To begin, could you introduce yourself and your work at Brut?
We cover our stories in video format. So we are looking for reports, footage and video interviews.
What exactly do you publish on Snapchat? What does it mean to be a “Snapchat journalist”?
Our stories have no voiceover and no presenter on camera. They rely on illustrative footage and a caption banner. Our main page, Brut Story, currently has around 2 million subscribers. Brut Pop has 1.5 million, Brut Doc over a million, and we also have Brut Classics and Brut Sport.
How do you choose your topics? What are the criteria?
Moreover, the availability of video footage to illustrate the story is one of the main criteria. Snapchat in particular is a platform where video and images are heavily showcased. So if we cannot find footage, we do not cover the story. Very important stories are an exception, of course. For example, if Emmanuel Macron speaks about young people, we know we will be able to obtain the footage. On the other hand, a crime story works very well on TikTok. But on Snapchat, it often lacks images. The other constraint with this type of story is that we cannot use the words “alcohol” or “domestic violence” in our thumbnails: we have to add an asterisk. The same applies to images of cigarettes or bottles. These platforms have a lot of rules. During the wildfires in summer 2026, this caused us problems, because we were not allowed to show smoke.
How do you monitor the news?
I spend a lot of time on social media. I follow many media outlets, particularly English-language ones. We know that if a trend starts in the UK, it reaches France the following week. For example, “aura battles” arrived very quickly from the United States.
There are also all the emails we receive, particularly from press officers. They are often very useful to me for food and culture topics: they manage several venues or several artists. For breaking news or health, I rely on them less. They often represent brands, and I refuse to let my content appear promotional. For example, I did a long piece on CBD and synthetic cannabinoids, and I did not want any conflict of interest by approaching one brand rather than another.
How can an email become an interesting story for you?
When I receive an email, the subject line already determines whether I open it or delete it.
I sometimes set a few aside. For example, a press officer who regularly sends me press releases about restaurants sent me one about a Brazilian restaurant owner. Her story caught my attention. It had storytelling that met my criteria: it was a sandwich restaurant, perfect for the summer season, and the owner could cook the recipe for me live. That press release led to a “Brut Food” piece this summer.
But generally speaking, it is fairly rare for us to build on a press release received by email. In fact, I find them rather poorly targeted. I feel that press officers expect us to do the sorting. They do not really ask themselves what might interest us. I also find that the press releases I receive focus too often on Paris-based topics, whereas we seek to cover stories that do not concern only the capital.
In your view, what mistakes should be avoided in a press release?
Since we want to plan our stories ahead and stay one step ahead, receiving a press release on the very day of the news is already too late.
I mainly read email subject lines. There is no point adding the tag [PRESS RELEASE]: it takes up all the space and hides the rest.
In addition, I sometimes sense a lack of knowledge about our outlet and our formats. I occasionally receive an email presenting the week’s music releases, stating “if you have a format on music releases…”. But anyone with some knowledge of our outlet knows that we do not cover music that way. Conversely, some people do not hesitate to ask me about our formats and topics. After my explanations, they know what to send.
This volume of press releases can become a problem when it causes me to miss important information.
What do you expect from communications professionals? What makes a good PR officer?
Since our formats are exclusively video, I meet communications professionals mainly during filming.
In this context, I appreciate those who take the time to call us beforehand to prepare the shoot properly. I need to be able to share my ideas for sequences, the interviews I would like to get, and so on. The PR officer should be a facilitator who enables me to shoot my footage, while leaving me free to report as I see fit. Anticipation is essential for us.
Furthermore, on the day an interview is filmed, a press officer must stay completely in the background. In my view, they should not intervene while I am asking my questions. Media training must be done beforehand.
At an event, I expect a good press officer to come and introduce themselves and put me in touch with the people I need to meet.
Finally, to what extent are press conferences still useful in your view? What role do in-person meetings play in press relations?
At Brut, we do not really attend press conferences. It is more efficient to send me a press release and call me for 20 minutes to explain the topic, rather than have me travel for an hour to a conference when I am not even sure the subject interests me. The timing often does not suit us either. A conference at 10:30 am disrupts our workflow. Some topics are exceptions, notably sport, for example a conference dedicated to the World Cup with Zinedine Zidane.
Recently, however, I have been trying to organise lunches or breakfasts with press officers. These meetings are useful when the person manages several sectors, for example hotels and restaurants. Meeting in person builds genuine relationships. That is where good stories take shape.
Read also:
- Gaëlle Borgia (France 24, TV5MONDE): "The problem is that some communications professionals do not understand how a television correspondent works"
- PR & Media training: succeeding in an interview (live or recorded) and handling difficult questions. Advice from Stéphanie Laurent.
- How to effectively target journalists when distributing a press release ?
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