Infoman will begin its 25th next Thursdaye season. Already almost a quarter of a century that Jean-René Dufort has navigated between information and entertainment in a mixture of genres that had earned him many reproaches at the beginning. The criticisms are much less frequent today, the show having become over time a social phenomenon. It even gathers more ratings than at its beginnings, which makes it an exception in the television landscape, which suffers from a considerable drop in live viewing.
If Infoman has also gained respectability, perhaps because a “spectacle” dimension is increasingly tending to interfere in the coverage of so-called traditional journalists. The presenter with the eternal dark glasses and fanciful ties realizes that he is no longer the only one daring to blur the codes, and he is amused by it.
“In the media, we have seen in recent years all sorts of attempts to jazz up the news, often not always successful. When I watch vertical videos on social networks that explain the Palestine conflict to me in a few seconds, I tell myself that we are not very far fromInfoman “, says Jean-René Dufort, with a wry smile, a touch mocking.
Let’s be clear: Jean-René Dufort is mocking those who 25 years ago allowed themselves to pass a value judgment on his show and who today indulge in a more relaxed tone with the pretension of reinventing information. But he has nothing against infotainment per se. If a little lightness helps inform, why not?
“The important thing is rigor. If Céline Galipeau decides to present the TV news dressed up as a clown to get more ratings, that doesn’t bother me, if the rigor remains the same. The fact that the news is a show, that’s not what should worry us. What should worry us is the accuracy of the news,” argues the man whom the general public discovered as a reporter at The end of the world is at 7 o’clock.
Funny journalist
In his opinion, Infoman has never lacked rigor or accuracy. Of course, the show is primarily intended to be humorous. It is also part of the variety service, not news. The fact remains that Jean-René Dufort is convinced that it sometimes also allows viewers to learn things and sometimes to form an opinion on certain subjects. “I am between Bleu Poudre and Bernard Derome,” he replies when asked if he considers himself a journalist.
A biochemist by training, Jean-René Dufort already practiced more traditional journalism when he wrote for the magazine Protect yourself, where he gained attention for infiltrating JoJo Savard’s psychic phone line. When Infoman went on the air in October 2000, the host categorized himself as a journalist, but today he avoids using this qualifier, for fear of rekindling the thorny debate that divided the Fédération professionnelle des journalistes du Québec (FPJQ).
For a long time, the profession was torn apart over the inclusion or not of Jean-René Dufort within its ranks. Verification made: the host ofInfoman is now a member in good standing of the FPJQ, which is a great help to him in obtaining accreditations when he reports abroad.
“The FPJQ has a lot of difficulty defining what a journalist is, and that’s normal. Before, a journalist was clear, it was someone who worked for a recognized press organization, like The Duty Or The Press. Now it’s more vague. Is an animator of podcast, “Is he a journalist? Is a columnist still a journalist? Do activist media do journalism? My opinion is that when your opinion is more important than the facts, you are no longer a journalist. So I don’t claim to be one, but I am still more so than Rebel News,” explains Jean-René Dufour, referring to this media outlet camped to the right of the right, which has been noted during the pandemic for its strong opposition to health measures.
Invite everyone
Absolute journalistic neutrality remains a pipe dream, believes Jean-René Dufort. “No one is 100% objective,” he says. He is the first to acknowledge that some of his biases can color the stories presented on his show. He has already been criticized for this. In 2014, Radio-Canada’s ombudsman reprimanded him for his coverage of the situation in Gaza, which did not reflect both sides of the conflict sufficiently to his liking. But as biased as he may be, Jean-René Dufort says he has always avoided turning completely into activism.
“Michael Moore lost his way when he started thinking he was the leader of the opposition. We must not pretend job “I do it by pretending to tell people what to think. When I see the PQ members calling me a Liberal, and the Liberals calling me a PQ member, I tell myself that I manage not to be too much on one side or the other,” says the host with irony, who has always made it a point of honor to invite politicians from all parties.
He has also been criticized for this. As recently as last December, Pierre Poilievre’s presence at the end-of-year special earned him some bad comments. “Pierre Poilievre, like Éric Duhaime, is a ““no win situation”. When you don’t invite him, the right wing people are cursed. When you invite him, the left wing people are cursed. And when he comes on the show, part of his gang reproaches him for it. I’m afraid he won’t accept our invitation next year because of that. Because I think it’s important that he’s there. The guy will be our next prime minister, it’s completely normal that he’s invited,” retorts Jean-René Dufort, who denies having been too complacent with the leader of the Conservative Party in his review of the year 2023.
“A lot of people confuse the regular show with the end-of-year special. I’m never going to plant a politician in the end-of-year review. He’s still a human being. Nobody wants to be destroyed on the 31st in the evening while watching TV with his family,” he continues.
Less drooling
Times have changed. In the early days of the show, part of the political class was wary of Jean-René Dufort, even feared him. Today, politicians of all stripes are jostling to participate in Infomanwhich has become an opportunity for them to project a more sympathetic image. Jean-René Dufort is not fooled. He is probably playing their game a little by being less incisive towards them than before. But he accepts it. The host does not want to be as caustic as he was 25 years ago.
“When we started, we were the only ones who were a little slobbery with politicians. Today, everyone is attacking them on social networks. They really have it rough. I see it on the ground: there are people who didn’t have bodyguards and now have them. I don’t want to contribute to this unhealthy climate by hitting them even harder. And I’m getting older too. The truth is that I’m not as slobbery as I was 25 years ago,” confesses the man who could see himself continuing to tease the politician for several more years.