Since he has been president, Ina has had a makeover. From now on, audiovisual heritage has become essential even on social networks.
In the heart of summer, while France vibrated to the rhythm of Olympic medals, the National Audiovisual Institute (INA) unearthed some gems in its archives: Léon Marchand, 3 years old, snuggled in his father’s arms also a swimmer, or the Lebrun brothers, all little kids, who share their dream of participating in the Olympics. Just as light, the Institute reminds us that in 1975 television recommended drinking 1.5 liters of beer per day to cope with the heatwave. Same time but more chilling atmosphere, a sidewalk microphone questioned men: “Have you ever wanted to rape a woman? », leading to responses that are as frightening as they are edifying.
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In recent years, this treasure box of French TV and radio has successfully transformed itself. Once the titanic project of digitizing the archives, begun in the 1990s, was completed, it was necessary to maintain, if not build, a link with the public. Created under Giscard in 1975, born from the breakup of the ORTF, Ina contains more than 27 million hours of digitized sounds and images. “They are more interesting than many things we see on social networks, but if no one looks at them, they no longer have any heritage value,” analyzes its CEO, Laurent Vallet.
“From less than 80 million videos viewed per year, we have increased to 2 billion today”
After thirteen years running Ifcic, a credit institution for cultural businesses, this graduate of Sciences Po, HEC and Ena was appointed head of Ina in 2015 – then renewed in 2020 for five additional years . At the time, the teams at Bry-sur-Marne, where the headquarters are located, saw three directors pass through in two years: Mathieu Gallet, who left in 2014 for Radio France, then Agnès Saal, who stayed less than a year in post, resigning following the revelation of exorbitant taxi fares.
-“The challenge was to put Ina back at the top of the press reviews, but for its core business,” remembers the fifty-year-old, born in Quebec. His mission? Reinvent it and make it a media in its own right. His credo? Recontextualize, give perspective and take a long time. The mayonnaise has set. “From less than 80 million videos viewed per year, we have gone to 2 billion today,” he says happily. Figures that will make people envious. Like the 100 million views for the video on Céline Dion’s physical evolution, including 32 million on Instagram. “Between all our networks and channels, almost 20 million people follow us. We are a ‘feel-good’ media, not boring, a bit of a companion. »
A collection for eternity
The issue is also that of constructing the memory of yesterday, today and tomorrow. Two years ago, “Pasté compound, figures du siècle” was launched, a collection of interviews with personalities who marked their era. “For six hours, we spoke with Robert Badinter three months before his death,” underlines the CEO. Or the virologist Françoise Barré Sinoussi, who participated in the discovery of AIDS, recounts the day when she was brought the lymph node from a volunteer patient. It’s a collection for eternity! »
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Another gem, this month the program “Just listen to women” begins (which gave rise to a documentary available on france.tv). It compiles the stories of women who had abortions before the Veil law in 1975, of caregivers, of angel makers… Among anonymous people, Christiane Taubira reveals having undergone a clandestine abortion which almost cost her life. Valuable and necessary testimonies.
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