CNews (French pronunciation: [senjuz]; stylised as CNEWS, formerly i>Télé) is a French free-to-air opinion channel[1][2][3] launched on 4 November 1999 by Groupe Canal+. It provides 24-hour national and global news coverage. It is the second most watched news network in France, after BFM TV and before LCI and France Info.

CNews
CountryFrance
Programming
Picture format1080i HDTV
(downscaled to 16:9 576i for the SDTV feed)
Ownership
OwnerGroupe Canal+
Sister channelsCanal+
C8
CStar
History
Launched4 November 1999; 25 years ago (1999-11-04)
FounderChristian Dutoit
Former namesi>Télévision (1999–2002)
i>Télé (2002–2017)
Links
Websitewww.cnews.fr
Availability
Terrestrial
TNTChannel 16
Streaming media
Official websiteWatch live (in French)

i>Télé was renamed CNews on 27 February 2017. Since this change, it has taken a conservative editorial stance,[4][5][6] and is often compared to the American TV channel Fox News.[7] It has been many times warned by French regulators (ARCOM) for its failure to honestly and rigorously report news to the public or even for illegal and reprehensible speeches. Due to these infractions, it was fined €200,000 by the French audiovisual regulatory body in 2021.[8]

Despite the channel often and obviously violating the audiovisual laws and agreements for broadcasting on the free-to-air TV, it has so far never been really worried by the French authority of regulation.[9][10][11]

The channel is under the control of the media proprietor and business magnate Vincent Bolloré, who has been accused of interfering with the editorial choices of the CNews.[12]

Viewership

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According to an opinion poll conducted by IFOP, in April 2022 during the 2022 French presidential election, 40% of CNEWS's viewers voted for Marine Le Pen (26%) and Éric Zemmour (14%), 26% for Emmanuel Macron and 16% for Jean-Luc Mélenchon.[13]

Controversy

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According to satirical and investigative media Le Canard Enchaîné and leftist activist group Sleeping Giants France, CNews, owned by Groupe Bolloré and Vincent Bolloré, clearly supports conservative and far-right journalists, who are promoting hate speech. Éric Zemmour, in particular, was condemned on 17 September 2020 for inciting racial hatred.[14]

CNEWS is also sometimes criticised for lack of viewpoint diversity, as most of the channel's contributors espouse views of the right-wing or are affiliated with the far-right.[15][16][17]

Given its promotion of ideas of the French far right, as well as for broadcasting fake news and conspiracy theories,[18][19][20][21] the channel has been described as a French version of Fox News.[22][7]

During the 2022 French presidential election, many observers note that CNews, regardless of the audiovisual laws and agreements, supports and favors clearly the Eric Zemmour's candidacy.[23][24][25][26][27]

After the failure of Zemmour, the channel moves gradually to the support of the National Rally,[28] in notably campaigning for it during the 2024 French legislative election.[29][30][31][32][33]

Warnings and sanctions

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CNews was warned by the French regulatory body Arcom in May 2022 for its failure to respect its "obligation to honesty and rigor in the presentation and treatment of the news". This warning, due to statements made by Ivan Rioufol [fr], followed a record €200,000 fine levied against the channel the previous year. This fine was the result of recidivism by employee Éric Zemmour whose statements had led to previous warnings.[8]

On 13 February 2024, after a case lodged by Reporters Without Borders (RWB), the Conseil d'État ordered CNews to better respect journalistic standards and diversity.[34] The February order by the Conseil d'État was followed by an intense disinformation campaign of hate speech against RWB. In July 2024, an investigation by RWB traced what it believed was the source of the disinformation campaign. This included a fake website pretending to be run by RWB hosted on a server hosting "Fan de CNews", a fansite supporting CNews. The website was run by what RWB states is a disinformation agency called Progressif Media, hosted at Bolloré's corporate group Vivendi. The main investigator, Arnaud Froger, stated that Progressif Media used "counterfeiting, concealment, cybersquatting [and] trolling" as disinformation techniques against RWB.[34]

Presenters

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Politics

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  • Julien Nény (since 2016)
  • Yoan Usaï (since 2013)
  • Loïc Signor (since 2016)
  • Hugues Dago (since 2016)

Economy and Stock Markets

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  • Marie-Sophie Carpentier (2008-2012)

Culture

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  • Olivier Benkemoun (since 1999)
  • Xavier Leherpeur (since 2013)
  • Pierre Zeni, cinema specialist (since 2016)
  • Laurent Weil (since 2016)

Business and Markets

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  • Johann Ouaki (since 2017)
  • Sandy Prenois (since 2017)

Sports

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  • Pascal Praud (since 2010)
  • Julien Pasquet (since 2009)
  • Elodie Poyade (2012, since 2016)
  • Sonia Carneiro (since 2013)
  • Thibaud Vézirian (since 2017)
  • Thibaut Geffrotin (since 2017)
  • Lyès Houhou (from Infosport+)
  • Paul Tchoukriel (from Infosport+)
  • Virginie Ramel (since 2017)
  • Arnaud Bonnin (since 2017)

Football

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  • Francesca Antoniotti
  • Raymond Aabou
  • Jean-Luc Arribart
  • Pierre Ménès
  • Gilles Verdez
  • Alain Roche
  • Bruno Ahoyo

Police-justice specialists

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  • Noémie Schulz (since 3/2016)
  • Sandra Buisson (since 2012)

"International questions" specialist

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  • Harold Hyman (since 2016)

Weather

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  • Thierry Fréret (since 2010)
  • Loïc Rousval (since 2015)
  • Alexandra Blanc (2011-2013 and since 2016)
  • Somaya Labidi

Political editors

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  • Gérard Leclerc (2017-2023)
  • Yves Thréard (since 2012)
  • Virginie Le Guay (since 2017)
  • Jean-Claude Dassier (since 2013)
  • Françoise Degois (2014-2016 and since 2017)

Regional correspondents

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  • Damien Deparnay (Lille and Nord-Pas de Calais)
  • Olivier Madinier (Lyon and Rhône-Alpes)
  • Romain Ripoteau (Languedoc-Roussillon and Midi-Pyrénées)
  • Jean-Luc Thomas (Toulouse)
  • Jean-Michel Decazes and Michaël Chaillou (Bretagne and Pays de La Loire)
  • Sébastien Bendotti (Bureau de Lyon and Rhône-Alpes)
  • David Brunet (Strasbourg)
  • Stéphanie Rouquié (Marseille)
  • Antoine Estève and Brice Bachon (Bordeaux)

Former presenters

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Editor

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  • Yann Moix (2014–2015)

Staff

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Present news anchors and analysts

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Past anchors

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Visual identity

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Logos

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Old logo of i>Télé from 2008 until 2013.

Slogans

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  • 1999–2001: "i> l'info se rapproche" (i> news is getting closer)
  • 2001–2002: "Là où ça se passe, 24 h sur 24" (Wherever it's happening, 24/7)
  • 2002–2007: "L'info en +" (News in +)
  • 2007–2008: "Toutes les infos, tout le temps" (All the news, all the time)
  • 2008–2009: "Au cœur de l'actualité" (At the heart of the news)
  • 2009–2010: "L'information avec un grand I" (News with a big I)
  • 2010–2011: "Soyez les premiers à voir les images" (Be the first to see the images)
  • 2011–2013: "Au plus près de l'actualité 24h/24" (Closer to the news 24/7)
  • 2013–2014: "Au cœur de l'événement" (At the heart of the event)
  • 2014–2017: "L'information ne s'arrête jamais" (The news never stops)
  • February - November 2017: "La chaîne info : décryptage et opinions" (The news channel: decoding and opinions)
  • November 2017 – 2021: "La chaîne info qui explique l'info" (The news channel that explains the news)
  • June 2021: "Venez avec vos convictions, vous vous ferez une opinion." (Come with your convictions, you'll form an opinion.)

References

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  1. ^ "Le Conseil d'Etat ordonne à l'Arcom de réexaminer le respect par CNews de ses obligations en matière de pluralisme". Le Monde.fr (in French). 13 February 2024. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  2. ^ "CNews, une chaîne d'opinion sur une fréquence publique - Stratégies". www.strategies.fr (in French). 31 January 2024. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  3. ^ "Des journalistes de CNews dénoncent anonymement "la fabrique quotidienne de la haine" sur la chaîne". www.laprovence.com (in French). 3 April 2024. Retrieved 5 July 2024.
  4. ^ Dalton, Matthew (24 October 2021). "French Nationalist TV Host Éric Zemmour, Inspired by Trump, Surges in Polls". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  5. ^ Onishi, Norimitsu (14 September 2021). "A Fox-Style News Network Rides a Wave of Discontent in France". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  6. ^ Amiel, Sandrine (30 November 2021). "France election: Who is Eric Zemmour and why is he so controversial?". euronews. Retrieved 9 December 2021.
  7. ^ a b Labarre, Julien (16 January 2024). "French Fox News? Audience-level metrics for the comparative study of news audience hyperpartisanship". Journal of Information Technology & Politics: 1–18. doi:10.1080/19331681.2023.2300845. ISSN 1933-1681.
  8. ^ a b Dassonville, Aude (20 May 2022). "CNews mise en demeure pour manquement à l'obligation d'honnêteté et de rigueur de l'information". Le Monde (in French).
  9. ^ "Reporters sans frontières saisit le Conseil d'Etat contre l'inaction de l'Arcom envers CNews" (in French). 14 April 2022. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
  10. ^ "CNEWS, un média d'opinion au service de l'extrême droite française". Middle East Eye édition française (in French). Retrieved 21 September 2024.
  11. ^ "C8 perd sa fréquence télé, mais pas CNews". Le HuffPost (in French). 24 July 2024. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
  12. ^ Marceau Taburet (16 February 2022). ""Stop Bolloré": un collectif dénonce l'empire médiatique "réactionnaire" du milliardaire" [Stop Bolloré: a group denounced the media empire of the billionaire as reactionary]. Libération (in French). Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  13. ^ "Sondage : Découvrez pour qui ont voté, au 1er tour de la Présidentielle, les téléspectateurs des 2 principales chaînes infos BFM TV et CNews... On est très loin des idées reçues ! (Ifop/Marianne) | Jean-Marc Morandini". www.jeanmarcmorandini.com (in French). Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  14. ^ "Eric Zemmour définitivement condamné pour provocation à la haine raciale". Le Monde. 20 September 2019. Retrieved 19 March 2022.
  15. ^ "Le CSA met en garde CNews contre " l'absence de diversité des points de vue exprimés " dans deux émissions de Pascal Praud". Le Monde.fr (in French). 27 August 2021. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  16. ^ "La ministre de la Culture "inquiète" des "atteintes à la liberté d'expression et de création" de Vincent Bolloré". Franceinfo (in French). 9 February 2023. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  17. ^ Menuge, Ewen; Peillon, Luc; Renard, Baptiste. "CNews, chaîne "pluraliste" ? Passage au crible d'une semaine d'invités sur la chaîne d'info". Libération (in French). Retrieved 30 October 2023.
  18. ^ valette, thierry paul (17 April 2020). "Covid-19: Luc Montagnier dénonce une création de laboratoire". Mediapart (in French). Retrieved 9 February 2024.
  19. ^ "CNews, première chaîne d'intox de France… avec le soutien de l'Élysée". www.telerama.fr (in French). 10 May 2021. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
  20. ^ Mathiot, Cédric. ""Face à l'info" sur CNews: Christine Kelly ou la désinformation en continu". Libération (in French). Retrieved 9 February 2024.
  21. ^ "La France est visée par une campagne de désinformation provenant de Russie, elle s'appelle CNews !". France Inter (in French). 14 June 2023. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
  22. ^ Samuel Gontier et Richard Sénéjoux (20 October 2020). "Comment CNews est devenue la Fox News française". Télérama. Retrieved 21 February 2021.
  23. ^ "Le ton monte entre CNews et Marine Le Pen à propos de Zemmour". Le Nouvel Obs (in French). 17 November 2021. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
  24. ^ "Une semaine à regarder uniquement CNews : mépris de la gauche, critique contre l'exécutif, sympathie pour Eric Zemmour" (in French). 10 January 2022. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
  25. ^ "Subscribe to read". www.ft.com. Retrieved 21 September 2024. {{cite web}}: Cite uses generic title (help)
  26. ^ "Pushing far-right agenda, French news networks shape election debate". France 24. 24 February 2022. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
  27. ^ "Sur CNews, l'échec de Zemmour comme si de rien n'était". www.arretsurimages.net. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
  28. ^ "Entre le Rassemblement national et Bolloré, le grand rapprochement". Le Nouvel Obs (in French). 29 February 2024. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
  29. ^ "Législatives 2024 : comment les médias de Vincent Bolloré orchestrent l'alliance du RN et de la droite" (in French). 16 June 2024. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
  30. ^ "CNews et C8 : en campagne pour une victoire de l'extrême droite aux élections législatives françaises ?". RTBF (in French). Retrieved 21 September 2024.
  31. ^ Piquemal, Marie. "«Stupeur», «grosse déception», «chaos» : Libé a regardé la soirée électorale sur CNews". Libération (in French). Retrieved 21 September 2024.
  32. ^ "Législatives : CNews incite ses téléspectateurs à ne pas accepter le résultat des élections si le RN ne l'emporte pas". www.telerama.fr (in French). 5 July 2024. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
  33. ^ "Législatives 2024 : les médias Bolloré ont fait campagne jusqu'au bout" (in French). 7 July 2024. Retrieved 21 September 2024.
  34. ^ a b Derrière la campagne de désinformation contre RSF, Progressif Media, une boîte d’influence sulfureuse hébergée par Vivendi, le groupe contrôlé par Bolloré [Progressif Media, an agency with a toxic reputation, hosted by Vivendi, the corporate group controlled by Bolloré, is behind the disinformation campaign against RWB] (in French), 4 July 2024, Wikidata Q127163686, archived from the original on 5 July 2024
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