About Médianes

Strengthening independent journalism

Founded in 2020 in France, Médianes is a not-for-profit media outlet, consultancy, and peer network dedicated to strengthening independent journalism across Europe. Combining strategy, marketing, and design expertise, Médianes helps both established and emerging outlets produce high-quality journalism, build sustainable business models, and grow with their audiences. Its mission: to reinforce editorial, financial, and technical independence through a holistic, product-centered approach. Médianes’ programs and publications reach over 5,000 media professionals across the continent.

Inform

A media to understand and act: we analyze the editorial, economic, and technological transformations of the industry and share resources to help evolve practices and strengthen media independence.

Support

A studio to make media independence concrete: we support media leaders in developing sustainable models built with and for their audiences, combining design, marketing, tech, and management expertise. Want to know more? Here's an English-speaking version of our offer.

Unite

A network so no one moves forward alone: we connect independent media actors across Europe to foster mutual support, shared resources, and lasting spaces for collaboration.

Our vision

Since our creation, we’ve been helping independent media leaders at every stage of their journey — from concept to growth — through a 360° approach that connects the editorial, strategic, economic, technical, and managerial dimensions of their work.

We believe in journalism that puts communities first. Whether you’re launching a new publication or transforming an existing one, Médianes helps you design your own path — one rooted in purpose, sustainability, and audience connection.

From newsletters and podcasts to print magazines, digital platforms, and social media, we help media teams develop, engage, and monetize their audiences — while cultivating collaboration, shared learning, and collective strength across the independent media ecosystem.

A media to understand and act

We publish insights, analyses, and resources to help media professionals navigate and respond to the editorial, economic, and technological shifts transforming journalism. Our goal is to advance industry practices and strengthen the independence of media organizations across Europe.

Articles, books, strategic monitoring newsletters, practical guides, podcasts, and events: over 5,000 founders, news executives, journalists, and students turn to Médianes to develop their projects and grow their audiences.

What we do

We build, support, and connect independent media through editorial insight, strategic expertise, and peer learning. Médianes acts both as a media outlet and a professional resource hub, sharing concrete tools and collective intelligence to help media teams grow stronger and more independent.

• Publishing medianes.org: Our website shares analyses, strategies, and tools to create, manage, and sustain independent media.
• Newsletters: Three flagship newsletters reach over 5,000 media professionals every month:
  • Stratégie — sharing in-depth analysis, best practices, and key insights for media leaders.
  • Les 10 liens — a weekly curation of media innovation, research, and opportunities.
  • Coulisses — an insider newsletter written by our team, offering behind-the-scenes reflections on Médianes’ projects and field learnings.
• Podcast: Chemins gives voice to media founders and practitioners, sharing experiences from the field.
• Book publishing: In 2024, we released Créer un média (“Create a Media Outlet”), a practical guide for launching independent and socially engaged media, gathering our methods, advice, and case studies.
• Social media: on LinkedIn and Instagram, we share updates, opportunities, and inspirations from across the independent media ecosystem.
• Events: We organize gatherings such as Sphera Media Lab, Le Festival Imprimé (2021–2023) for socially-engaged journalism, Media Off-Site retreats for media leaders, and international events including a 2023 conference in New York and participation in the International Journalism Festival in Perugia.
• Guides and resources: We create thematic guides, frameworks, and toolkits to support media development and innovation.
• Education: We regularly teach and speak in journalism schools, helping future professionals connect editorial, economic, and design thinking in their media practice.

A studio to make media independence concrete

We help media leaders and their teams build sustainable, audience-centered models by combining expertise in design, marketing, technology, and management. Our approach turns independence into something concrete—editorial, economic, and technical—by aligning strategy, product, and people.

What we do

We support media organizations at every stage of their development, from vision to implementation, helping them grow, engage, and sustain their audiences.

Our key areas of expertise:

• Marketing & Audience — Build audience-centered business models and sustainable revenue strategies.
• Editorial Strategy — Clarify, strengthen, and expand your editorial vision.
• Design & Identity — Create meaningful interfaces and visual systems that serve your mission.
• Management & Project leadership — Guide teams through change while preserving core values.
• Tech & Product — Transform ideas into digital products and tools that empower journalists and audiences.
• Admin & Funding — Secure and support your projects through solid structures and grant strategies.

Our references

We work with over 150 newsrooms across France and Europe, from established outlets to emerging, impact-driven projects. Around 70% of our collaborations involve media with strong social, democratic, or ecological commitments.

Our portfolio reflects the diversity of today’s media ecosystem — including major news organizations, independent creators, NGOs, publishing houses, and journalism schools.

We’ve supported projects such as: Le Monde, RFI, POLITICO, Libération, Le Monde diplomatique, France 24, Mediabask, 60 Millions de Consommateurs, Beaux Arts Magazine, Reporters Without Borders, La Déferlante, Vert, StreetPress, Disclose, Contexte, Arrêt sur images, Contexte, AOC, The Balkans Voices (CFI), The Dial, Basta, Kometa, Les Jours, Louie Media, INA, etc.

⟶ To discover our work, you can have a look here.

Le Programme Médianes

Launched in 2024, Le Programme Médianes is a nine-month collective support program for founders of emerging, independent, and socially engaged media.
Twice a year, ten founders receive guidance from our team and a network of experts through masterclasses, workshops, and personalized coaching covering marketing, management, leadership, monetization, and design.
The program helps participants step back, strengthen their strategy, and bring their projects to the next level.

⟶ To learn more, visit our "Le Programme Médianes" page [In French]

"How to create a media" training

Our “How to create” course is designed for anyone wishing to launch or professionalize an independent media project. Through seven practical modules, participants learn how to define their positioning, build a sustainable business model, secure funding, and structure their editorial operations. The course is held in French and open to French-speaking participants worldwide

⟶ To learn more, visit our "How to create a media" page [In French]

Sphera: a network to connect

Since October 2024, Médianes has been coordinating Sphera, a network of independent media outlets — including 444, El Salto, Popaganda, StreetPress, Krytyka Polityczna, and VD News — that fosters editorial collaboration across Europe through shared reporting, podcasts, videos, and events.

Sphera brings together a European community of independent media that aim to promote cross-border, human-centered and socially engaged journalism. The network currently includes ten partners based in seven European countries.

As both a network and a media platform, Sphera fosters collaboration between independent media across Europe and amplifies the editorial productions born from these exchanges — with a strong focus on reaching younger European audiences.

For the past three years, Sphera has been promoting a more humane and socially engaged European journalism:

• Cross-border journalism, enabling journalists of different nationalities to work together and publish in seven languages: English, French, Italian, Spanish, Greek, Polish, and Hungarian.
• Socially engaged journalism, with a focus on the issues that animate our continent and affect us all: social justice, the climate emergency, identity, exile, and the future of our democracies.
• Human-centered journalism, rooted in daily life, that brings new and unheard voices to the surface and explores the sense of European belonging among younger generations.

In a context shaped by democratic, environmental and social challenges, Sphera helps create shared narratives and foster editorial solidarity on a European scale.

⟶ To learn more, visit the Sphera Network website.

But also...Pays, a magazine about territories.

In 2020, we co-founded the biannual magazine Pays, a journalistic guide that focuses on a new territory with each issue. This experience allows us to stay closely connected to the realities of the media we support.

Our team

For nearly 10 years, Médianes founders has been developing projects at the crossroads of entrepreneurship, journalism and media. With complementary skills, they joined forces in 2020 to create Médianes. A team that has since grown to cover and support socially engaged journalism.

• Marine Doux, Cofounder & President, Editorial Director.
• Baptiste Thevelein, Cofounder & General Manager.
• Christelle Perrin, Cofounder, Artistic Director.
• Francesca Festa, Development Director.
• Pauline Butel, Sphera Lead.
• Dorine Planté, Support Lead.
• Owen Huchon, Journalist.
• Charlène Hourdin, Developer, Digital project manager.
• Sixtine Yung, Project Manager.
• Noé Mellier, UX/UI designer.
• Sasha Tyan, Editor-in-chief of Sphera.
• Hélène Pillon, Journalist in charge of European projects.
• Gabrielle Goyer-Mével, Administrative and financial coordinator.
• Meredith Ruleman, Video Producer and English Translator.
• Marco Carlone, Italian Journalist and Translator.
• Julia Lasry, Marketing and Editorial consultant.

We also benefit from the support of media professionals, whether occasionally or more regularly, on specific assignments and internal projects. Among them

• Agathe Kupfer, a media and society journalist, analyzes the marketing and editorial strategies of media outlets for Médianes.
• Maxime Loisel has worked with us in recent months on UX web projects for POLITICO, INA, and La Déferlante.
• Julia Borel, a graphic designer and illustrator, works with us on assignments for Beaux Arts Magazine and StreetPress.

Our value proposition

Building sustainable, ethical models with full independence.

Audiences first.

We guide media in building economic models focused on audience support—through donations, subscriptions, or memberships—rather than relying on advertising or shareholders. This approach ensures quality journalism that is both sustainable and audience-driven.

Focus on management.

We believe that a sustainable business depends on stable teams. We prioritize mental health, organization, and transparent, methodical, and supportive work cultures. Our goal is to align the ambitions of leaders with the needs of both their audiences and teams.

A product-based approach to media.

We are convinced that editorial projects should be conceived at the crossroads of journalism, design, marketing and technology, at the service of audiences.

A toolbox.

We believe media should be independent of platforms, third parties, and even providers like us. Through training and knowledge-sharing, we empower newsrooms to adopt our methods and become fully self-reliant, with the resources to build sustainable models.

Our principles

We no longer identify with today's news outlet models—be it their content or their strategic, economic, and managerial approaches.

In France and Europe, Médianes proudly supports independent media that prioritize environmental and social impact and serve disadvantaged and minority communities. We are dedicated to fostering more equitable journalism and helping build new, sustainable models that ensure quality journalism responsive to its audience.

Our mission is rooted in three core principles: pluralism, freedom to inform, and independence—vital to a healthy democracy, especially amid rising threats and media consolidation.

We advocate for values such as feminism, ecology, anti-racism, inclusivity, and regional representation. Our focus is on partnering with the new generation of media leaders who are redefining both content and formats.

Media are businesses, and we prioritize labor rights, mutual support, transparency, and workplace well-being as essential for a sustainable and equitable media future.

Our business model

Médianes' core business is twofold, consisting of a for-profit studio and a non-profit media organization:

• Médianes SAS: a strategy, marketing, and graphic design studio dedicated to independent and socially-engaged media outlets. Apart from the journalists, the majority of the team is employed under this structure. Médianes SAS is funded through consulting projects the creation of digital tools for media clients, as well as a grant from the French Ministry of Culture.
• Association Médianes: a non-profit association that runs an independent media outlet recognized by the French Ministry of Culture (CPPAP). Our journalists are employed under this structure. The Médianes association is funded through media monitoring projects, translations, teaching courses at journalism schools, a grant from the French Ministry of Culture, and partial support from Médianes, the Studio. The team is currently working on increasing direct monetization sources to ensure the media's economic independence.

Contact us

• Email [email protected] and will be in touch !
• You can also follow us on LinkedIn and Instagram.