France Culture’s Florian Delorme Addresses Bias and Musical Interruptions in Programming

To answer questions from listeners, Florian Delorme, acting director of France Culture, is on the microphone of Emmanuelle Daviet

Emmanuelle Daviet: A number of listeners are concerned about the bias in the treatment of information about the pension reform. They believe that since the start of the conflict, the floor has essentially been given to opponents. I read you a message that sums up the content of those I received: “I deplore as a listener, all the prejudice, the constant orientation of the newspapers of information. There is a radicality in the treatment of partial and oriented information and this radicality imposes itself day after day. Auditor for more than 30 years, I quickly turn off my post when there are news reports. It is not because the remarks do not go in the direction of my principles or my ideas. It’s just that you don’t make a diversity of opinions and points of view”.
Florian Delorme, what does this type of reflection inspire in you?

Florian Delorme : I obviously hear the comment and the concern of this listener. In addition, you should know that obviously, it is a daily concern, for us, of course. In response, I will say two things. First, there are obviously the facts of the news. That is to say that in recent weeks, of course, we have focused a lot on the mobilizations against the pension reform and that, in a way, it is on this front that the news is made and that so, naturally, there is a tendency, indeed, to put perhaps these voices and these voices of opposition more prominently. But then, obviously, our responsibility is to make sure that there are also other points of view that are heard and so that, obviously, the antenna relays a plurality of positions. That’s what I hear in his comment. And he is obviously right.
When you look a little closer, the question of plurality. If we look at the side of magazines for example, I looked at the various programs that there had been lately on this subject. There have been “Time for Debate” where we are today, a few days ago, with three guests, including the deputy Charles de Courson, Anne Levade, professor of public law, who are both clearly positioned on the right!
And I also think of “The Public Spirit” who, a few days ago, received Dominique Schnapper, Dominique Reynié, Pierre-Henri Tavoillot, Antoine Bristielle, where there were clearly defenders of the reform, which moreover earned us a certain number of emails, precisely to tell us that there was a position there, for once too macronist. There is also a morning recently on these issues, with the deputy Astrid Panosyan-Bouvet and the sociologist Dominique Méda, who did not have the same positions on this subject. There are magazines, but there are also newspapers, of course. There too, we did a little count because obviously, we have to try to objectify things. Of the ten political guests we had in the 12:30 or 10 p.m. newspapers on this theme, we had six against the reform, four to defend it. Of the eight union guests. So obviously, there, they are rather against it. Obviously, even if it was not the case for all, there was one who was favorable. There are also those who are, I was going to say, neither on one side nor on the other, that is to say guests who can be linked globally to this theme, but who do not show any bias . Researchers, political scientists, historians, and there, there were 34 of them.
The idea, when we look at all of this, is to see that in fact our ambition, it is in the writing of France Culture, but on France Culture in general, to offer a plurality of points of view in order to form his own opinion. And I have the impression, when I see things, that this plurality is there, that we hear in a certain way all the components of society. These are obviously things that we can probably improve. We obviously continue to pay very close attention to all that, knowing that it is very complicated. Because when we talk about the right balance, the right balance, obviously there is something extremely subjective in all this, each placing the cursor according to its own positioning. But there is still an indicator. I’m going to finish with that Emmanuelle, if you allow me, which makes it possible to objectify things there too, it is the speaking time of politicians on our antenna which is obviously measured, including outside the moments of the campaign, by ARCOM. And in this case, it is true that we were a little behind the government and the majority, as well as for the National Rally which chose to be very much behind in this political sequence. We know it well, but we are working to fill all that and I have good hope that we will get there.

Emmanuelle Daviet : Let us now address a subject of tension for listeners musical breaks. Excerpt from a message received at the mediation service. “I have noticed for several months that the programs of France Culture are systematically interrupted by musical tracks during the program. These interruptions are most often unrelated to the theme of the show. They bring nothing and are even an embarrassment to the fluidity of the words exchanged. Is this a directive that producers have received and if so, why and what is the interest? But this listener nonetheless thanks the channel for the overall quality of the programming.
And then another listener evokes massively Anglo-Saxon musical sequences which come to spoil the pleasure of listening.
Florian Delorme, how do you respond to these comments that we receive very regularly?

Florian Delorme : First, I’m not quite aligned with the wording, even because a musical break, I don’t find myself in there. We have a different conception of music at France Culture. When we broadcast music specifically, it’s not to pass the time, but to say something and to illustrate a point. In any case, it is in this logic that I think about things. There are certain programs on France Culture which are devoted to music, but each time it is to say something about a culture, cultures and our world in general. I am thinking, for example, of his musical series of Zoe Sfez. It’s always to say many other things than just music, in a way. So, obviously, music has its place on France Culture. But in my opinion, it is not intended to be an interlude, a spoken word. And just to be completely complete, no, there are no guidelines, although I think in reality everyone is pretty much aligned with this idea of ​​where music should fit.