Home>Média Positif: An inspiring student initiative
09.12.2021
Média Positif: An inspiring student initiative
Article originally published on www.sciencespo.fr by the Sciences Po editorial team.
>An artificial heart created by a French company, the discovery of the gene responsible for treatment-resistant breast cancer, or a Bordeaux-based start-up specialising in recycling industrial CO2... All this information comes to you directly from a new media initiative created by Sciences Po students: Média Positif.
Conceived out of lockdown by two students currently in their first year of a Master in Public Policy, specialising in Public Administration at the School of Public Affairs (EAP), the project aims to present the news in a new, more positive light.
The co-founders, Emma Rouvet and Hugues de Rosny, spoke to us about the origins of the initiative, the momentum it has gained and its ambitions for the future. A look back at media like no other:
YOU BOTH FOUNDED MÉDIA POSITIF. HOW DID YOU MEET?
We met in Paris, when Covid-19 had closed the doors to a third year that was meant to take place in Rome for Hugues, and in Bologna for myself. In a relatively heavy atmosphere, punctuated by the casualty count of Covid-19, we quickly came to the realisation that we needed to talk about more positive and optimistic news, in order to escape from the anxiety-inducing bubble resulting from the health situation.
CAN YOU DESCRIBE IN A FEW WORDS HOW YOU CONCEIVED THIS PROJECT? WHAT TRIGGERED IT?
Once this was established, we decided to set up a presence on Twitter, the social network for news and virality, with the aim of going against the tide of bad news. After only a few months of existence, Média Positif already had 20,000 subscribers! It was really in January 2021 that the adventure took a decisive turn. We received the spontaneous support of many celebrities such as Thierry Dusautoir, Leïla Bekhti, Denis Brogniart, Carlito and Antoine Griezmann, who, through their sharing, allowed us to quickly exceed the 100,000 follower mark. During the summer, we spread Média Positif on other social networks (Instagram, Linkedin, Facebook and Tiktok)! Today, we are delighted to have built a positive community of over 250,000 members!
HOW DO YOU MANAGE TO TRACK DOWN ALL THIS POSITIVE NEWS? WHAT ARE YOUR SOURCES?
Our monitoring work is mainly carried out on regional press, which is often full of positive initiatives, as well as national and international press and social networks!
WHAT DO YOU ENVISAGE FOR THE FUTURE OF MÉDIA POSITIF? IS A CHANGE OF SCALE PLANNED?
We aim to launch a positive news programme on Youtube and a podcast summarising the good news of the week in the coming weeks.
In terms of change of scale, through videos we are starting to highlight companies, citizen initiatives or associations which, through their actions or innovations, instill a positive dynamic that we appreciate and that is important to us.
WHAT WAS THE ROLE OF SCIENCES PO IN CREATING THIS INITIATIVE?
The advice of some of the Sciences Po professors helped us to frame our development and our objectives and to benefit from their rich experience. Thanks to Sciences Po, we were also able to acquire a methodology that undoubtedly allows us to be more efficient but also, and above all, to know where to find information and how to verify it.
Furthermore, we were able to ask many questions to former Sciences Po students who have successfully built inspiring projects!
DO YOU HAVE A MESSAGE FOR THE SCIENCES PO COMMUNITY?
To make sure you don't miss out on any positive news, don't hesitate to follow us on our various social networks and on our website!
Interview by the Sciences Po editorial team
