... the sad news keep on. This time the crisis arrived to the newspaper which once had an editorial stating that "Notre pauvreté est la mesure de notre indépendance.": Libération. The founding manifesto of this newspaper was: "Depend on the people, not on advertisers or banks".
After some years of economic problems (which is not surprising in the press), this statement changed to: "L’indépendance c’est très simple : Il faut gagner de l’argent" and the solution seemed to accept the investment of the financer Edouard de Rothschild, who had no experience about working in journalism before and that even had financed rightist electoral campaigns, being also a Sarkozy's close friend (why lately everyone seems to be a close friend of Sarkozy?): "A New York educated, horse-racing enthusiast, Mr Rothschild is a friend of the conservative interior minister and presidential hopeful Nicolas Sarkozy, with whom he had holidayed. He is adamant that his friendship with Mr Sarkozy has not influenced his attitude to Libé."
But, even if the news at the time seemed to try to show the opposite, who can say that this offer didn't have any second intentions? As it is said by Yves Rebours and Arnaud Rindel, it's difficult to believe that the independence of a newspaper is independent of the demandings of profit, which are set by the main stockholder, when these ones are able to affect the jounalists' work condicions, their name and their position.
First of all, it was Rothschild himself who said that one of the reasons for this investment was the "influence sur la société" and that it is "un peu une vue utopique de vouloir différencier rédaction et actionnaire » (France 2, 30.9.2005)".
This was even confirmed by Le Point: "Vingt millions d’euros, c’est beaucoup d’argent, même pour un Rothschild. 'Et en même temps, poursuit ce banquier [a banker who knows him well], ce n’est pas beaucoup pour mettre la main sur une affaire connue.' De celles qui vous projettent en pleine lumière. Libé, c’est une institution du 'microcosme', un journal qui a plus d’influence que son tirage".
However, the mainstream idea was always that Rothschild's proposal was only related with an economic, almost philantropic, interest and that he would respect the identity of the newspaper, as himself stated several times: "Je m’engage fermement et personnellement [à] préserver l’indépendance de la rédaction, [...] Et, à ce titre, sachez que je considère les droits de la SCPL comme inaliénables et qu’ils seront garantis.". About the question "Libération sera-t-il à l’abri des pressions économiques et politiques?", Edouard de Rothschild has confirmed once more this promisse: "Oui, sans équivoque. Je crois avoir été assez clair sur la question de l’indépendance du journal.".
Furthermore, and one of the main contraditions, Rothschild has also stated that Serge July would keep all his fonctions: "Une chance d’autant plus grande que l’offre du financier inclut - 'à la demande d’Edouard de Rothschild', précise Serge July - l’assurance pour lui 'de poursuivre à la tête de Libération, en cumulant les fonctions de président et de directeur général, jusqu’en 2012'...". Even July, after this promise, was convinced that accepting Rothschild proposal wouldn't change anything in the heart of the newspaper: "Notre journal, affirme-t-il dans les colonnes de Libération (22.01.2005), n’entre pas dans un groupe puissant, où nous aurions été contraints, irrésistiblement, de nous fondre, il s’associe avec un actionnaire qui, s’il sera le premier de l’entreprise, sera minoritaire, et destiné à le rester, comme il en a pris l’engagement. Ce nouvel associé souscrit à la charte d’indépendance et au pacte d’actionnaires qui sont les socles de notre indépendance entrepreneuriale et journalistique.".
Surprinsingly, or not, according to the last news, July and Louis Dreyfus will leave the newspaper, under the pressure of Rothschild: "Selon 'L'Express', l'actionnaire principal est prêt à signer un nouveau chèque, d'un montant compris entre 10 à 15 millions d'euros, 'à une seule condition: le départ de Serge July'."
After some years of economic problems (which is not surprising in the press), this statement changed to: "L’indépendance c’est très simple : Il faut gagner de l’argent" and the solution seemed to accept the investment of the financer Edouard de Rothschild, who had no experience about working in journalism before and that even had financed rightist electoral campaigns, being also a Sarkozy's close friend (why lately everyone seems to be a close friend of Sarkozy?): "A New York educated, horse-racing enthusiast, Mr Rothschild is a friend of the conservative interior minister and presidential hopeful Nicolas Sarkozy, with whom he had holidayed. He is adamant that his friendship with Mr Sarkozy has not influenced his attitude to Libé."
But, even if the news at the time seemed to try to show the opposite, who can say that this offer didn't have any second intentions? As it is said by Yves Rebours and Arnaud Rindel, it's difficult to believe that the independence of a newspaper is independent of the demandings of profit, which are set by the main stockholder, when these ones are able to affect the jounalists' work condicions, their name and their position.
First of all, it was Rothschild himself who said that one of the reasons for this investment was the "influence sur la société" and that it is "un peu une vue utopique de vouloir différencier rédaction et actionnaire » (France 2, 30.9.2005)".
This was even confirmed by Le Point: "Vingt millions d’euros, c’est beaucoup d’argent, même pour un Rothschild. 'Et en même temps, poursuit ce banquier [a banker who knows him well], ce n’est pas beaucoup pour mettre la main sur une affaire connue.' De celles qui vous projettent en pleine lumière. Libé, c’est une institution du 'microcosme', un journal qui a plus d’influence que son tirage".
However, the mainstream idea was always that Rothschild's proposal was only related with an economic, almost philantropic, interest and that he would respect the identity of the newspaper, as himself stated several times: "Je m’engage fermement et personnellement [à] préserver l’indépendance de la rédaction, [...] Et, à ce titre, sachez que je considère les droits de la SCPL comme inaliénables et qu’ils seront garantis.". About the question "Libération sera-t-il à l’abri des pressions économiques et politiques?", Edouard de Rothschild has confirmed once more this promisse: "Oui, sans équivoque. Je crois avoir été assez clair sur la question de l’indépendance du journal.".
Furthermore, and one of the main contraditions, Rothschild has also stated that Serge July would keep all his fonctions: "Une chance d’autant plus grande que l’offre du financier inclut - 'à la demande d’Edouard de Rothschild', précise Serge July - l’assurance pour lui 'de poursuivre à la tête de Libération, en cumulant les fonctions de président et de directeur général, jusqu’en 2012'...". Even July, after this promise, was convinced that accepting Rothschild proposal wouldn't change anything in the heart of the newspaper: "Notre journal, affirme-t-il dans les colonnes de Libération (22.01.2005), n’entre pas dans un groupe puissant, où nous aurions été contraints, irrésistiblement, de nous fondre, il s’associe avec un actionnaire qui, s’il sera le premier de l’entreprise, sera minoritaire, et destiné à le rester, comme il en a pris l’engagement. Ce nouvel associé souscrit à la charte d’indépendance et au pacte d’actionnaires qui sont les socles de notre indépendance entrepreneuriale et journalistique.".
Surprinsingly, or not, according to the last news, July and Louis Dreyfus will leave the newspaper, under the pressure of Rothschild: "Selon 'L'Express', l'actionnaire principal est prêt à signer un nouveau chèque, d'un montant compris entre 10 à 15 millions d'euros, 'à une seule condition: le départ de Serge July'."
* "Liberty or death", considered the declaration of the Brazilian independence from Portugal, pronounced by Dom Pedro near the Ipiranga river on the 7th September 1822.
(Text previously published here.)
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