Ouest-France, Justice and Freedom

I had the chance to visit the Ouest-France newspaper’s printing plant and editorial office. In front of this beautiful industrial facility, we talked about technology, but also, and above all, journalism.

In the printing plant, the paper unrolls like a ribbon between the presses. It runs so fast that the eye can’t follow it. Suddenly, it’s folded between scrolling clamps. It’s fascinating, hypnotizing. We’re told how a newspaper is produced, like a river: information flows from the editorial office to coordination to printing to distribution, then circulates between readers, linking them together.

Newspaper printing circuit through the presses, with the silhouette of a journalist at the beginning and the silhouette of a reader at the end.

It’s like a river that never stops : it flows day and night. Every day they print in the middle of the night. Every day they travel hundreds of kilometers at dawn to deliver. Every day, paper subscribers get the paper for breakfast.

A newspaper makes society.

And a newspaper like this makes for a more humane society.

Ouest-France is a newspaper apart. Did you know that its sole shareholder is the Association for the Support of the Principles of Humanist Democracy ? Not only it’s a non-profit organization but also it is committed to the values of democracy and humanism. It’s so good to know that this can still exist today.

At a time when it seems that money is king, and every major corporation is being negotiated with the sole aim of making more money, here’s a daily paper with a circulation of over 600,000 that operates without paying dividends to anyone, and is also working towards a fairer, freer society.

The newspaper’s motto is printed under its title : Justice and Freedom.

Reproduction of the Ouest-France newspaper letterhead

In concrete terms, this means putting ourselves at the service of the reader, so that he or she understands the facts, can form his or her own opinion, and is therefore free to make his or her own choices, and is therefore also responsible for them. I quote Ouest-France: “Life is democratic when the relationships that bind each man to others within the various communities and institutions are established in complete freedom and responsibility”.

So, the editorial team is committed to,

Talking about everyone :

Printing tongs holding sheets inscribed with Ouest-France's principles on talking about everyone.
Ethique Ouest-France to talk about all audiences : giving a voice to the voiceless / cover neighbourhoods and rural areas / respect the speech, tone and expressions of interlocutors / avoid definitive or overly incisive

Respect us all :

Printing tongs holding sheets on which are inscribed the principles of the Ouest-France charter on the treatment of news items.
Ouest-France charter for news coverage : say without harming / show without shocking / denounce without condemn / testify without aggression

And all women :

Printing tongs holding sheets inscribed with the first principles of Ouest-France's charter on the place of women.
Ouest-France Charter for the place of women : never ask a woman a question you would never ask a man / avoid unnecessary physical descriptions and caricatures / interview women experts / balance the number of women and men in the subjects

And to translate the world with honesty and realism :

Printing tongs holding sheets on which are inscribed the first principles of Ouest-France's ecological charter
Ouest-France charter for ecological issues : take the side of the scientific consensus / do not confine the subject to one heading / don’t underestimate reality / provide readers with keys and talk about solutions

But Ouest France doesn’t just respectfully pass on the word, it is also a committed newspaper that takes a stand in line with its values :

Printing tongs holding sheets of paper inscribed with Ouest-France's main positions.
Ouest-France’s known positions : against the death penalty and for the abolition of torture / for the construction of Europe / in defence of freedom of education / for dignified prison conditions

All this has given me a lot of insight into their choice to offer international news and very local news in the same paper. Almost a dedicated paper edition for each major town in the west of France. It’s no mean feat to design, write, print and distribute. They haven’t taken the easy way out. But they do it because they are convinced that exercising democracy and humanism on a day-to-day basis and close to home is intimately linked to the major debates that are sweeping the world and is what makes them tangible.

A truly inspiring visit. Thank you to those who welcomed us.

Lucile 

PS : Do you run an industrial production business and want to show it off through images ? Contact me.

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