BFMTV newsroom protest over racism accusations, Digi Mart USA News (France): The malaise persists at BFMTV, the French news channel accused of relaying racist remarks, notably by the far-left party La France insoumise (LFI). The channel’s newsroom has called for measures to “break away from this image of a racist channel,” following initial announcements made by management.
In a letter to management signed by more than 200 journalists and consulted by AFP, the Société des journalistes (SDJ) wrote: “We want to regain the pride of working for BFMTV and no longer fear giving the name of our media in a report or even in our private lives.” A similar letter sent earlier in the week by 160 technicians of the RMC BFM group pointed to “editorial drifts” six months before the presidential election.
The journalists expressed concern about the normalization of certain racist or discriminatory remarks on air, which are sometimes relativized in the name of pluralism. “Racist remarks constitute offenses, and our impartiality must never be confused with complacency,” they wrote.
During demonstrations in France and after the attack in Trappes, the channel was accused by Jean-Luc Mélenchon and LFI of relaying racist remarks, notably by inviting Éric Zemmour, the far-right figure of the Reconquête party, a charge the channel strongly contested. Some of its journalists were confronted in the field.
These external accusations echoed internal criticism directed for several months at journalist Sonia Mabrouk, who joined from CNews this summer. CNews belongs to the group of conservative billionaire Vincent Bolloré.
In the letter, which followed a general assembly on Monday, journalists requested “concrete measures” to “break away from this image of a racist channel that does not at all represent (their) convictions.” Among them: “systematic and unequivocal correction of discriminatory remarks by presenters” and “better follow-up of guests to avoid problematic figures, as well as the too-frequent presence of certain individuals.”
The newsroom also asks that reporting regain “first place” over debates and considers more balanced coverage of demonstrations necessary, “no longer going live with teams only when there is violence.” “Calm is also news,” it wrote.
Before the open letter was sent at midday and a new general assembly was held, management of CMA Media, the group to which BFMTV and radio station RMC belong, had already announced certain measures. The channel will create a “guest unit” to centralize interview requests from political officials and strengthen “diversity of profiles,” according to an internal message sent Wednesday morning and consulted by AFP.
This unit will report to Fabien Namias, the channel’s director general.
Another announcement is the monthly publication of a “pluralism barometer” of the channels to “account for the diversity of guests, speakers and currents of thought.”
In an internal message, Jean-Philippe Baille, deputy director general for information at CMA Media, said these decisions “constitute neither a change in editorial line nor an acknowledgment of the accusations made against our channels, but reflect the will to defend our channels, unfairly implicated.” He also promised a “systematic and rapid response to false information” targeting the group’s media.
“I firmly contest the accusations insinuating that our channels trivialize racism,” Baille stated, noting that the channel has “received no referral from Arcom,” the audiovisual regulator. “Hosting a personality does not mean sharing their convictions or endorsing their remarks.
Our responsibility is to question them, verify their claims and, where appropriate, contradict them with facts,” he argued.
As in recent months, he reaffirmed management’s “full support” for Sonia Mabrouk in the face of an “unacceptable destabilization campaign.” “Sonia Mabrouk conducts her programs with nuance, professionalism and independence,” the executive said.
