It began with a handful of journalists disillusioned with the state of the country’s established media, a hefty bank loan and an even larger injection of optimism.
Ten years on, the French investigative website Mediapart has become a thorn in the side of politicians, public figures and those with something to hide.
In the past decade, the site, which claims no particular political affiliation, has led the news agenda, breaking some of France’s biggest scandals involving politicians across the ideological spectrum.
Its investigative teams dig with a dog-with-a-bone tenacity for as long as it takes, and if, in the beginning, its high-profile targets were tempted to deny its accusations and denigrate its journalists, most think twice these days before shooting the Mediapart messenger.
The website also makes money. Lots of it, despite having no advertising, no public subsidies and no wealthy patrons, being entirely financed by reader subscriptions (currently €110 a year, €50 for students, pensioners and the unemployed or those on low incomes).
“Mediapart is unique,” says Edwy Plenel, Mediapart’s editorial director and co-founder. He points to a poster on the wall of the website’s conference room. The slogan reads: “Mediapart: only our readers can buy us.”
When it started in 2008, the website had 25 staff. It now has 80, including a US correspondent, an English-language site, a free “Club” that runs parallel to the main site with blogs and commentaries and is branching out into live video blogs and television …
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Guardian
