“Green with rage”, the “Health Magazine”… The cascade of broadcast shutdowns could open the way to disinformation, estimate nine journalists’ associations in an article published in “Libération”.
Mathilde Cusin and Martin Boudot have presented the documentary magazine “Vert de rage” for six years. Photo Louis-Adrien Le Blay/FTV
By Emma Poesy
Published on April 26, 2024 at 3:21 p.m.
LIs science in danger in the public service? After the recent announcement of the closure of the eco-friendly magazine Green with rage, nine journalists’ associations have decided to sound the alarm. “This decision to remove it is heresy at a time of climate emergency and environmental crises,” they estimate in a column published in Release. The risk ? Allow disinformation to proliferate, and therefore deviate from their public service commitments.
This recent decision may indeed come as a surprise, at a time when ecological scandals are multiplying and represent a major public health issue. At the head of France Télévisions, it is difficult to justify the cessation of the program, the last two issues of which will be broadcast in May and at the start of the school year. “It’s a combination of factors with, in chronological order, the departure of Martin Boudot, who carried the series from the very first day; then, the complicated equation to keep in mind of the desynchronization between the revelations and the broadcast of the show”, explained Antonio Grigolini, director of documentaries at France Télévisions, at the beginning of April Télérama.
Marina Carrère d’Encausse saw her “Health Magazine” come to an end after twenty-six years of good and loyal service. Photo Marie Etchegoyen/FTV
This announcement of deletion is all the more worrying as it comes a few months after another similar one: that of the cessation of Health magazine, disconnected from France 5 after twenty-six years of good and loyal service. The show played by Marina Carrère d’Encausse proved particularly essential during the Covid crisis, with more than a million viewers daily.
Who will benefit from this void? “At a time when all studies are warning of the rise of fake news in this area [celui de la médecine, ndlr] – particularly on social networks, channels mainly consulted by users suspicious of traditional media – we draw your attention to the consequences of such a decision,” continue the signatories of the column published in Release.
Too few science shows
Another cause for concern is the shrinking share of programs devoted to science and medicine in general – like the box Large format science, which does not allow “it alone covers the entire variety of disciplinary fields”.
However, scientific information continues to arouse the interest of the general public. As evidenced by the rapid success of the magazine Epsiloon, launched by the former monthly team Science & life. Barely two years after its launch, the scientific title managed to generate its first profit in 2023 in a context of crisis in the paper press, reveals The Informed. The reasons for such success? “Science was put aside until recently, but it has returned to the heart of social issues with the Covid crisis, global warming and the emergence of artificial intelligence”, estimates the editor-in-chief of the newspaper Mathilde Fontez. To the wise…
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Against the press without journalists, the alumni of “Science & Vie” launch the magazine “Epsiloon”
