It’s a climate crisis. The omni-directional and accelerating climate catastrophe poses new challenges for journalism. In France, since the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP21) was held in Paris in 2015, reports on the climate crisis have steadily increased. Last year, there was another opportunity to change the status of the report on the climate crisis. The ‘Climate Act’, which mandated carbon reduction in each sector of society, was passed by the French Parliament. Citizens’ demands for reporting on the climate crisis have risen noticeably, and mainstream media have reorganized their newsrooms and strengthened their reporting. Solution journalism and participatory journalism emerged as a hot topic. In September of this year, for the first time in France, the ‘Journalism Charter for Response to the Environment and Climate Crisis’ was created with the voluntary participation of journalists. 〈EPN〉 is a French non-profit environmental media magazine 〈Reporterre〉, Brittany environmental exploration media 〈Splann!〉, and an eco-climate magazine for young people, 〈We demain 100% Addo〉. ado)” was covered locally. On December 6th, the 6th 〈EPN〉 Journalism Conference (sjc.EPN.co.kr) will be held at the Korea Press Center in Jung-gu, Seoul with the theme of ‘The Role of the Media in the Era of Climate Crisis’. David Groisson, editor-in-chief of , stood in front of the letters from teenage readers on the office wall. ⓒEPN Kim Da-eun In December 2019, France’s first ecological and climate magazine for the ‘Greta Thunberg generation’ We demain 100% ado” was published. It was an experiment with no certainty of success. However, all five volumes of produced so far recorded an average of more than 50,000 copies. For the first and second issues, the production cost was covered through citizen funding, and enough money was raised to stably produce subsequent magazines. On October 5, I visited the headquarters of Bayard Presse located near the 14th arrondissement in Paris, France. In the lobby on the first floor of the building, a bookshelf full of colorful children’s books and magazines and a large, soft sofa welcomed visitors. Natural light replaced the lighting in the office. When asked why he didn’t turn on the interior lights, Bayar replied that he was trying to reduce his ‘carbon footprint’. All magazines published here are delivered in paper bags that can be recycled. The magazines are printed using vegetable inks and matte covers to facilitate recycling. Special gifts to subscribers are also reduced by selecting products made in France to reduce their carbon footprint. Founded in 1870, Bayard Press is one of the oldest publishing houses in France. The youth brand created here is ‘Bayard Jeunesse’. Bayar Sinnes publishes a magazine for children and young people between the ages of 1 and 18. Bayar Sinnes started in 1966 with the publication of Pomme d’Api (for ages 3-7), a children’s magazine with the goal of creating a magazine with beautiful stories for children with hearing loss. Later, he published Astrapi (for ages 7-11), Okapi (for ages 10-14), and Phosphore (for ages 14-18). Only 30 kinds. It has over 731,000 readers. David Groisson, co-editor of We Demain 100% Addo, is the chief editor of Bayar Sinnes’s 10-year-old youth magazines Okapi and Phosphor. He has been producing children’s and youth magazines for over 20 years. Another co-editor is Jean-Dominique Siegel and François Siegel, the founders of We Demain, a quarterly environmental magazine. is an ‘unprecedented’ magazine created in collaboration with three representatives of the two media outlets. ‘We Demain’ means ‘we are tomorrow’. , a media company established in 2012, is a quarterly magazine that introduces the latest tech technologies in the industry as well as issues on the ecological environment. More than 28,000 copies are sold every issue, and the number of online news site visitors is more than 500,000 every month. As the youth climate strike “Friday for the Future”, launched by Swedish youth environmental activist Greta Thunberg in 2019, spread around the world, the Siegel brothers, co-founders of We Demain, felt the need for a youth media that captured their voices. François Siegel said in an interview with Euro 1, the media outlet, on December 18, 2019, when the first issue of was released. “I thought it would be great to make a ‘We de Meng’ magazine for young people, but I had to admit that youth journalism itself is very special,” he said. This is because we are ignorant of how to communicate with them and have never created a medium for them. It was only natural to collaborate with Bayar Sinnes, who has done some of the best work in the youth field.” David Groisson said he had no reason to decline the cross-media collaboration. This is because Bayar Sinnes not only deals with the ecological and climate crisis in all of his magazines, but also the editorial policy of the publisher clearly states the direction for this. The goals of the publication sector of Bayar Sinnes include ‘reducing the carbon footprint as a company’, ‘delivering the facts about the climate crisis in an understandable way suitable for the age of children, and suggesting individual action plans to avoid creating anxiety’ etc. are specified. David Groisson shared how young people think about the way mainstream media is dealing with the climate crisis. “They point out three things. First, when we talk about the climate crisis, we feel as if we are running towards a wall while sounding a horn. They list only stories that mainly cause anxiety and magnify fear, and then do not suggest any countermeasures. Second, unlike adults, some information is too unkind in a position where knowledge of historical facts is not sufficiently acquired. Third, ‘Is this information really reliable?’ to keep asking. They repeatedly wonder about the source or accuracy of information and are wary of media errors and lies.” Contrary to popular belief, young people are interested in social news and want to be able to form their own opinions. According to the results of the French National Council for School System Evaluation (CNESCO) conducted in 2019, 68% of 18-year-olds said that they actively seek information on current affairs such as politics, economy, and society. However, they also said that they had difficulty finding the information they needed in common. David Groisson said, “It is important to give young readers the confidence that ‘this medium is reliable, you can find information here’. In particular, attention should be paid to 32% of teenagers who said they ignore the news. How do we get them to open their books and see our magazines? Youth magazines have a lot of tools. “You can freely use cartoons, illustrations, and graphics that teenagers like.” , an ecological climate magazine for the Greta Thunberg generation, captures the various aspects of youth responding to the climate crisis. The themes of the five volumes of published so far are as follows. ‘How to save the planet before turning 18 (No. 1)’ ‘50 people who act for the planet (No. 2)’ ‘50 ideas to practice zero plastic in the summer (No. 3)’ ‘It will disappear in 50 years Endangered animals (No. 4)’, ‘You don’t vote, but you have the power, the teenage heroes who change the world (No. 5)’, etc. Among these, the most well-received magazine was the first issue. A 14-year-old girl ‘Esther’, a cartoon character familiar to French people, appeared in the magazine. The appearance of an ordinary Esther, who is not very interested in environmental issues, rather attracted the interest of readers. Esther and her friends learn, experiment, and introduce concrete ways to reduce carbon footprint and conserve resources at school, in the bathroom, at the dining table, and in the room. For example, she holds a discussion forum to decorate a vegetable garden on the playground and introduces the process of composting leftover food. She rides her bike through Paris and even suggests carpooling to her parents. As for the reason for choosing Esther, David Groisson said: “It was to show that our magazine is not a ‘do this way, do that that’ magazine. Adolescents tend to think that there is not much they can do for themselves. This is because there are not many options when it comes to shopping or choosing a vacation location. When you show those young people your age in action, they move naturally.” On the other side of the office, they were working on their sixth magazine, which will be out in December. People with various professions, such as carpenters, judges, fashion designers, and aerospace scientists, were introduced with eye-catching illustrations and colorful fonts. The next issue’s theme is ‘Can I live an ecological life as an adult?’ “Young people want to know how they can go to work and live an ecological life while still working. It is filling the space with the stories of professionals who are practicing eco-friendly lives. It is to convey the story that we do not have to go into the forest and live together with concrete examples.” David Groisson said. Among the paper samples on the wall, there were also photos of teenagers wearing large apple dolls. These were the youths who received the ‘Echo Delege Activity Award’ this year. Eco-déléguée means ‘representative of the environment’. In France, there are 250,000 young people who are active as ‘environmental representatives’. The ‘Environmental Representative’, which has been in effect since 2020, is a system supervised by the French Ministry of Education. One environmental representative must be elected for each class in middle and high schools. They share their environmental knowledge and practices with their friends. It also has the authority to propose and implement ways to change the school environment in an environmentally friendly way in a discussion session with faculty and staff. In fact, there are cases where it is suggested to use flooring that is well insulated for a building and changed it, or installed a wireless charger using solar power in a playground. The editorial team of created the ‘Echo Delege Activity Award’ with the Ministry of Education to encourage the activities of environmental representatives and to share various ideas. The second awards ceremony was held last June, and a total of four teams received awards. David Groisson added, looking at a picture of an apple masked doll on a paper sample attached to the wall. “They are the environmental representatives of Anne Veaute Vocational High School who learned that ugly fruits were just thrown away while passing through the orchard. The carbon footprint of food waste is more than we can imagine. After much deliberation, someone came up with the idea of making juice out of discarded apples and selling them, and the school environment representatives and their school friends sold 1,200 bottles of apple juice for three weeks at markets and fairs. The process was made into a video.” Every page that filled the wall was full of stories. David Groisson explained why he met youth through paper magazines rather than videos or mobile content. “Bayar Sinnes has been creating youth magazines for over 50 years. is the most recent new medium. Adolescents are used to smartphones and TVs. But, as before, this time we opted for paper magazines. When magazines are placed randomly in the living room, someone picks up them and opens them. And then you talk about what’s in it with your family and friends. This means that there is something to read where you can open it at any time. Home is the best place to start making changes.
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