Paris (AFP)
Mediapart saw its activity and profits increase in 2019, thanks to a jump in its number of subscribers, in a year in which the site multiplied the revelations and took advantage of a news provided in its fields of predilection.
Last year, the 100% digital media recorded "historic financial results", underlined during a press conference its co-founder Edwy Plenel, proving according to him that in cruising speed, Mediapart, with its economic model without advertising or public aid and based solely on subscriptions from readers (98% of turnover), is profitable over the long term.
The number of subscribers increased by 13% last year, with nearly 170,000 active and paying subscribers at the end of 2019, said co-founder Marie-Hélène Smiejan, making Edwy Plenel say that the milestone of 200,000 subscribers is no longer a dream".
A dynamic that, according to the co-founder, has fueled "solid growth" in turnover (+ 22% to 16.8 million euros), current profit (+ 80% to 4.4 million), and net profit (+ 16% to 2.3 million).
According to the team of the online newspaper, this reflects a year rich in revelations of all kinds, from the Rugy affair to the testimony of Adèle Haenel, passing by the lead of Notre-Dame de Paris and the police violence, and a very extensive news in its fields of predilection, in particular social and societal movements for which Mediapart is committed.
If the online media does not profile its subscribers, its officials say they see a rejuvenation and an enlargement of its audience, a phenomenon which partly guides its development axes: Mediapart will notably increase its video broadcasts of demonstrations and social movements and modernize its mobile app.
The online media has also strengthened its writing on themes such as ecology and will continue its work around police violence, by extending the "Allo Place Beauvau" project launched with journalist David Dufresne.
The newspaper, whose staff has almost tripled since its birth (94 people, including 48 journalists) also protected last year from any "predation" of its capital, by setting up an innovative legal structure.
Its shares now belong to a new non-profit structure, the Fund for a Free Press, via the Society for the Protection of the Independence of Mediapart, a montage which, according to its inventors, guarantees the capital of the online newspaper.
The Mediapart team has finally indicated that the third edition of its festival, supposed to be held at the end of March in Paris, could be postponed until mid-June due to the new coronavirus. The event drew 5,000 people last year.
© 2020 AFP