France 2 is revolutionizing its 8pm news, presented by Anne-Sophie Lapix for this fall. We’re going to have to get used to it.
After a month and a half of broadcasting largely devoted to the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games, which attracted millions of viewers, France 2 is starting its real comeback. And the public channel has decided to make a big impact by shaking up the habits of its major news program: the 8 p.m. news.
Presented during the week by Anne-Sophie Lapix and on weekends by Laurent Delahousse, this monument of the PAF seemed immutable for decades. Its short format, of around twenty minutes, its frenetic pace linking the subjects and its consensual style seemed set in stone in the era of continuous news and social networks. However, France 2 chose to take the opposite approach by betting on a news program that “takes its time”.
Concretely, starting this Monday, September 9, viewers will discover a new-look 8 p.m. newscast that will stretch until… 9 p.m.! A new format that also includes the weather segment. The ambition is to “better understand the world around us, better assimilate the permanent flow of news,” as Alexandre Kara, director of news at France Télévisions, explains.
To achieve this, the editorial team promises longer and more detailed stories, more major reports to get to the ground and get as close as possible to the issues and problems. Journalists will also have the mission of verifying and cross-checking information with even greater rigor, and even of conducting in-depth investigations on sensitive subjects.
The other major change will be the space given to the words of experts, specialists, and field actors who will shed light on current events with their experience and analyses. The goal is to give viewers all the keys to understanding major economic, geopolitical, societal, and environmental issues. Major guests from civil society will also regularly appear on the set.
Extending the 8pm news is a bold gamble at a time when viewers’ attention spans are increasingly volatile and scattered. France 2 is convinced that part of the public yearns for this “slow news” that takes the time to think and educate, as opposed to the immediacy and superficiality of news channels. However, care must be taken not to turn this new 8pm news into a boring or jargon-filled tunnel. The first audience feedback will be carefully scrutinized.