To begin with, could you introduce yourself and your work at Libération?
My name is Marie-Ève Lacasse and I have been a journalist at Libération for almost five years. I write about housing, in particular “substandard housing” and the housing crisis. I take a social, economic and political approach to this beat.
How do you keep readers interested in your topics, in a context of information overload?
The youngest Libé readers affected by these problems are glad to feel represented and less alone.
I hope to spark my readers’ interest by recounting their daily lives and their difficulties. Of course, this partly comes down to the writing. I try to be as generous and precise as possible in what I tell.
What are your main sources of information when writing your articles?
My sources are mainly human stories. I am drawn to intimate narratives and to everything the concept of “home” encompasses
I question residents directly about their relationship to their housing. I ask them how they feel there and what their habits are. I also use AFP wire stories to follow news from the housing sector. It’s unavoidable.
It helps me keep track of the ministerial calendar and all the economic news in this field. I think my way of working is closer to that of a writer than a journalist. In fact, I studied literature, I did not go to journalism school, and I have a writing practice of my own alongside this job.
Are press releases useful in choosing your topics?
I pay attention to certain press releases. Those from tenants’ unions such as the Confédération nationale du logement or the DAL association (Droit au Logement, “Right to Housing”) can alert me, because they have a very particular perspective on people in substandard housing and tenants in difficulty. Communications from institutions whose news I follow closely, such as the Fondation pour le logement (formerly Fondation Abbé-Pierre), are also useful to me.
I also regularly consult the reports of the Cour des comptes (French Court of Audit) and the Conseil constitutionnel (Constitutional Council) on housing.
Whistleblowers also contact me directly on various subjects, and I am receptive to them.
To what extent can press relations help you in your work, beyond press releases?
Sometimes, but rarely, communicators can help me get in touch with the people I need to speak to for my articles. Some organize very relevant meetings.
They are particularly valuable when I have to interview business leaders or political figures. However, I don’t like it when press officers frame my interviews too tightly. I feel watched and possibly censored.
Which practices should press officers avoid, in your view?
Some press relations practices can be counterproductive. One is trying to script my subject and to pick my angle and my interviewees. I can’t read a press release that will tell me what the conclusion of my article will be.
That’s impossible, because journalism means accepting to be surprised : I don’t know what I will discover before I write an article.
Also, press officers often sit silently in on my interviews to support their clients.
I don’t appreciate this method.I also deplore other, more conventional practices. For example, mass-mailing press releases to thousands of journalists, with no targeting or distinction.
Finally, there are rules of a more subtle kind: harassing email follow-ups or attempts to make contact through every possible channel quickly become oppressive.
Finally, what are the conditions for good press relations?
Just like the journalist, the communicator must love their work. They must also “love” journalists and read their pieces carefully. That means understanding their interests and their constraints. It is an investment of time, but it makes all the difference. This approach shows real consideration for our work. And it is often on this mutual attention that a relationship of esteem is built, one that lasts much longer.
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