“The information offered to the French must be honest, free and plural”, defends Bruno Patino

“The situation is complicated.” The president of the steering committee of the general information conference, Bruno Patino, took stock of the press and media in France, Friday May 3, on franceinfo, on the occasion of World Freedom Day of the press. “Information is used by the public to exercise their role as citizens”he recalled, before highlighting “four great phenomena” Who “weaken information” in the country.

Information is first confronted with a phenomenon of “marginalization”particularly in the face of competition from social networks, which only leave publications related to current events a “congruous portion”. A “polarization” is also at work, under the effect of “mechanisms which accentuate all divisions” and hinder access to various sources. The weakening of information is also accentuated by the “pauperization” media and journalists, who find themselves more vulnerable, and by “discrediting” favored by “disinformation mechanisms”.

To strengthen information in France, “we are going to submit a certain number of proposals”assured Bruno Patino, while the Estates General must conclude at the end of June. “Our challenge is not to say that one shareholder is a good shareholder and another is a bad one”he warned, in a context of increasing concentration of media in the hands of billionaires. “The challenge is to ensure that the information offered to the French is honest, free and plural”defended the man who is also president of the Franco-German channel Arte. “Concentration must not go against pluralism”he argued.