Five incumbents and four freelancers resigned from the editorial staff of Science et Vie on Tuesday.

They point to "disagreements" with the owner of the monthly since the summer of 2019, Reworld Media.

Journalists admit to being worried about the quality and independence of the magazine. 

Nine journalists working for Science et Vie, including almost all of the titular editors, announced on Tuesday that they had resigned from the title due to "disagreements" with the Reworld Media group, its owner since the summer of 2019.

A collective departure which concerns, in detail, five owners, four freelancers, the monthly and its specials, and risks dealing "a fatal blow" to this century-old publication, specializing in the popularization of science, according to its society of journalists ( SDJ).

No scientific expertise in the remaining editorial staff

Left at the beginning of March, the five holders are "not replaced", specified the SDJ in a press release, deploring "the total absence of scientific expertise" within the surviving editorial staff of eight holders (model maker, iconographers, etc.) , including a "last" specialist editor, "appointed deputy editor". 

The watch work and "almost all of the writing of articles" are therefore entrusted to freelancers, without "internal editorial team" to ensure "editorial cohesion", estimates the SDJ, which also represents Science and junior life, not impacted .

In addition, "the design and production of special issues were entirely outsourced and entrusted to the Com'Press agency".

Contacted by AFP, Reworld declined to comment.

Journalists worried about the quality of the monthly 

This wave of departures had been envisaged since the autumn by journalists worried about the independence and the quality of their title, threatened according to them by Reworld, a group regularly accused of maintaining the confusion between advertising space and editorial content, by outsourcing their production.

Among their grievances: the lack of staff - about twenty journalists worked on the title before its takeover by Reworld, according to the SDJ - but also the management of the website by "content managers" who are not journalists.

Or the appointment of an editorial director and an editor without scientific expertise. 

A futile three-day strike

In September, their predecessor, Hervé Poirier, announced his sudden departure after 21 years in the house followed, in January, by Mathilde Fontez, deputy editor, recalls the SDJ.

In the meantime, the editorial staff went on strike for three days, voted a motion of no confidence against the management and collected numerous testimonies of support from readers and the scientific community.

In vain.

The monthly sold more than 180,000 copies per month in 2020, according to the Alliance for Press and Media Figures (ACPM).