Media Scandals: French Edition

Jesse Walker | November 30, 2004

The editor of Le Monde resigned yesterday. Doug Ireland gives the background here and here.

Comments

Matt Welch|11.30.04 @ 1:04PM|#

Adam Gopnik had a pretty interesting piece about this in The New Yorker three or so weeks ago (it's not online). I disagreed with many of his interpretations, but the comparisons that the Le Monde editors made between the NYT & Beeb scandals were interesting.

|11.30.04 @ 1:34PM|#

"We must take as our point of departure that our readers are correct in expressing a desire for a more exigent attitude on our part. Their unhappiness is the expression of an expectation which we must consider legitimate."

The legitimate expressed desire in question was a decline in circulation. I haven't read of anyone referring to market forces as legitimate or illegitimate for a long time, but, then again, I don't read whatever it is that the Communists are writing anymore.

|11.30.04 @ 4:46PM|#

Ken,

Lib�ration is the communist paper in France (which is in even deeper financial distress than Le Monde), Le Monde is just left-wing. At this point, of the "big three," only Le Figaro may survive.

..............

If you can get a copy of La face cachee du Monde you should; its a real page turner.

|11.30.04 @ 4:57PM|#

Wow: a scrum of French journalists, Trotskyites, and a Communist union. Let's hope there's a scenario in which everyone involved loses....

|11.30.04 @ 5:09PM|#

PapayaSF,

The most interesting character is the capitalist, globalist financier Minc, who appears to be ready to take over Le Monde.