Brut, a french digital media which is re exploring our access to information
A media, whose first mission is to fight fake news
20 billion is the number of views that Brut reached in 2020. In only four years, it has managed to become the leading and powerful social news medium ahead of the famous BBC.(https://www.brut.media/us). Founded in 2016 by four former producers of the French television channel, Canal +, Brut is a 100 % digital media.
A media known for its very innovative format
Brut is what we call a « pure player ». The main particularity of the media is that it is only present on social network. Famous on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube but also Tik Tok and SnapChat, the visual identity of the media stays identical. The format is particularly precise and recognizable. Always in a video format, these are two to ten minutes video of people being interviewed. Always facing the camera, these videos are accompanied by subtitles to be watched with or without sound.
The objective is to correspond to the social media user’s practices and more precisely to young people’s ones, the main target of Brut. Indeed, by being purely digital Brut seeks to democratize information and especially to keep young people informed.( https://www.bpifrance.fr/A-la-une/Actualites/Brut-un-media-en-ligne-devenu-une-reference-mondiale-51759) It’s formats allows it to meet the needs of its target : get the maximum amount of information in a minimum time.The most interesting is that Brut was initially founded to fight fake news on their own ground: social networks. A strategy that helps people regaining confidence in information and more broadly in media.
A powerful media thanks to its editorial line
« What make the strength of Brut are clearly its values », are the words of Guillaume Lacroix, CEO of Brut, during an interview on the french television channel BFM TV.( https://www.bfmtv.com/economie/replay-emissions/good-morning-business/guillaume-lacroix-brut-brut-devient-le-premier-media-social-en-europe-devant-la-bbc-02-11_VN-202011020022.html). Above all, Brut is known for treating the news but always through a social prism. By showing testimonies, the media gives the impression of being entirely objective and this is what pleases its community. Against all odds, it is the crisis of the yellow vests that has strengthened the Brut notoriety. While a large majority of French people accused the media of not respecting the truth, Brut was congratulated for its ability to treat information in a fair and non-politically oriented way.
From an economic point on view, like social networks, Brut is completely free for its users. However, the audience is so important, that is inevitably attracting the attention of many brands. This is why their business model is based on a very particular form of advertising. As Brut is known for its community and its strong ecological and social commitment, brands often call on Brut’s editorial expertise to reinforce their ethical dimension. Today, many media use this new form of advertising that merges journalism and marketing, it’s what we call brand content. Nevertheless, in order not to disappoint its community, Brut cannot work with certain brands such as Mc Donalds for example, which do not respect enough values.
Brut : a strategic policy instrument to reach young people
As Guillaume Lacroix said in the same interview « In France, if Brut was as television channel, it would be the leader among the generation y and z among TF1 ». Indeed, the success with young people is so strong that politicians choose more and more this media to reach young people directly. For example, last month the french president Emmanuel Macron did a live on Brut to answer to young people’s questions. Since then, laws on menstrual precariousness have been voted. Without this very special format and the commitment of the community, this issue would almost certainly not have been voted by politicians.
As explained above, Brut is a medium that perfectly matches our new way of consuming media and renewing our relationship to social media. Being a journalism student, it is in my opinion how information should evolve. Nevertheless, the weakness of this media is its dependance on GAFAM ( Google Amazon Facebook Apple Microsoft) and more precisely on Facebook. Tomorrow, if Facebook decides to change its algorithm and change Brut’s visibility, the media may completely disappear from the news feed and collapse economically.
