. The group has now made money for the past two years, although as always in France's troubled newspaper market, which is far smaller than the UK's, it needs to make more. Driving the overhaul was Le Monde's well-liked and dynamic new editor, Erik Izraelewicz. But in November last year, while overseeing that day's edition of the paper, Izraelewicz, 58, had a heart attack at Le Monde's offices and died. | The paper launched major supplements including an award-winning weekend magazine, M, and a popular Saturday science supplement. The group has now made money for the past two years, although as always in France's troubled newspaper market, which is far smaller than the UK's, it needs to make more. Driving the overhaul was Le Monde's well-liked and dynamic new editor, Erik Izraelewicz. But in November last year, while overseeing that day's edition of the paper, Izraelewicz, 58, had a heart attack at Le Monde's offices and died. |
| "Losing your editor is traumatic, it was a very sad event for everybody," Nougayrède says. In March, she was voted in with a record 80% support in a journalists' vote ("I think there was the idea that OK, we can look forward now and define a new mission and preserve the fundamentals of this newspaper, particularly its independence"). Last month, the issue of the paper's independence from its shareholders was highlighted by her first crisis, when Bergé attacked the decision to run an ad opposing gay marriage. | "Losing your editor is traumatic, it was a very sad event for everybody," Nougayrède says. In March, she was voted in with a record 80% support in a journalists' vote ("I think there was the idea that OK, we can look forward now and define a new mission and preserve the fundamentals of this newspaper, particularly its independence"). Last month, the issue of the paper's independence from its shareholders was highlighted by her first crisis, when Bergé attacked the decision to run an ad opposing gay marriage. |
| Bergé, who backed the government's same-sex marriage bill, tweeted a series of furious comments when the paper carried a full-page advert for an anti-gay marriage campaign, suggesting the people who booked the ad weren't worthy of working at the paper. | Bergé, who backed the government's same-sex marriage bill, tweeted a series of furious comments when the paper carried a full-page advert for an anti-gay marriage campaign, suggesting the people who booked the ad weren't worthy of working at the paper. |
| Nougayrède says simply that the ad complied with Le Monde's publicity charter and it had produced "absolutely independent, good coverage" of the same-sex marriage debate. "The shareholders may have their different opinions, their different personal stories. They are strong characters but we just carry on with our part of the job. I run the newspaper, I'm responsible for its independence, its high-quality content and for the wellbeing of its team of journalists. That's what I'm going to be defending." | Nougayrède says simply that the ad complied with Le Monde's publicity charter and it had produced "absolutely independent, good coverage" of the same-sex marriage debate. "The shareholders may have their different opinions, their different personal stories. They are strong characters but we just carry on with our part of the job. I run the newspaper, I'm responsible for its independence, its high-quality content and for the wellbeing of its team of journalists. That's what I'm going to be defending." |
| Nougayrède adds that the shareholders have no control over editorial. "There's a charter which says that shareholders are not to lean in, onto, or try to transform the editorial content, that's something that is protected." | Nougayrède adds that the shareholders have no control over editorial. "There's a charter which says that shareholders are not to lean in, onto, or try to transform the editorial content, that's something that is protected." |
| Nougayrède is in many ways an outsider. She had never held any editing or managerial role in the byzantine hierarchy of the paper, which was launched after the liberation in December 1944 as an independent voice, taking over the layout, typeface and offices of a defunct paper which had been compromised by collaboration with the Nazi occupiers. Instead, she was what she calls a "very much on-the-ground, muddy-boots" foreign correspondent who covered eastern Europe and Putin's Russia, winning awards for coverage of the Beslan siege and the Chechen conflict. | Nougayrède is in many ways an outsider. She had never held any editing or managerial role in the byzantine hierarchy of the paper, which was launched after the liberation in December 1944 as an independent voice, taking over the layout, typeface and offices of a defunct paper which had been compromised by collaboration with the Nazi occupiers. Instead, she was what she calls a "very much on-the-ground, muddy-boots" foreign correspondent who covered eastern Europe and Putin's Russia, winning awards for coverage of the Beslan siege and the Chechen conflict. |
| She returned to base in 2005 as famously the most kick-ass diplomatic correspondent in Paris. Her persistent hard questioning and lack of deference in the cosy world of the diplomatic press corps so irked the then foreign minister Bernard Kouchner that she was once evicted by police from an ambassadors' function. | She returned to base in 2005 as famously the most kick-ass diplomatic correspondent in Paris. Her persistent hard questioning and lack of deference in the cosy world of the diplomatic press corps so irked the then foreign minister Bernard Kouchner that she was once evicted by police from an ambassadors' function. |
| Her vision for the paper is based on this stubborn detachment from the highest levels of state, in a country where journalists and politicians have long been seen to be too close. "This might sound obvious but I thought it was so important to show that in terms of gathering news, there's no friendship with people who are in power, you're not supposed to be on a friendly level that creates dependency or erodes your independence." | Her vision for the paper is based on this stubborn detachment from the highest levels of state, in a country where journalists and politicians have long been seen to be too close. "This might sound obvious but I thought it was so important to show that in terms of gathering news, there's no friendship with people who are in power, you're not supposed to be on a friendly level that creates dependency or erodes your independence." |
| She wants to protect Le Monde's status as a national institution by banking on investigative journalism and quality long-form reporting – last month the Offshore Leaks investigation on tax evasion, in partnership with the Guardian and other papers, significantly boosted sales of the paper and website traffic. | She wants to protect Le Monde's status as a national institution by banking on investigative journalism and quality long-form reporting – last month the Offshore Leaks investigation on tax evasion, in partnership with the Guardian and other papers, significantly boosted sales of the paper and website traffic. |
| "At a time when we know we're being flooded with information from all sorts of sources, when PR agencies are very active in political and economic fields, it's really important there's a reference out there," she says. "It's very important for me that as we produce original news stories and original analysis, we be extremely strong on facts. There will be no approximations, I want everything that we produce to be checked, solid. "This might sound like a banal rule to the Anglo-American press, but I think it's always useful to strengthen this kind of approach here in France where there's a strong tradition of commenting. The history of French newspapers has been very much about taking side in politics and commenting a lot. Without abandoning the notion that we will also be taking sides and giving our opinion on certain issues, I want Le Monde's first focus to be on strong, authoritative news, verified facts." | "At a time when we know we're being flooded with information from all sorts of sources, when PR agencies are very active in political and economic fields, it's really important there's a reference out there," she says. "It's very important for me that as we produce original news stories and original analysis, we be extremely strong on facts. There will be no approximations, I want everything that we produce to be checked, solid. "This might sound like a banal rule to the Anglo-American press, but I think it's always useful to strengthen this kind of approach here in France where there's a strong tradition of commenting. The history of French newspapers has been very much about taking side in politics and commenting a lot. Without abandoning the notion that we will also be taking sides and giving our opinion on certain issues, I want Le Monde's first focus to be on strong, authoritative news, verified facts." |
| Nougayrède's first big move was the launch of a substantial new daily economics section, Éco & Entreprise, last week. Le Monde has a large readership among high-level white collar workers, and business and finance executives, but, unlike rivals such as the rightwing Le Figaro, previously lacked a dedicated supplement. The new section is eclectic and showcases Le Monde's foreign staff, the biggest of any French paper, with investigative work and reporting from emerging markets and new technology sectors. "There aren't many issues in this world and today's news that you can't somehow connect to economics," Nougayrède says. | Nougayrède's first big move was the launch of a substantial new daily economics section, Éco & Entreprise, last week. Le Monde has a large readership among high-level white collar workers, and business and finance executives, but, unlike rivals such as the rightwing Le Figaro, previously lacked a dedicated supplement. The new section is eclectic and showcases Le Monde's foreign staff, the biggest of any French paper, with investigative work and reporting from emerging markets and new technology sectors. "There aren't many issues in this world and today's news that you can't somehow connect to economics," Nougayrède says. |
| Her biggest challenge is the web. Like other French papers, Le Monde's site (www.lemonde.fr) has a mix of free content and content behind a paywall, with extra in-depth articles, analysis, archive material, videos and investigations available for 15 euros a month. With more than 2 million unique monthly visitors, it is the biggest information website in France. It currently has 43,000 unique digital subscribers and 67,000 readers who have a combined print and digital subscription. With print circulation at around 314,000 and 1.9 million people reading the paper each day, the aim over the next few years is to triple or quadruple those who pay for an online subscription. Last month, Le Monde revamped its subscriber section online with graphics and video, horizontal navigation, exclusive access to articles before they appear in the paper. The new "zen reading" button, which instantly de-clogs the screen, is popular. The paper's digitalised archives going back to 1944, with photos and easy-to-read packages linked to key past news events, also proved a hit. | Her biggest challenge is the web. Like other French papers, Le Monde's site (www.lemonde.fr) has a mix of free content and content behind a paywall, with extra in-depth articles, analysis, archive material, videos and investigations available for 15 euros a month. With more than 2 million unique monthly visitors, it is the biggest information website in France. It currently has 43,000 unique digital subscribers and 67,000 readers who have a combined print and digital subscription. With print circulation at around 314,000 and 1.9 million people reading the paper each day, the aim over the next few years is to triple or quadruple those who pay for an online subscription. Last month, Le Monde revamped its subscriber section online with graphics and video, horizontal navigation, exclusive access to articles before they appear in the paper. The new "zen reading" button, which instantly de-clogs the screen, is popular. The paper's digitalised archives going back to 1944, with photos and easy-to-read packages linked to key past news events, also proved a hit. |
| "That says something about how people need to have references in today's world," she notes, "not to just know the latest news in the last two minutes but also to be able to look back and give context to whatever's happening." Nougayrède's next task, which won't be easy, is to merge the staff on the paper and the website, which remain two different operations. "This is quite a revolution at Le Monde and we're going to do it step by step." | "That says something about how people need to have references in today's world," she notes, "not to just know the latest news in the last two minutes but also to be able to look back and give context to whatever's happening." Nougayrède's next task, which won't be easy, is to merge the staff on the paper and the website, which remain two different operations. "This is quite a revolution at Le Monde and we're going to do it step by step." |
| As well as courting French-speaking readers in Africa and elsewhere, Nougayrède – who is bilingual after growing up partly in the UK and Canada – wants to pull in English speakers with a selection of translated articles on the site. "There's a curiosity about France. I don't want to say France is still as influential as it used to be 30 or 40 years ago because, as with other big European nations, our importance is more relative now in the new world order. But I do think there is a recognition that the French intellectual, journalistic, political scene has things to say about major international issues. I'm not talking about a political bias, just a different way of looking at events." | As well as courting French-speaking readers in Africa and elsewhere, Nougayrède – who is bilingual after growing up partly in the UK and Canada – wants to pull in English speakers with a selection of translated articles on the site. "There's a curiosity about France. I don't want to say France is still as influential as it used to be 30 or 40 years ago because, as with other big European nations, our importance is more relative now in the new world order. But I do think there is a recognition that the French intellectual, journalistic, political scene has things to say about major international issues. I'm not talking about a political bias, just a different way of looking at events." |
| Will the print version always exist? "I don't think we should be burying print newspapers," she replies. "Who can tell what's going to happen in 50 years, but I think there's still very much a future for them – but they have to be more pertinent, they have to be more high-quality, more selective." | Will the print version always exist? "I don't think we should be burying print newspapers," she replies. "Who can tell what's going to happen in 50 years, but I think there's still very much a future for them – but they have to be more pertinent, they have to be more high-quality, more selective." |
| Curriculum vitae | Curriculum vitae |
| Age 46 | Age 46 |
| Education Institut d'études politiques de Strasbourg (politics), Centre de formation des journalistes (journalism) | Education Institut d'études politiques de Strasbourg (politics), Centre de formation des journalistes (journalism) |
| Career 1991 Prague correspondent for Libération, Radio France Internationale and the BBC French service 1993 reporter in Caucausus region, covering Georgia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine 1997 joins Le Monde as Eastern Europe correspondent 2001 Moscow correspondent, Le Monde 2005 wins the Prix Albert Londres, France's equivalent of the Pulitzer prize, for her reporting on the Beslan siege and Chechnya. Becomes diplomatic correspondent 2013 appointed director and editor-in-chief of Le Monde | Career 1991 Prague correspondent for Libération, Radio France Internationale and the BBC French service 1993 reporter in Caucausus region, covering Georgia, Azerbaijan, Ukraine 1997 joins Le Monde as Eastern Europe correspondent 2001 Moscow correspondent, Le Monde 2005 wins the Prix Albert Londres, France's equivalent of the Pulitzer prize, for her reporting on the Beslan siege and Chechnya. Becomes diplomatic correspondent 2013 appointed director and editor-in-chief of Le Monde |
| • This article was amended on 7 May 2013. The original stated that Nougayrède was the first woman ever to run a French national daily. In fact, the Catholic daily La Croix is edited by a woman, Dominique Quinio | • This article was amended on 7 May 2013. The original stated that Nougayrède was the first woman ever to run a French national daily. In fact, the Catholic daily La Croix is edited by a woman, Dominique Quinio |
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