Montpellier (AFP)

The regional newspaper Midi Libre (La Dépêche Group) announced Wednesday an acceleration of the digitalization of its content and greater openness to its readers, some of whom will take part, every 15 days, in the development of the newspaper.

"We had fallen a long way in recent years, it's time to accelerate, to respond to Gafa, fake news and + infox +," said Bernard Maffre, CEO of Journaux du Midi, group including Midi Libre, The Independent and Center-Presse, during the inauguration of the new premises of his agency Midi Libre of Montpellier.

The local Sète will switch completely in digital, in an experimental way, for a year, through articles and videos published online continuously.

The daily, which has a paid circulation of 90,000 copies on weekdays and 130,000 on weekends, will also generalize its podcasts. After a first series, this summer, of podcast dedicated to the big news of the region, three new formats will be created. "One will summarize in brief the news, the other, longer, will tell regional stories, and the third will answer questions from young people aged 8 to 12 years," said Olivier Biscaye, editor of Midi Free. A free application, dedicated to the leisure and culture of Montpellier, will also be downloadable from this autumn.

To counter the erosion of its print distribution (-8% in 2018 compared to 2017), Midi Libre relies on digital subscriptions (+ 44% in 18 months): "We hope to quickly double the number of subscribers which are currently 10,000, "said Claire Charbonnel, Deputy Director of Midi Libre. The daily's website claims 500,000 hits a day.

Readers will also be invited for discussions with the editorial staff and some of them will even participate in writing conferences, and will take part once a fortnight from mid-October at the group's headquarters, at the development of the newspaper, "a totally innovative approach in France", according to Olivier Biscaye: "We want a less downward relationship with the readers.This is to put us closer to people, to understand what they want, the answers they want. "

Acquired in 2015 by the La Dépêche Group, Midi Libre employs 700 people, has a turnover of 110 million euros, and has 14 editions.

© 2019 AFP