The editorial treatment on franceinfo of the death of little Émile

How does a continuous news editorial team cover such sensitive news? Florent Guyotat, deputy editorial director, and David Di Giacomo, head of the police-justice department of franceinfo, answer questions from listeners, at the microphone of Emmanuelle Daviet, the mediator of the Radio France antennas.

Editorial coverage of information as sensitive as the discovery of the bones of a missing child is a subject of debate and reflection. Last weekend, the information concerning little Émile provoked reactions from listeners. Many reacted to this journalistic treatment. Elements of response with David Di Giacomo, head of the police-justice department of franceinfo, and Florent Guyotat, deputy editorial director.

Emmanuelle Daviet: David Di Giacomo, what was the objective of highlighting this information on the disappearance of the two and a half year old boy and the discovery of his bones?

David DiGiacomo: This information was communicated last Sunday by the Aix-en-Provence prosecutor. He specifies that a hiker discovered bones and that, according to genetic analyzes carried out urgently, it is indeed little Émile. In this case, this is obviously a very significant step forward. For what ? Because this little boy had been wanted since his disappearance on July 8. And the discovery of these bones therefore allows us to hope that we will know how the little boy died, and whether it was an accident or a crime.

Other analyzes are also underway to try to understand, we still do not know today. This is why this information was widely covered on our antenna. This mysterious disappearance in the middle of July 2023 was very emotional. We had of course talked about it on franceinfo, and within the Police Justice service, we worked on this disappearance. And so, last Sunday, there was, let’s say, a huge boost given with the discovery of these bones. It was therefore essential to then provide all the elements relating to this discovery, and to what would follow.

Florent Guyotat, do you think that your treatment of this information was balanced and respectful of the dignity of the child and his family? Have you taken these criteria into consideration, ask listeners

Florent Guyotat: You know in particular that Émile’s family launched an appeal to journalists: respect our mourning, she said in substance, do not try to contact us. We obviously respected that. Just as the lawyer for the little boy’s family did not wish to speak to us, and that is obviously his right. And then you know that in this kind of case, everyone has their own hypotheses, sometimes wild, sometimes unsupported. As much as possible, we strive to stick to the facts, what we know. This is why we work a lot with the Police Justice service headed by David Di Giacomo.

And in the choice of guests too, we are very careful. You heard experienced people on the air, people who know what they are talking about, how investigations are conducted in such cases. This is particularly the case of the former public prosecutor, Jacques Dallest or the former gendarme, Jacques-Charles Fombonne. And that’s precisely why you heard them a lot on the air, rather than other guests.

Precisely, listeners believe that the treatment of this information on the air was excessive, you have just said that we heard them a lot, excessive and macabre treatment. What do you answer them?

Florent Guyotat: Indeed, listeners wonder if we are doing too much, if there are not other current issues to cover that day. Here again, I think it’s all a question of measurement. This affair of little Emile, David said, greatly moved part of the public. One can not deny it. Besides, you know, these are the figures on our website that say so. The articles devoted to this affair last weekend were the most read.

So truly, there is a wait on this matter, on the part of part of the public. Afterwards, once again, we strive to remain balanced, not to sink into macabre and unnecessary details. And then, last weekend, it must also be said, we gave a lot of space to this news, it’s true, but not only that. We didn’t do a special edition per se. We kept columns devoted to other subjects, and we also discussed other news on the air such as the floods in the Center Val de Loire, or the elections in Turkey.