Address by Frédéric Mitterrand, Minister of Culture and Communication, on the occasion of the closing of the National Conference of Journalism Professions

Thought must never submit to a dogma, a party, or a
a passion, not for an interest, not for a preconceived idea, not for anything,
if not to the facts themselves, because, for her, submit, this
would cease to be». Henri Poincaré, any mathematician he was, had
all inclusive of journalism. And it is in short, without knowing it, a beautiful
homage to him by meeting in this amphitheatre
for the first National Conference of Journalism Professions. I
see the sign of a promising encounter. A meeting between schools
of journalism and the profession, such as the States General of the Press
had wished for it. But also a meeting between professionals
journalism education and higher education
as a whole.
This is the meaning given to this first conference, and it is that of the
message addressed to you in the early afternoon Valérie PECRESSE. He
work towards greater coherence between the
criteria for the recognition of the profession for the initial training of
journalists and those monitored by the Ministry of Education
in the university sector.
This meeting of two worlds, until now largely compartmentalized,
is the beginning of a process to reduce the gap between the 13 schools
recognized and the many other training courses in journalism
in France. By raising the overall level around a
reference framework that will be revisited by 2012, it will mainly be a matter of making them
converge towards shared goals of excellence and efficiency in service
vocational integration. It is a duty to young people who want to
start this career and that must be able to give full
trust in those responsible for their training.
This new process foreshadows a salutary clarification of the criteria
excellence in a system today too fragmented. This is a guarantee
for young people who are destined for the profession; they will thus be able to
to orient themselves in this maquis which counts today a number
The European Union has a very large number of training establishments.
It is also a pledge for the profession that can now count,
even more than before, on a public interlocutor listening to his
needs. I am pleased that this work can be conducted with the
in the framework of their joint bodies, under the aegis of
Ministry of Research and Higher Education, the
Ministry of Culture and Communication and the State Secretariat
employment officer.
This Conference is the latest of the
the second stage of the States General, which I have called
just one year ago, in Strasbourg, on the occasion of the Assizes
International Journalism.
To preserve and develop quality information content, and
in the most favourable economic conditions for all
actors – publishers and journalists – it is crucial to hire
innovation, the development of a
new digital offering, and skills training – in other words
adapt journalism professions to the new media “ecosystem”
that is emerging. We need to stimulate demand and
to renew the offer, that is, to reinvent editorial practices and
journalism in the digital age.
It is in this spirit that, from the end of the States General, the
with the social partners, to upgrade the
profession of journalist. The first act was the Law Creation and
Internet» of 12 June 2009, which adapted the copyright regime of
journalists in the era of multi-media: besides their inalienable moral right,
they now receive remuneration for economic rights,
under conditions now laid down by law.
Among other measures to accompany the change in occupations
On 30 June 2009, the State concluded with the
a commitment to employment development
and skills (EDEC), to support and anticipate the evolution
jobs and professional qualifications brought about by the revolution
digital.
More than eighteen months after the closing of the Estates General, I remain very
attentive to the commitments we have made with the President of the
Republic in favour of the defence of the values and professions of
journalism. I am delighted to be supported in this movement by Valérie
PECRESSE and Laurent WAUQUIEZ who, like me, share a
true ambition for French journalism.
The debates of the last two days have shown that the issues that
national level also in most countries
The challenge posed to both initial and
the quality of democratic debate, and through
consequence, as Patrick Pépin points out, is a matter of
public freedom. Even if the profession of journalist, more than any other,
must remain an open profession, it is difficult to conceive a
quality journalism without a system of training in the
height of this requirement.
This is a challenge in which governments, in particular the Ministry of
Culture and Communication, bear a share of responsibility
legitimate, as they are in France involved in defending a press
information, free, independent and pluralistic. In the crisis it
it is legitimate for the government to support all
especially the profession of journalists, and defends accordingly
the values of pluralism of the information it carries, which are
I remind you that the Constitution has been in place since 2008.
Not to question the evolution of the training system
the values of the profession. It is a way of putting
in jeopardy the future of a news press to which the government has
spent a lot of effort over the past two years, such as
no government had done so. The presentation,
yesterday, my budget for the year 2011 confirms it again. If the State
its commitments to the press, it would nevertheless be illusory to
focus its efforts on the industrial and economic challenges of the
sector. A massive budget contribution to its modernization is not enough
not: the effort must also focus on the revitalization of creative forces
in editorial.
It is the responsibility of the State, but also that of the
in the context of equal opportunities in the
media. Companies must take stock of the issue and place
training at the heart of their strategy to win back audiences.
The initiative of this conference was born from the States General of the press
the President of the Republic.
Heads of journalism schools with curricula recognised by
the profession had then expressed their concern to continuously adapt their
training frameworks for the reality of journalism professions - and therefore
employers' expectations, but also foreseeable developments
of these trades.
The mission of prefiguration of the conference entrusted to Denis JEAMBAR and
René SILVESTRE whose report was submitted to us in May 2010
of a paritarism in “trompe-l'oeil”, and which according to them would require without
doubt a greater involvement of partners. I am obviously not
not insensitive to this diagnosis and therefore wishes to study with the greatest
attention the proposal of Patrick PEPIN, made on behalf of the Conference
the implementation of measures that could
Upgrading the role of vocational training within enterprises
of the press, especially journalists who have not followed
training in journalism. Loïc HERVOUET spoke this morning
even the old idea of a minimum “driver’s license” for all
entry into the profession. I think that would be an excellent
opportunity to develop training programs on ethics and
professional ethics, subject on which I have already expressed myself to
many times.
The Jeambar Silvestre report shows above all the “extremely
of the training system, which would require a
urgent clarification of diplomas and certificates issued through a
kind of labelling.
The findings that can be made today in terms of training of
journalists is as follows:
- On the one hand, 13 training courses recognized by the State and the profession
hundreds of existing courses offering courses that are sometimes very
far from the training framework established by the social partners,
- On the other hand, there is a lack of consistency between the
training used by the Ministry of Higher Education and
search and criteria of the CPNEJ repository.
Establish a training curriculum recognized by the entire profession is
a bold goal. I welcome the ambition of the signatories to the
national collective agreement for journalists. But that is no longer enough
in the face of recent developments in the sector.
The challenge is to restore credibility not only to these training courses,
but also to a profession today highly contested. As the report
stresses that the media crisis is not just a crisis
economic crisis is also a “credibility crisis”. They are joining in this
the fight for the adoption of a code of ethics, an indispensable tool for
the profession to regain public trust. Journalists
must, more than any other profession, consider that there is a
true public expectation, as Pierre ROSANVALLON writes, “for
a democracy that distinguishes between the power of opinion and the
power of the will, between the immediate and the long term”. You are
particularly exposed to an obvious acceleration of time. A
collective reflection is therefore necessary to rethink the fundamentals of
In this context, it is important to consider the main question of training.
The broad guidelines outlined at the beginning of the conference by the
Minister of Research and Higher Education
training frameworks and the proceedings of the conference
will not fail to transmit us its organizers, will allow us
to outline an action plan for the coming months.
Around the clear description of a reference framework of the business lines already largely
made by the profession, it is a question of defining the priorities: Like Valérie
PECRESSE has already explained, a unique recognition on the model
of the Commission des Titres d'Ingénieurs (CTI) recommended by the mission
by Denis JEAMBAR and René SILVESTRE is attractive but she is
today premature. One of our first goals, already ambitious, will be to
to harmonize and converge the criteria for evaluating the
with those of the State. This harmonization should be based on
an up-to-date repository of the skills desired by the profession.
While the 2010 edition of the Conference focused on training
initial training of journalists, it did not neglect the training
ongoing, even more crucial issue for team adaptation
to the new digital environment, at the very least
Improving the conditions for initial training is without
no doubt give a pledge for a quality continuing training. It
we therefore felt it was important to set the horizon for initial training,
before continuing on the ambitious project of continuing training. This
will undoubtedly be the subject of new meetings by the second
National Conference of Careers in Journalism to be held hopefully
in 2011.
I would like to express once again this evening the full solidarity of the Ministry of
Culture and Communication with the whole profession, brought together
today in a constructive spirit. The abundance of reflections
this National Conference has testified is a very strong sign of hope for
the journalism of tomorrow. This constructive, collaborative spirit is the only
possible way to get the press out of the crisis it is going through.
Although the course is now clearer after these two days of debate, the
will not be easy. I am nevertheless proud of the fact that we
have already travelled together since the first
pole chaired by Bruno FRAPPAT during the States General. The
first concrete orientations presented in the Denis report
JEAMBAR and René SILVESTRE were set to music by
committed professionals, led by Patrick PÉPIN and Jacqueline
PAPET, who led this first meeting with the support of the
CPNEJ and several partners. I want to thank them tonight for
their perseverance, their enthusiasm and the quality of their work. I
in turn ensures my own determination and personal support, as well as
that of my services, so that this conference may live beyond
September 29 and 30. Because it is a new cycle that we
together. The interdepartmental sponsorship of this Conference
the ambition that the State places in the training and
development of professional skills at the heart of defence
values and careers in journalism.
For Henri Poincaré, thought must never submit, because,
for her, to submit would be to cease to be”. This commitment of
free spirits against all forms of censorship, it is also ours
today, the one the government is leading for the release of Hervé
GHESQUIERE and Stéphane TAPONIER
hostage in Afghanistan. Tonight, I am thinking of them, their loved ones and
their families.
Thank you.