On November 12, 1944, your weekly was born. At the same time a war was ending. A liberated newspaper, a Lozère New in the middle of a new France, too.
The shortage of paper and the surrounding difficulties did not make Abbot Grégoire and Canon de Montgros back down who, due to their impeccable attitude during the Occupation, were chosen to launch the weekly.
A first four-page issue comes out on November 12. We discuss the place of Christians in the Resistance, speeches by archbishops, some news from Lozère communities, deaths and baptisms but also calls for solidarity. “Our prisoners and our deportees will return. To alleviate the miseries born from captivity and deportation, everyone is asked to offer the product of one hour of work”.
This first newspaper is also an opportunity to encourage all those who adhere to Christian and Republican values to subscribe. Three years later, the four weekly pages have a circulation of 6,000 copies.
More pages
Over the years, there have been many developments and challenges to overcome. In the sixties, Father Pontier (press man) brought about a revival. Abbé Buisson, emblematic director, took over this modernization in the 1980s. He liked to point out that “Lozère Nouvelle is a Christian newspaper of general information and not a Christian information newspaper, that is to say a place of expression open to all”.
The first journalist will be hired in 1974, Jean-Marc Gilly. The newspaper's slogan is then written in red letters on the first page “The weekly that talks about you”.
In the 90s, an association called CIVAP (Communicate, inform and live in the country) becomes a manager. The desire is to remain an independent press organ. The newspaper is modernized, computerized and will also be the first French weekly produced with DTP (computer-assisted publishing). The color comes in small doses on the strategic pages which are the first and last page. The team is growing, the newspaper has around ten employees.
At the height of its production, the Lozère New is published in 27,000 copies and produces on average 64 pages per week, or several million characters!
The newspaper allows expatriate Lozeriens to keep a link with their territory. So every week the edition is sent almost everywhere in France but also around the world.
In the 2000s, modernization continued at the IT level. On March 14, 2003, the newspaper celebrated its 3000th anniversary.e issue with a special issue of around thirty pages.
More colors
The weekly is switching to color on all pages in 2010. The news will also be available on the internet with 48info then on social networks the following year. In 2021, a new site is launched: lalozerenouvelle.com
This newspaper has always looked towards the future and is the result of joint work carried out by employees and local correspondents. Like the links in a chain, each week, the newspaper takes shape and allows, as Maurice Buisson said, “to hear the heart of Lozère beating”.
A heart that is 80 years old today but continues to beat just as strongly. Over the years, nothing has worn out. Neither the desire to provide authentic information, nor a caring outlook or even the desire for wide openness.
New Lozère has therefore not aged a bit and raises a glass to all its readers, distributors and advertisers who have allowed the newspaper to survive the decades.
In September 2022, the newspaper celebrated its 4000th anniversarye number in about twenty years he will be 100 years old and 5,000 issues to his credit. Future pages will be written with you…
Also read the little story of the newspaper
