Conference: 40 years of change in the journalism and communication professions in the digital age

Photo

The school was still called EJCM when I graduated in 2006. I spent two beautiful years there, completed by internships at France Télévisions, to which I dedicated my thesis, "What place for the public service in the media coverage of sports? Study of the Stade 2 program". I would like to take this opportunity to thank Marc Bassoni, who was my internship supervisor and who advised me in the writing of my thesis. His economics classes fascinated me, as did Benoit d'Aiguillon's classes on the history of television. There were 12 of us in our master's class in Journalism info com and I had as friends Gao Ke, Thomas Delage and Pierre Nebouy, with whom I am still in contact. The EJCM also allows us to create links! Today, I am a journalist for the magazine La Nouvelle Equipe Française, created by Lucie Faure and Robert Aron and republished last November by the grandson of Lucie and Edgar Faure, Rodolphe Oppenheimer.

Photo

I left the Trans-Mediterranean Communication Center (TMCC) in 1987. Thirty-five years later, I would say that the school of journalism changed my life. I learned the spirit of independence, I developed an interest for others and, above all, the opportunity to make a difference, simply by staying close to things thanks to the quest for the right word and tone.

For twenty years, I worked as a writer, mostly in the fields of architecture, landscape, art and design. I also practice photography and make ethnographic videos. I am therefore an artist-author, and as such a member of the SAIF (French copyright collective management organisation). I also undertook a training of proofreader-editor which will allow me to continue working for a long time. I have never liked retirement.

With the complicity of Jean Baudrillard, I also created Pôle Nord - Pôle Sud - Équateur, the association which produces Écritures de la Terre, the book of immaterial art written by French-speaking teenagers around their cultural heritages, which I have been producing ever since. Écritures de la Terre is sponsored by the French Ministry of Culture and Foreign Affairs.
This portrait dates from the summer of 2000. It was taken with my Minox by Sabine Weiss, while I was visiting her in Grimaud. Recently deceased, she was the last representative of the French humanist photography movement.

Photo

EJCAM helped me, 17 years ago, to develop a spirit of curiosity about new media, information and communication technologies and the ability to work in a team. I had the chance to collaborate with the staff of this school and to work there during my studies, allowing me to better understand the functioning of a network. Now, within the Decathlon group, I contribute to guaranteeing a second life to hundreds of thousands of sports products by deploying a digital and global strategy. This would not have been possible without the assets I developed at this school, with classmates who became my best friends and who will be, this summer, the witnesses of my wedding with Audrey, also from this class.
At that time, we were in charge of organising the school's 20th anniversary. We ended up in the bazaar, in a funny state lol.

Photo

I joined the Master of Information Communication COMED B, following a reconversion. This course allowed me to find my way, thanks to the richness of the theoretical courses, the effectiveness of the many practical courses given by teachers from various professions as well as the possibility of doing internships. This allowed me to capitalize on experience, which is essential for my future job search. With my diploma, I was able to enter the workplace with confidence!

Photo

After obtaining my degree in international trade, I knew very quickly that I wanted to pursue my career in the communication field. The School of Journalism and Communication of Aix-Marseille appeared to be an obvious choice in terms of public training in the area. Not knowing which communication speciality I wanted to choose, I made several requests for training within the school (event management, digital, research...). I was finally accepted in RECICOM. This training was, for me, a real chance to discover certain concepts of communication and to deepen my current knowledge. The richness of this master's degree lies in its wide range of courses which encompass both the theoretical aspect, with studies of authors' research and communication models, and the practical aspect with a real education about media, campaigns and communication techniques. This training allowed me to better understand the media world. I no longer have the same view of the information I read or hear, whether on television or in the press. I think it is very important to underline this point, at a time when information is transmitted very quickly, in an ultra-connected world.

Moreover, thanks to the various situations of creation of communication campaigns, I was able to start in the active life by having solid references. There is an undeniable quality in the panel of teachers and professionals, passionate about their work and who manage to captivate an entire room on current topics. To sum up, if you want to specialise in communication and media, the school is for you!

Photo

I arrived in Marseille in 2013, then European Capital of Culture, to start my Master's degree in Communication (Advanced Studies in Communication and Media - Societal and Digital Innovations, E-COM), after a degree in Political Science in Montpellier. Between 2013 and 2015, I validated my Master 1 and Master 2 at EJCAM. During these two years, I had the pleasure to listen to interesting lectures in theory and methodology of ICS (Information and Communication Sciences), on media and society, in writing (web, journalistic), in media economics, in general culture and to realise several professional and research projects.

I validated my Master's degree through continuing education, i.e. in connection with Pôle Emploi (french Employment Centre), and thanks to a funding from the South Region for the registration fees. After the research thesis in Master 2, two of my professors suggested that I should continue with a doctorate. My thesis director, Marie-Pierre Fourquet-Courbet (EJCAM-IMSIC), accompanied me in this process of preparation for the doctoral competition (which I obtained!) and then during my 4 years as a young researcher at the IMSIC (Mediterranean Institut for Information and Communication Sciences) and its axis 3 "Immersions and digital-media influences: productions-writings, receptions-experiences". These years are also the opportunity to see the other side : from student, to become an instructor and thus give courses to students during 2 years. In 2019, I submitted my thesis entitled "Communication against violence against women. From the creation to the reception process of gender diverting devices" (online). This has been one of the most powerful moments I have experienced to date, intellectually and emotionally. I would like to thank my thesis director for her kindness and her excellent academic qualities during the follow-up of my doctoral research. We continue, moreover, to work together, via my postdoctoral contract at InCIAM (Institut Créativité et Innovations d'Aix-Marseille), which deals with public campaigns of the State against sexist and sexual violence, and via a collective research, the study "Com-Covid-19", benefiting from an ANR and InCIAM Amidex funding and dealing with the uses of the media and the regulation of emotions during the Covid-19 pandemic.In January 2023, I was recruited as a researcher at the University of Clermont Auvergne and the Communication and Societies laboratory. I am working on the research: Receptions and Impacts of Communication Devices concerning the awreness raising of High School Girls to Science.

I had come to Marseille to stay for 2 years in order to obtain my master degree in Information-Communication. I finally stayed 8 years at EJCAM and IMSIC, and I obtained two degrees (master and doctorate) and two work contracts (doctoral and post-doctoral).

Photo

This school has given me so much, that I had to return the favour. That's why I got involved in the life of the school, within the BDE.
EJCAM was very quickly an obvious choice for me. First of all, having all the teaching of a recognized school with the advantages that the region offers, how could I refuse to study at EJCAM? Secondly, Marseille was an obvious choice. For journalism, it's an extraordinary city! The richness of its streets, the diversity of its neighborhoods and the associative world that stems from it, provide a rich playground for young journalists in the making.
EJCAM, thanks to its small number of students, guarantees personalised pedagogical support. During these two years of the master's program, I really felt supported by both the lecturers and the school's staff. The way the timetable is organised allows for the right balance between theoretical and practical courses. The equipment is up to the effectives present at EJCAM. All students can use both microphones in radio and cameras in TV. The editing software is the same as that used in newsrooms. Once on internship, we are absolutely not lost.
Personally, I have lived these two years with great happiness. I chose the radio specialty by default because I didn't want to transport the TV equipment. However, this second year in radio was extraordinary because even if I had no interest in this format, I learned a lot. The rigor, the speed and the editing are elements that will serve me well for any format. One might also wonder why there is no specialisation in print or web media. The courses in these areas are maintained regardless of the specialty. This allows for versatility in all formats.
Finally, at EJCAM, thanks to these small number of students, the teaching staff and teachers are very attentive. We are proactive as in an editorial office. As soon as we have a project, we can propose it and if it is feasible from a material point of view, the school is the first party to carry it out. I have absolutely no regrets. I felt at home in my class, and in confidence with the teachers. I encourage all future journalists to apply.