“Before February 24, a correspondent in Kiev was not a war reporter. » Newsrooms must keep this evidence in mind, says Laura-Maï Gaveriaux, war reporter for seven years. Noting flaws in the equipment of some journalists, she set up, with two colleagues, a convoy to ship ballistic and medical equipment to Ukraine.
“Some have the support of their editorial staff and others, often young freelancers, not at all”, she laments. Since then, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has announced the opening, on Wednesday March 9, of the Center for Press Freedom in Lviv, in order to provide bullet-proof vests and helmets, as well as financial and psychological assistance to journalists on the spot.
→ MAINTENANCE. War in Ukraine: “Vladimir Putin is not a tyrant who wakes up”
Since the start of the war, the French media have sent numerous journalists. Thus, two reporters from The cross : “Fabrice Deprez is in Odessa, he knows the region well and speaks Russian. As for François d’Alançon in Lviv, he has experience in the field of war, having covered the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia in particular., explains Thomas Hofnung, head of the daily world service. Experience seems to be the key word for editorial staff. RMC has for example decided to send Nicolas Poincaré, “who covered Rwanda and the Balkans”specifies Emmanuel Renard, editorial director.
Experience often rhymes with caution. “We never send our journalists to the front. This also corresponds to our editorial line: we prefer to focus on human stories, social or economic subjects., argues Carolin Ollivier, editor-in-chief of Arte Journal. To ensure the safety of their journalists, all the media approached by The cross ensures that they remain in constant contact with them, provide them with the appropriate equipment and organize shifts so that no one stays on site for more than twenty days.
Communication and propaganda
Reporting from Ukraine does not currently pose a major problem, unlike the Russian field. Friday, March 4, the Duma adopted restrictions, threatening the publication of information relating to the conflict with a sentence of up to fifteen years in prison. The cross therefore decided to suspend the publications of its correspondent in Moscow. “We have requested legal expertise, in order to know under what conditions he will be able to exercise his profession without risk of reprisals”, says Thomas Hofnung. After having stopped the work of its teams in Moscow for a few days, France Télévisions indicates that it will resume its interventions on Wednesday March 9, in the same way as, across the Channel, the BBC.
Because war also involves communication and propaganda. “We limit ourselves to information verified in the field or by recognized press agencies.explains Carolin Ollivier. We are also soliciting a lot of testimonials from local journalists. »“You have to say what you know, from what source you know it, but also what you don’t know and why”adds Frank Moulin, editorial director of RTL.
Uncover false information
To flush out false information, several media were organized long before the war. At RadioFrance, “Franceinfo’s anti-disinformation unit”, specifies Vincent Giret, director of information. At AFP, “a cell of fact-check employing 120 journalists”, explains Boris Bachorz, Director of Communications. Or even at France Télévisions, with “Les Révélateurs”, a structure responsible for verifying the origin of the images found on social networks: “We are facing a big campaign of manipulation from both sides. You cannot imagine the number of “debunked” images (demystified, Editor’s note) since two weeks “adds Etienne Leenhardt.
→ GRANDSTAND. Ukraine: “The Russian authorities are waging war on the truth”
“Today, we all have access to raw informationexplains Thomas Hofnung. Historians and geopoliticians help us understand the relations between Russia and Ukraine, the consequences of the annexation of Crimea in 2014…” On Radio France stations, many experts are invited daily, in morning shows but also in programs (“Interception” on France Inter, “L’esprit public” on France Culture, etc.). But you still have to choose the specialists carefully, warns Carolin Ollivier: “We rely on institutions that we know and we think a lot regarding our angles. » It remains to be seen how the treatment of this war, part to last, will adapt over time.
