25 février 2026
At the French National Assembly, as part of the New National Consultation on Culture and the Media, a meeting dedicated to public broadcasting brought together researchers, union representatives, film-makers and journalists to examine the consequences of a lasting weakening of this sector, and to sketch out alternative perspectives. Pauline Amiel, Director of EJCAM, took part in the researchers' round table (François Jost, Nathalie Sonnac and Alexis Lévrier).
They reminded us that:
- Information is not simply a succession of opinionated debates. It requires prioritisation, verification and responsibility.
- The attention economy weakens the construction of our common space: public broadcasting is a democratic infrastructure in this respect.
- Historically, repeated attacks on the alleged "bias" of journalists have often been aimed at delegitimising and silencing them.
- Journalism schools are an integral part of this ecosystem. Training in investigation, ethics and fact-checking is part and parcel of democratic solidity. And these training courses are also sometimes called into question.
- The question is not to make public broadcasting a sanctuary.
- It's a question of knowing how to guarantee its independence, its funding and its structuring role in a context of disinformation and information warfare.
- Defending public broadcasting means defending the very conditions of informed democratic debate.
This meeting was organised on the initiative of Stéphane Peu, Aurélien Saintoul, Sophie Taillé-Polian, Sylvie Robert, Alexis Corbière, Pierre Dharréville and Pierre Laurent.
To follow the full debates: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMph09m0ZHU
