Memoire Online - E-Presse : Presse en danger ou complément de l'information

This second assumption is not checked either ; in the sense that the answer shows that Internet is a new media complementary to the newspaper industry and that it offers new possibilities to that Ci. All the assets previously were seen that offer this new media to the daily newspapers.

For that the newspaper industry should not be confined to reproduce on the Net exactly the printed version. It must turn to a new form to deliver its information.

One thus will turn with this new media to a new form of journalism but the question which comes us is to know if the information transmitted by these journalists on the Web remains as credible as the traditional newspaper industry.

This third assumption emits that the journalistic information transmitted on Internet is less credible than the information transmitted by the traditional newspaper industry.

In the world of the press on line, the journalistic function loses its traditional reference marks. If the majority of the big national dailies launched out on the network, none delivers an identical counterpart of the edition paper. As one saw previously it is preferable for them contrary to offering to the reader differentiated contents, nouveau riche thanks to the resources which the new support offers. Article, the journalist must pass to the multi-media treatment of the subject: linear structure, it passes to the star structure, its style approaches orality, the subjects are given in context and especially, the journalist loses the monopoly which it held on the access to the sources of information and consequently the monopoly of their diffusion.

The journalist loses his privileges. The access as the diffusion of information is democratized and opened to all at lower cost on the network. And that constitutes one of the major challenges for the profession. The demonopolisation information is the direct consequence of the capacity of the World Wide Web. The Fabric indeed gives access to all kinds of data, coming from the origins most various and accessible by one clicks of mouse to everyone. And it is precisely this logic of diffusion of overall information which calls in question certain of the traditional attributes of the journalist. Initially, it loses its monopoly of access to the official sources of information which are the news services. In the second place, the diffusion of information can from now on be done without the driving belt that are the journalists: no matter who has the right to put on line an informative site proclaiming itself, and each actor of the topicality (political, economic, trade-union, cultural...) can diffuse directly and with a great facility information relating to it or related to its sphere of activity.

Internet put an end in a final way with what was often perceived like an unjustified privilege: the monopoly of the journalists on the access to the dispatches of the official news services. Traditionally, in the newspaper industry, the draftings followed hour per hour the important events which proceeded throughout the world thanks to wire of press of the great agencies like AFP^28(*). For a long time, the journalists benefitted from this advantage which enabled them to limit the competition of information within the bodies of press. Thus, the private individuals not having access to these sources of information, only the media, juridically recognized like bodies of press, were entitled and materially able to disseminate information. The mother of all networks calls all that into question by placing at the disposal of the Net surfers the entirety of the information distributed by the news services. Everyone can from now on reach as well as a journalist these essential sources of information.

With this demonopolisation of the access to the sources the demonopolisation of the diffusion of information is added. Insofar as the access to the sources of information is opened to all, it is not materially any more necessary to be juridically recognized as journalist to disseminate information. Which need would there be to enter a profession which lost its privileges? The creation of a webzine is free and not very expensive. Whoever can car proclaim cyber-journalist. Moreover, thanks to the low cost which the creation of a Web site supposes, the majority of the actors of the political, economic, social events... can from now on disseminate and exchange directly their original information without necessarily passing by the driving belt of the press and the subjective filter of the journalists.

Thus, the majority of the administrative institutions obtained a Web site for better answering the questions and requests of the French. In the same way, the political companies or parties have all their site in order to be able to communicate directly with the voter or the consumer. What is also interesting, it is to note that in addition to these sites related to permanent institutions, very many sites are created from day to day, according to the topicality, to react, express opinions or to bring further information on the events. The actors of the topicality find on Internet the advisability of being able to easily express a right of reply to the rumors or opinions revealed on their subject.
Thus, Internet gives access to the world up to now prohibited of the press releases, the dispatches, the legislations, the administrative reports/ratios and makes it possible each one to play journalist. However, the possibility open to all to proclaim journalist raises many difficulties. In addition to being a formidable source of information, the network can also be a dangerous tool of misinformation.

The superabundance and the absence of control of information are likely to make Fabric a kind of Pandora's box. The network conveys, indeed, a very great number of infos or propaganda, rumors of not checked what leads certain observers to think that Internet would be perverse media even dangerous bus demolishes of any control and without unified deontology. One can give for example to mention Drudge Report^29(*) like the prototype of the revealing site of the information based on rumors; this type of address, which multiplied since the business Monica Lewinski, is absolutely condemnable even if it is recognized as a rule of the game that all information is not true (Drudge acknowledges that 20% of its information are false). Indeed, these reporters car-proclaimed offers to the readers a mixture of infos and intox that nothing makes it possible to separate. They thus take the responsability to carry unduly reached to the dignity of people mediatized by sowing the doubt in the spirit of the reader. And this doubt is all the more accentuated because of credibility which Matt Drudge acquired by starting Monicagate.

The Salinger business also constitutes an example of misinformation caused by Internet. Salinger, former Secretary of State of Kennedy, had, on the faith of a document circulating on the network, alleged that the plane of the TWA which had been crushed close to New York in July 1996, had been descended by a missile from the American army.

Another danger lies in the falsification of documents facilitated by the immense technological possibilities which digitalization offers. It becomes easy truly to handle information, to create false events with photographs, films or bands audio with the support. The network can let pass a considerable quantity of matter sectarian, heinous, terrorist receipts, pornographic images, plots, ideas revisionists...

Very easy control out of newspaper industry remains mainly ineffective on the Web.

Lastly, information can sometimes be narrowly mixed with the electronic trade with the risk with a confusion with the kinds. Indeed, the newspapers on line, for the majority available free, seek means of becoming profitable and the practice of the electronic trade commissioned in is one. The newspapers on line can make from the agreements with commercial sites and propose with their readers to become purchasers. The idea which raises difficulty is to propose for example, at the end of a critical article on a book or a disc, to acquire it by simple clicks (and a number of blue chart). The correspondence between the information and the proposal for a purchase, source of income for the newspaper, raises obviously the question of the credibility and the independence of information. One can wonder whether a journalist is not tempted to be obliging, if its intentions are likely to increase the profits of its company, or if the subjects are not likely to be selected according to their capacity to make sell.

Against these various kinds of attack to the credibility of the information disseminated on the network, this last has capacities of resistance. Initially, it allows an instantaneous response any attack based on the misinformation. The false noises can be thwarted by sites being registered into false against a rumor and this all the more easily as they would have to them-even in addition a stronger legitimacy. It is probable that a nonfounded rumor launched by Matt Drudge would be quickly decredibilized if Washington Post^30(*) contradicted it. In addition, the network offers a new capacity to the reader to check all the assertions. One of the guarantees of the veracity of information is in their handing-over in context, by the means of the bonds hypertexts. The articles on line often provide the addresses of their sources and leave to the reader the leisure go up with rough information. Credibility is very often measured with the degree of transparency of the sources of information.

The direct access since the article to the press releases, the dispatches and other documents original can only provide one increased credibility, even compared to the traditional newspapers. The article on line from now on is accompanied by historical files, or a great diversity of texts produced on the subject.

Lastly, Internet makes it possible to mix information resulting from the daily newspapers, the radios, the chains television, the news services and puts thus fine at unicity sources. As for the traditional press, the journalist on line, to be credible must prove reliable. The big national dailies paper which have creates an edition on line offer to the latter all the credibility of their name.

It is logical that the image of credibility reaches on the written support continues on support Internet. The question of the credibility of information basically returns to the social mission of the journalist who consists in weighing, to measure, to interpret the various sources. The abundance of the data available on the Net does nothing but point out the need for the function of mediator of the journalist.

Indeed by this analysis, this assumption tends to be checked even if it were seen that the network offers possibilities of crédibiliser all the same this information.

Indeed the credibility of information is touched by nature of this media. This gigantic data source accessible to everyone, that is there to diffuse or y to take information, involves a fall of the veracity of this information.

This fourth put forth assumption states that the trade of cyber-journalist is a profession with whole share.

I.e. that it is a profession which requires a formation and an experiment to exert it.

It is not enough to be a very good journalist on paper medium for also being a very good journalist on numerical support.

Not only the journalist does not have any right immanent with the monopoly of information, but it should not fear that the public has from now on access to rough sources of information without passing by them. Quite to the contrary, the quasi unlimited number of information available on the Web and the difficulty in evaluating their credibility make more necessary than ever the function of mediator whom the journalist must play. This last must thus bring beneficiation on information available on line. And that does not seem possible that within a precise framework deontologic.

The superabundance of information available thanks to the Web makes crucial the function of journalist. We saw it, the infos on Internet are various qualities. And on a subject which the reader knows little about, it will have the invaluable need for a mediator to ensure the sorting of the data, the validation of the sources, the handing-over in prospect for the events... The journalists must take up the essential duty of critic of the cyberspace so that it is not about an immense hold-all, in which to seek credible information would amount searching for a needle in a haystack.

To distinguish truth from the forgery, to thwart a intox or a misinformation of propaganda are an extremely difficult work and which proves to be of a great utility in a space where control is weak. Internet is a privileged place of the freedom of expression and it is advisable not to confuse the expression of an opinion with rough information. Among the thousand trades of the communication which find a ground favourable with their function on the Web, the journalist must assume the responsibility to keep a critical eye on the unit of their diffusion and must for that process the data with more care and more rigor.

Thus, the added value that the journalist brings to information becomes very invaluable in this new context. The need for an intelligent sorting is done more pressing in this rain of information. Many search engines take up already a duty of sorting based on criteria given by the Net surfer. That makes it possible to be made quickly deliver a great number of documents on a selected subject. However, in good data-processing machine, the search engine is not capable to distinguish truth from the forgery and to make a qualitative selection of the data. It thus falls to the journalist qualitatively to classify information and to present it purified. In this manner, information will be able to have various qualities.

And so today, the weakness of the request, the principle of the exemption from payment of the Net in general prevents the newspapers in line from being paying, it seems that short-term the added value of information becomes expensive. Internet is likely to become a class media. The quality of information will have its price. Those which will be able to pay will have access to sorted information and handing-over in prospect; the others will be delivered to their own understanding in the jungle of common information. Already, of the sites like the platform^31(*), the echoes^32(*) or Wall Street newspaper^33(*) propose information

It is the same with the general topicality with for example the world^34(*) which sells part of its contents.

At all events, the journalist must for the moment to distinguish his information from the freedom of expression of all one each one.

The writing on the Web as the newspaper industry has its own rules which one can already release the relationships with the traditional media.

The Web is close to the newspaper industry from its method of production: put on page, creation and renewal of the one are as many stages as one finds in the newspaper industry. In the same way, with the hypertextuality, one can be satisfied to read the first level of information. As on paper one reads the title, the hat and the first paragraphs.

As regards writing, the style has many common points with the radio. Short sentences, short texts, simple syntaxes seem to be the criteria most adapted to facilitate the reading on the Net, and thus on screen. The text on the Web must be percussion than the text on paper. One would approach rather the standard of approaches, «in short and complete» writing, «a sentence, an idea».

Nevertheless, the great innovation which these media bring to us is the hypertextuality.

Indeed the length of information is defined by the leading team, namely that for example a daily newspaper as South-western^35(*) will prefer to decrease the general topicality in order not to give all the infos that there is in the version paper on the other hand she will give more information on other subjects which will be in the additional headings (See discussion with Frederic Saller with the third part of this memory).

At all events the hypertextuality makes it to the journalists many possible in order to disseminate their information.

Indeed thanks to the multiple bonds hypertexts, the article of a journalist can become to some extent it « capsule » allowing to penetrate in the multi-media galaxy of information. The article is not any more one end in itself. On the Web, it becomes a window which half-opens on the world.

The journalistic techniques induced by Internet allow, for the first time to be able to restore information in its historical, economic or geographical context, thanks to the documentary bonds activated of simple « click ».

The Net surfer thus passes, in a wink, information in a state of knowledge being reported to it.

The text with the screen is different from the text paper initially because it is with the screen: luminosity and flutter cause tiredness and can obstruct the reading.

Moreover, with the screen, there is only one sight partial of the text. No moment it is possible to have an exact physical representation of the totality of the text, or then it should be printed to find it on paper medium.

An effort of memory is sometimes necessary, the return behind is less obvious and less flexible than on the paper medium (it depends completely on the navigation envisaged by the author).

For little which one uses the possibilities of animation, the effects of appearance and disappearance, the multi-media writing is thus much richer than the writing on paper, but more limited also because of the nature and the size even of the screen.

Moreover, according to Jakob Nielsen^36(*), the reading with the screen is 25% slower than the reading on paper. From where need for being more «lenient» with reader Internet and for increasing the concision as well as the highlighting of the texts on line.

There is according to this same study 79% of the users who fly over the texts and 16% which read word for word.

It appears clear that the reading with the screen is less comfortable than a reading on paper especially because of luminosity and of the size of the screen. One has a greater overall picture when it is on paper medium.

It is an important point with the brakes of the development of the numerical press.

The comfort of the reading of a press on paper medium will be replaceable with much difficulty by the electronic medium.

« attack » and it « fall » any more the limits of a text do not constitute what involves that the reading will not necessarily any more be done in a linear way. « framed », « under-papers », and others « angles » of traditional page-setting leave room to bonds hypertexts returning on other levels of information.

The mode of reading thus will be modified and it is to the journalists of the Net to succeed in directing it by the descriptive clear ones and a setting in intuitive line. Page-setting is not any more from now on in only one dimension.

It is necessary that the bonds is clear and logical and that it make it possible to the readers to go towards desired information.

It is not enough to be a pro of data processing to know the behaviors and the practices of a Net surfer. Therefore the journalist of the Web must know the universe of the Web well to guide his readers there in the most intelligent possible way.

Four years ago, according to a study carried out by media source^37(*), the journalist on Internet complained to be only to transform there the version written numerically, but one realizes that maintaining the big national dailies the possibilities of this media included/understood and tend towards new headings which have original contents. The cyber journalist with his new media is thus being born.

Jacob Nielsen explains that like the reader of the newspaper industry, the reader one line generally will start by flying over the page which it rather has in front of him than to read word for word. It is once it located what interested it that it will start to read the text attentively.

Consequently the journalist must, still there, to use texts easy to fly over with the naked eye, thanks to key words used like bonds hypertexts or then coloured, of the explicit subtitles, and an idea by paragraph.

In all the cases, and at all events of the leading policy of the daily newspaper, Internet is a media, which like all the others, request a clean writing and which moreover, by its technicality makes it possible to look further into information.

The journalist of the Net must manage intelligently to exploit the assets which Internet offers to manage to give information which is clear, alive and complete.

It seems that we are still in the premises of this writing but it is smelled already that the profession starts to develop in this direction.

One can realize, from the progressive emergence of the formations which are being born, that cyber-journalism has certainly, need for qualities of the journalist of the traditional media, but that it has also need for other qualities for its new profession.

The major part of the journalists who work on the Web received at the beginning any specific training for this support. They were trained on the job and are distinguished from those of their colleagues who do not use yet tool Internet by a taste often pronounced for microprocessing. The example of the person in charge for the service Web of West France^38(*) is significant: professional experienced and interested by all that touches with microprocessing and information scientific and technical, Bernard Boudic (head of department of general information) turns to the interactive support in 1996.

One can also note academic formations which were set up in order to give a formal training to those which want to be directed towards this new trade.

There is for example school JMK of journalism in Sweden which has since 1996 of a course five months baptized Global Electronic Journalism (GEJ) and dedicated to the formation with journalism on Internet. The principal center of formation JMK is located at the University of Stockholm and form to journalism during three years, with from now on the option to be able to add one six-month period of formation within the GEJ.

This formation with journalism on Internet consists in teaching to page-setting with format HTML from newspapers one line while taking as a starting point the the already existing things on the Web, like with knowing to seek and find information, while sailing on the Web through the search engines.

Even if the deontology compared to these new media is not in the middle of this formation, it will sensitize with the manner of processing the data.

In Spain, the Pamplona university proposes also to a formation of journalism one line.

In France, it should be noted that the Higher School of Journalism of Lille had founded the die «journalism multi-media» which sought to improve the theoretical and technical training of the senior journalists or coldly graduates. This formation was supposed to make it possible to the multi-media journalist to better dialog with the other bodies of operative trade in the services Web of the newspapers: data processing specialists, graphic designers... It was also supposed to learn how to him to adapt its know-how as regards data processing to the supports multimedia. The contents of the formation were complete: history, economy, right, ethics media and the multi-media one; concept of programming data-processing and language HTML and Java script; computer graphics...

One impassioned of data processing and Internet cannot be claimed to be a good journalist on the Web, just like a good journalist of the newspaper industry cannot come to a conclusion to be a good journalist about Internet.

This trade on the matter consists in having a formation or to learn by the experiment as for any other trade.

We have, since the beginning of this part, shown that the press on electronic medium came complémentariser with the press on paper medium, that it made lose credibility with the function of journalist and that it gave place to a new profession. Now, the fifth assumption is to check if by its low diffusion and production cost, the electronic version will become more profitable than that of paper.

The passage to a «means of faster transport», entering directly in the consumer and requiring loads of manufacture, quite less compared with printing works, could only interest the press. Indeed, the costs of the prepress to the impression and the distribution are costs which are heavy on behalf of the newspapers.

Thus, one of the major assets of the cyber press is due to the disappearance of physical manufacture. It is not any more the newspaper which invests in the diffusion, but the purchaser who must be equipped in material with reception (micro-computer, modem, subscription). This being besides a brake for the access to the electronic press.

It is enough to sail on the majority of the daily newspapers on the Net to realize that the majority of these newspapers on line gave up founding a subscription at the entry.

The exemption from payment was essential with Internet because it was the spirit even university and scientific pioneers to freely share between them information on the mother of all networks.

Jean Miot in his report/ratio on « effects of new technologies on the newspaper industry » declares that « the original tare of Internet is the exemption from payment ».

One could almost compare that with the radio which, it either, is not paying to obtain information. The problem it is as one saw at the beginning of the part, a hearth has on average six radio sets without counting the cars almost all equipped with a radio inside.

If the press on line wants to be profitable while remaining free, it will be needed that it primarily draws its resources from publicity and thus to interest the advertisers, it must have a strong audience, which currently, compared to the other media is not the case.

The rate of 10% of the hearths having access to Internet is, according to the institute of study Jupiter Communications^39(*), a minimal threshold from which the persons in charge marketing estimate that it is worth to invest in publicity on Internet.

These 10% were exceeded but the price of the stringcourses remains weak, from the weak audience.

It is already for one of these reasons and as one will see it later, than many daily newspapers chose the mixed version, i.e., to make pay part of their newspaper and to leave another free part.

The paying part will be of course of the information which will have a value added compared to the free part. That can be by better a hierarchisation, be personalized, more relevant, more difficult to find, more complete....

For Philippe Jannet, person in charge for the Web site for « Echoes », the access paying to information on Internet falls under the direction^40(*). «It is logical: one cannot give information. When information is given, it is that there is a problem on the quality even of information. Publicity is not sufficient to finance all that. If one wants to really have products of quality or updated assessments the every day, that is worth money», estimates it. Apart from «information with added value», which is paying, the remainder is free. To know: titles and summaries of all the articles of the Echoes.

Indeed it is thanks to him and to finance its newspaper that the first publicity appeared on its daily newspaper it « press ».

After, with the wire of times, each media which appeared, also made him publicity since the possibility offered by a media is to touch a broad part of the population.

Each media, from its nature, will have its own operation for publicity (radio : spots of 20s, press :advertizing insert...) whereas it is press on Internet.

To start, Internet makes it possible to the advertisers to have access on line to plannings of reservation of the newspaper paper and the Web site, like with the periodic follow-up of the results of their advertizing countryside.

Indeed tools like « dart » of doubleclik and « open AD stream » of real media allow and the editor and the advertiser to know instantaneously the progression of the impact of a campaign in line, even if it means to adjust the message or to change site in the course of road.

The advertisers have from now on the right to require immediate results on their investments Internet, finished the studies post campaigns, place with « rate of click » recorded by the stringcourse and calculated compared to the numbers of visitors.

An advertiser thus will calculate with how much returns to him one clicks and will choose the site or the cost of one clicks is the least expensive.

This process seems to be well for the advertisers which can calculate the impact of these campaigns but certain editors are currently raising a debate against this method.

Their remarks are that this system makes it possible to obtain receipts only when the Net surfers click on the advertizing stringcourse of the advertisers which encumber the sites. Applied on television, this concept would amount paying TF1 only if the televiewers ruaient themselves in the stores of the advertisers right after the diffusion of their spots.

It should be known that the rate of click average on the banners of the sites of newspaper industry is lower A 1%^41(*).

There is on Internet of the stringcourses placed on the site but there also exists of other forms of publicity on the Web.

Another form is what one calls it « pop up », this publicity consists in automatically starting the opening of a Web page which generally takes the place third of the screen.

There are also them « interstitial » which are also pages of pub but which them will open in full screen during a short time before arriving at truths sites required by the Net surfer.

Internet makes it possible to the editors to measure the exact audience their sites with the Net surfer meadows.

It can also analyze the behaviors of readings bonds by bonds and headings by headings.

This possibility can be seen as a temptation to manage information according to the objective of audience to be reached, guard should be taken.

These analyzes also will allow the editor and the advertiser to be able to target and measure with more performance the advertisements.

For example an organization as doubleclick^42(*) will observe the practices of the million Net surfers and will know their characteristics to place the advertizing stringcourses of the advertisers at the strategic place for him.

A reader who goes on the site is likely to leave information on his centers of interests, his needs for information, his leisures, even his standard of living and his socio-professional category.

These data are often collected without its knowledge and will make it possible to better target the advertizing or different impacts.

Indeed, which did not receive in its letter-box what one calls of the mailing ? They are letters personalized with standard words.

Indeed to subscribe with the newspaper or for other reasons, the Net surfer will leave its limps E-mail with the editor who will classify it in a data base.

It is enough for him after, to send an electronic mail, by proposing for example new methods of subscription and to insert a bond there towards an advertiser.

Generally the daily newspaper takes all the same the trouble under the terms of the protection of the private life to give the possibility more of not belonging to the list of this electronic mass mailing.

Indeed in 1999, New York Times used E-mail of its subscribers to send to them an electronic mass mailing with the name of its advertisers.

For the same period Wall Street newspaper^43(*) was used of its 400.000 subscribers to sell his data base with advertisers.

Indeed this data base was interesting since it described to the maximum the characteristics of this public, namely their professions, the size of the company, stock exchange transactions etc....

If a newspaper can send information personalized to its subscribers it is that he knows their centers of interests well.

There is also the phenomenon of « cookies » which being small files sent on the computer of the Net surfer without it realizes some and which make it possible to see its traceability on a Web site.

That makes it possible to create data bases on the behavior of the Net surfers and thus to better target them.

Indeed the press on Internet with the possibility of making partnerships with large tradesmen in order to give information on such or such product and thereafter propose a bond to buy this product .

This new convergence between media and trade, calls at the same time into question the role of the journalist and that of the reader: the first is transformed into salesman, with the risk to lose the objectivity which its work requires, as for the second, it would tend to read his electronic newspaper as a catalog of sale is divided into sheets.

The World^44(*) thus gives the possibility on its site of buying books in partnership with Alapage. It is not all, still in partnership with the FNAC it gives the possibility of buying music, DVD, software, plays, places of spectacles .....

All is thus set up to allow the Net surfer to get information then to consume, of the same gesture, while supporting before all the «purchases of impulse». Of course, the site of press receives a commission on each sale actual with its readers.
Certain groups of press preferred to avoid that and create other sites which are dedicated exclusively to commercial purposes as the South-western group which one will treat a little further.

Great source of income for the printed media, the small advertisements represent between 30 and 50% of the incomes of the newspapers^45(*). However the interactive possibilities return the advertisements on the Fabric much more interesting and effective that in the newspapers.

It is indeed much easier to manage small advertisements on the Fabric than on a printed support, because their renewal and their update can be done almost immediately. Moreover, the references by bonds hypertexts give to the reader the possibility of knowing some more than the first text does not say any: presentation of the company making offers employment, visits in three dimensions of an apartment on sale.

Moreover small advertisements from now on are not limited any more to the only perimeter of diffusion of the printed newspaper.

These advantages did not pass unperceived to the eyes of the editors of press: indeed, to reinforce their offer, six daily newspapers American (Boston Platform, Chicago Platform, Los Angeles Times, New York Times, San Jose Mercury News and Washington Post) opened, in mid-October 1995, a common service on Internet, Career Path, which makes it possible to consult the whole of classified advertisements published by the six titles. In this way, the newspaper industry provides to the advertisers a complete service. The small advertisements published in the written support, can return to a further information on Internet. Here is a means of adapting.

It is as to provide as the commercial advertisers will be directed more and more towards the cyberspace

One can even wonder that if the newspapers are threatened, it is less as regards readers (people will remain attached to the paper impression), that side of the advertisers.

The with dimensions one of France, Western France^46(*) French daily newspaper launched its own sites of advertisements like automobile west France^47(*) or western France real estate^48(*).

Western south did not let pass this opportunity by creating to him also its own sites small advertisements.

After having shown the principal means which Internet offered to be financed, one can give a small current a report on the profitability of the daily newspapers on line in the world on this date.

Indeed as one saw before so that a newspaper makes profitable and makes benefit thanks to publicity, it needs a strong audience what is not yet the case of Internet.

There is one or two years the daily newspapers thought that their sites, thanks to the richness which the multi-media one offers, was going to have a better audience. But the progression is not as strong as it did not think it, which led the daily newspapers to turn to other measurements.

First large measurement is to make pay part of their contents but also to lay off employees whom they had taken in the euphoria of a rise to power of the Internet.

At that time, the audience of the sites did not cease growing, they had the appearances of gooses that lays the golden eggs. So much so that the investors who entered in 2000 the capital of Release^49(*), like the funds of British venture capital, were especially enticed by its electronic publishings.

The end of the year 2001 was terrible. Liberation.fr, created in 1995, lost two thirds of its manpower: there remain 11 paid out of 32. The site of Release collected only 0,5 million advertizing euros of receipts against the 2,3 million envisaged with the budget. Blow it lost 1,5 million euros... A small result which it is necessary to relativize because of edition paper which lost, it, more than 7,6 million.

Elsewhere, it is not better: the site of Parisian^50(*) separated from 10 of its 23 employees. That of the Echoes^51(*), ten on 50. As for the site of the Barber^52(*), decapitated, it preserved only 3 people out of 30.

The other sites resisted a little better, but much of them, including that of the New Observer, re-examined their budgets and their ambitions with the fall. Even the tribune.fr^53(*), which released from (small) the profits for the first time in 2001, tightens the belt while waiting for the recovery. «One was careful. There is a strategic plan and one must return account every month to our shareholder LVMH^54(*)», known as Emmanuel Cacheux, multi-media director of the economic daily newspaper. Thanks to the support of its associate, the group Lagardere, the site of the World, leader of the sector, continues in a good way, with a team of 55 people.

But environment is not any more with serenity. «Two years ago, it was almost a promotion to go to work on the Web, tells a journalist of the interactive World. Today one feels threatened^55(*) ».

It should be specified that the last results published, at the moment of the number of subscriptions, reveals 13.000 subscriptions what is far with the top from the objective envisaged and which makes it possible to consider an improvement of environment.

The problem does not come only from the audience but also in the way very disputed of the sale of advertizing spaces while basing itself at the rate of click on the stringcourses. It is not very carrying.

Thus, in 2000, the Express train carried out 230.000 euros of advertizing receipts on its site against 53 million euros for the version paper.

The problem also is the exemption from payment and it is also on that that the editors are reacting.

«After the slap of 2001, the challenge is to find a model economic. One cannot any more hope to draw 80% from the incomes of publicity»^56(*) explains Benoît Lucciani, general manager of Parisien.com^57(*), which develops sponsoring. With each one its receipt: the Observer^58(*) launched out in the electronic trade with its shop « The object of the month ». The Express train put on the small advertisements. The site of the Platform^59(*) has escaped with stagnation because a third of its annual incomes, which largely exceeded the 5 million francs, comes from the sale from contents to companies, primarily from the banks and insurances.

Already all the sites, or almost, make pay the consultation of their files. A not very gainful employment, even for «the World» which asserts 700 in 1.000 sold articles each day.

It is very dangerous for a daily newspaper to pass from the free whole to the paying whole, it is almost assured collapse.

The World him like other A henceforth part of free information and another part with paying added value. This part is with five euros the month what appears reasonable.

The World has just published its results and it records 13.000 subscriptions. This result is with the top of the discounted objectives.

The echoes propose a paying part and a subscription with 299 euros per annum which includes/understands :

· All the Daily newspaper Echoes on line as of 3 hours of the morning
(Paris time).

While globalisant a little, the International Innovation group Media carried out last March a new survey on behalf of World Association off Newspaper. This world study, carried out starting from the information provided by 429 newspapers, considers the strategy and the viability of developments Internet in the press. A still fragile viability, since only 17 % of the questioned newspapers indicate to approach the year 2002 while having a profitable activity Internet. They were 15 % in 2000. This level of profitability varies according to the geographical establishment : 39 % of the North-American newspapers indicate today to be profitable on the Web. This proportion falls to 7% in Europe and 5 % in South America.

The profitability of activities Internet of the press in 2002 (Innovation source International Media)
	World	Europe	North America
Loss	58 %	71 %	35 %
Balance	25 %	22 %	26 %
Advantageous	17 %	7 %	39

Remain that among the questioned titles, 2002 seem one year hinge since 25 % of the newspapers at the world level intend to reach balance on Internet on the current year. This prospect is supported by the rise in load for the paying services : 46 % of the newspapers admit like «very probable» or «probable» the launching of premiums offers from here 2003. According to the study, the margin of progression on the matter appears high, 84 % of the titles present on the Net drawing their incomes only from publicity.

Types of paying services suggested on Internet sites newspapers (Innovation source International Media, 2002)
.	World	Europe	North America
Subscriptions	20 %	19 %	20 %
Services with the chart	70 %	67 %	75 %
Both	10 %	14 %	5 %

In the field of the activity, 48 % of the questioned newspapers have two sites and more. These levels of audience do not seem affected by the arrival of services premiums : 68 % of the newspapers which launched paying offers noted any erosion of their traffic and 14 % a fall lower than 10 %.

At least in the current state and the close state to come, the electronic version of the daily newspapers seems, for the majority, to have evil not to make a loss and the benefit are done very rare.

The problem comes primarily from a lack of audience and principle of the exemption from payment but one saw that this new media made it possible good to become profitable if the audience had suddenly climbed strongly.

It appears clear that the near future is likely to be difficult for the electronic daily newspapers but in a future a little more remote !!!

This sixth and last assumption state that the statute and the legal rules applicable to the clipboard are similar to those of the press on Internet.

The advent of this press Web is not long in questioning the lawyer. Indeed, this new press which uses a support of diffusion new and complex always easily does not let integrate within the already old framework of the traditional press.

It is appropriate in this respect very briefly recalling, that the French press was very early seen framing by the legislator, even if, in many texts, it is recalled that the press is free in France.

Indeed the press is free in France thanks to the principle of the freedom of expression which was posed by article 11 of the declaration of the rights of man and of the citizen of 1789.

It states that « The free communication of the thoughts and the opinions is one of the most invaluable rights of the man, any citizen can thus speak, write, print freely safe to answer of the abuse this freedom in the cases determined by the law ».

Principle stated at the beginning of each law constitutive of the French Right of the communication and especially of the law of July 29 1881 which marks to it true birth of and the sanction freedom of the press of its abuses.

The right of the press will evolve/move at the rate/rhythm of technologies of the communication, and if in 1881, it is question only of newspaper industry, the law was applied during the century with all the new inventions such as photography or the radio.

The appearance of television nevertheless will cause the intervention of the legislator to juridically frame this mode of communication of mass.

The law of 1982 proclaims that « the audio-visual communication is free » and puts an end to the monopoly of the state on television.

Actually, the audio-visual press, while being subject to certain specific legal rules, reiterated on its account the main part of the rules of the newspaper industry and the same applies to the press on Internet.

The company of press definite nor is not governed by a particular statute. No particular obligation is provided as for the legal form that must cover a company publishing a publication of press, whether it is published in form paper or electronic form.

With the particular case of the constitution of a limited liability company, the article L 491 of the code of the companies provides that the limited liability companies publishing a publication within the meaning of the article first of the law of August 1 1986 are authorized to limit their authorized capital to 2000 F. the definition of «mode writes diffusion of the thought placed at the disposal of the public and appearing with regular intervals» is not circumscribed with the only publications published on paper and can extend to the publications published on electronic medium since they meet these characteristics.

The services of information disseminated on Internet constitute services of audio-visual communication within the meaning of the law of September 30, 1986 modified by the law of August 1, 2000, and within those of the services of communication on line. The communication on line is defined as a subset of the audio-visual communication which is characterized by the fact that it is transmitted on individual request.

In order to affirm the principle of freedom prevailing on the Internet, the law of August 1, 2000 carried out the suppression of the declaratory formality for the services of communication on line.

On the other hand, the editor of Internet sites must place at the disposal of the public, his name and his address if it is about an individual, her denomination and its registered office if it is about a legal entity, as well as the name of the director of the publication, or if necessary, that of the person in charge for the drafting within the meaning of article 93-2 of the law of July 29, 1982 on the audio-visual communication. The editor must also indicate the corporate name and the address of the person receiving benefits who is by contract dependant with him for the setting on line of his Web pages. This last case designates in theory the shelterer.
By exception, the persons or entities, publishing on a purely nonprofessional basis, can preserve their anonymity by indicating only the name, the denomination and the address of their shelterer provided this one received beforehand the identification of the person in charge for the edition.

Consequently, the shelterer who would be unable or who would not like to provide the information relating to the editor would be probably regarded as person in charge if the site were legally reprehensible.

Also the mode of declaration envisaged by the law of July 29 1881 is it reserved with the clipboard. It is the same for the formalities of deposits (administrative and legal deposit, registration of copyright near the national Library).

The infringements of press and the particular procedural mode which sticks to it apply whatever the mode of communication used. These various infringements aiming at instituting a balance between the freedom of expression and the protection of the people are likely to be characterized whatever the support and the means of expression (written, word or image on the public highway, presses, television...) since there is publication. It is the same for the penal provisions aiming at the acts of publication and returning to the particular mode of responsibility in the event of infringements for press (publication of messages in pornographic matter or violent one (article 227-24 of the penal code), reached with the intimacy of the private life).

All this finds application in the law of July 29, 1881 but one can henceforth add a rule which poses problem with the arrival of Internet.

Indeed, the most particular rule of the violations of the press laws is, without question, regulation the three months. It is considered that information is prejudicial only during a very short time.

Thus in a lawsuit of press, the magistrates must seek the date of the first act of publication, because the infringements of press are offenses known as instantaneous. It is necessary to know the moment from which the public had access to the litigious document, moment which gives the starting point of the three months regulation.

So for the audio-visual emissions, it is the day of the first diffusion, for monthly magazines and editions of book, the effective day of the provision of the public.

The problem which was posed for the sites of press on Internet is to know if the articles are regarded as continuous publications when they remain available to the public on the site.

Indeed a newspaper is a perishable and furtive matter whereas Internet, of share its design features, leaves the possibility more easily to the Net surfer of reading the article a long time after the first publication.

The violation of the press laws can be regarded as a continuous publication since the author decided to maintain it on his site and that the provision with the public remains continuous. The three months regulation would thus not be applicable to the press on the Net.

It is in any case what declared the decision of the Court of Appeal of Paris of December 15, 1999 in the Costes business which seemed to slice the debate. The Court concludes there that the publication on Internet is a continuous act. Therefore, the term of limitation starts again to run each day.

This measurement is likely to be a danger to the setting in memory of the articles on Internet. Indeed if one regards the articles as continuous publications, a site can constantly be attacked dice the moment that it keeps in files of the articles !!

Nevertheless, in a recent decision (Cass.crim., January 30, 2001, Annie Rousseau C/A. Benssalem), the Supreme court of appeal confirmed the application of the term of limitation three months before the date of the quotation. According to this decision putting an end to the jurisprudential hesitations, the time starts to run at the day of the first act of publication and not of that of knowledge by the civil part of the defamatory remarks.

As, the reasoning of the Supreme court of appeal makes it possible to conclude as the publication on Internet is not a continuous act.

It is necessary all the same to wonder about a possible interpretation, under the terms of which the act of publication would be renewed with each modification or actualization of a site, and would constitute a new starting point of the regulation, the editor choosing to maintain or not contents.

Let us see another point now that the press on line from its new support of diffusion raises. It relates to the assistances with the press given by the state to facilitate the edition.

This help with the edition must make it possible to help the diffusion and to preserve the financial independence of the companies of press. This must help the reader indirectly has to have access to a better diffusion.

Under the assistances to the diffusion appear: preferential postage rates, assistance with the form of the French press abroad, assistance with the bearing.

Under them assistances intended to protect financial independence appear: a reduced rate of VAT of 2,1% on the sales, a special mode of provisions for investments (article 39 (a) of the General Tax Code), the exemption of the professional tax, the funds of direct assistances to the daily newspapers of political and general information, the bottom of modernization of the daily and comparable press.

Majority of the assistances, direct and indirect, which melt the economic mode of the press are not applicable to the multi-media press.

The postal assistances and of imposition must be approved to be applicable by the Joint Committee of the publications and agencies of press answering the criteria of the articles D 18 and following of the code of the stations and telecommunications and 72 and 73 of appendix III with the General Tax Code : to be of general interest as for the diffusion of the thought, to be marked legal, to appear regularly at least once per quarter, to devote less two thirds of their surface to publicity, to be the subject of an effective sale.

In an opinion on 23 June 1959 delivered about a publication of press diffused by way of telefax, the Council of State specified that it was advisable to limit the benefit of the economic mode of the press to the «printed publications, allowing by immediate reading the diffusion of the thought and not requiring a special equipment». This interpretation was confirmed by the high jurisdiction in a stop of 23 November 1987 refusing the extension of the assistance to the telematic press.

Moreover since it does not obey same the particular constraints of manufacture and distribution, the press on line is not likely to be given the same aids as the clipboard. The benefit of the economic mode of the press is justified by the supported material constraints (manufacture, impression and distribution of the specimens paper) not supported by the press on line. The absence of loads related to the production paper (impression, pulling) reduced expenses of realization of the newspaper with approximately 50% of the costs, to limit those only to the only costs of collection and drafting of information.

The VAT with 2.1% is not applicable one any more to the sale of the numerical newspapers as it is it for the sale on paper medium.

The proposals for a tax relief for the newspapers on line or various products multimedia were not retained in the finance law for 2002.

The deputy RPR Patrice Martin-Lalande did not make a success of his blow of inch. He had proposed to reduce the taxation for the press in line with 2.1%.

Definitively adopted by the French National Assembly on December 19, the budget 2002 does not contain this provision.

The reason of this refusal always remains that the electronic press is not subjected to same the expenses as the newspaper industry.

Under them assistances of which can profit the electronic press, must be mentioned the bottom of assistance presses and multi-media.

Several titles also could profit from the bottom of modernization of the press to contribute to projects of diversification and numerical development.

The question of the royalties is not new, insofar as the plundering of works of the spirit did not await Internet to start. However the network is likely to give a worrying broadth to him.

Juridically, the royalty is defined as «the prerogative allotted to the author of a work of the spirit». This prerogative comprises a right pécunier which is the right to benefit from the work, and a moral right which is the royalty of a work literary, artistic, or scientist to reveal it, to fix the conditions of operating of them and to defend the integrity of it. The respect of the moral right gives to the journalist a possibility of control, inalienable on the use which is made of its work. Any use of the latter cannot be made without its prior agreement.

The presence of a work on Internet implies beforehand its digitalization. However, such an act corresponds not only to one reproduction of work, but also to its adaptation, because of transformation of analogical data into binary data. In this respect, the Green Book of the European Commission on the royalties and the close rights (July 1995) establish that the digitalization of a work must fall under the empire from the reproduction right, just as the loading of this one on the main memory of a computer.

The digitalization of a work must thus be authorized beforehand by the holder of the rights.

The question which interests us primarily is to know if a journalist who works for the daily newspaper of a newspaper industry will be able to take advantage of his royalty when the article is transposed on the numerical support.

Indeed, the editors of press pour readily the contents of their traditional publications on the Fabric. But when nobody asks for the agreement of the journalists, lawsuits and negotiations follow one another.

The first lawsuit which was the symbol of the position of French jurisprudence is the lawsuit of the Last News of Alsace^60(*) (DNA).

February 1998, it is a first in the French press: the Court of Bankruptcy of Strasbourg gives reason to the journalists of the Alsatian daily newspaper in the conflict which opposed them to their direction on the remuneration of the articles diffused on Internet^61(*).

The daily newspaper of Strasbourg had then diffused free for two years a Web version of its newspaper paper. For the trade unions which carried the business in front of justice, the question is to know if the journalists have rights on their production. Beside a tiny remuneration, they especially claim to be associated the diffused product. In light: to have a right of glance.

For the direction, the Web constitutes a mode of diffusion and not another publication. The returned ordinance will oblige it to re-examine its copy and to open negotiations. The court judged indeed that it « journalist limits the transfer of his royalty to a first publication, and that the reproduction of the work of a professional journalist in another periodical is subjected to authorization « .

April 9, 1998, the journalists and the direction end up falling from agreement. The journalists will perceive 8% of the receipts generated by the paying products and 10% of the clear margin of the free products with a minimum of 200 F for the permanent ones and 30 F for the freelance journalists.

This solution will be confirmed in one second business implying the trust company of the Barber Magazine.

The editor had carried out the telematic publication of his files and proposed the sending of copies of articles by fax or e-mail... without the agreement of his journalists. In front of the court, defense again tried to make admit that « the telematic edition is only one prolongation of the diffusion of the newspaper «, not requiring a new agreement of the journalists.

But, April 14, 1999, the Court of Bankruptcy of Paris concludes in a general way that any reproduction, « on a new support resulting from recent technology «, namely the Minitel, Internet, and about CD-ROM, requires not only one new remuneration of the journalists but, especially, the assent express train of having the right^62(*).

Teaching already bore its fruits since the direction of the Echoes agreed to negotiate the fate of the articles of its journalists.

The agreement authorizes the free use of the articles for the electronic publishing of the day. On the other hand, the journalists will receive a remuneration for any consultation of the articles fallen into the paying files. A reasonable solution: it does not compromise the setting on line of the traditional press.

The World also made to him from the agreements with its journalists in order to authorize a reproduction of the articles on the numerical one. These agreements seem to show that the journalists are obviously not hostile with the publication of their articles on the network but refuse to be completely put has the variation.

The chart is delivered by the Commission of the indentity card of the professional journalists (CCIJP)^63(*).

This commission is made up with parity of representatives of the editors of newspapers and trade unionists elected by the journalists, this commission is charged by the law with delivering a professional chart with the journalists who can claim there. Because this law, adopted without debate unanimously of the Parliament in March 1935, gives for the first time a professional statute to the journalists who were deprived by it.

To deliver the chart, the commission will analyze each file of the whole of the requests to decide to allot or not the statute of journalist.

It will be based on a definition which characterizes the function of journalist.

«The professional journalist is that which has as a principal, regular and remunerated occupation, the exercise of its profession in a daily or periodic publication published in France or in a French agency of information and which draws the main thing from it from the resources necessary to its existence».

It should be known that one can to have an activity of journalist without having the chart but the national collective agreement of prohibited work of the journalists to employ during more than three months of the professional and comparable journalists who would not be titular or for which this chart would not have been required.

Since May 22, 1936, date on which joined together the commission on the first time, the journalists of the newspaper industry can have by this chart a statute of journalist.

Later, the appearance of the journalists on radio or television did not prevent the commission from delivering charts to them but what for the journalists of the multi-media one happenhappens ?

Vis-a-vis the trade and technological developments, the higher commission of the professional indentity card of the journalists does not exclude the recognition from an activity of journalist within a multi-media company of information, although it is not a framework of activity expressly recognized by the fair labor standards act.

Consequently, the journalists carrying on their activity within such a company can present a request for delivery of professional chart attached to the commission. They must then be able to bring the proof of the principal and regular character of their activity of data processing.
Indeed, the commission carries out a strict examination of the journalistic character of the activity of the applicant within sight of a precise description of the tasks, a list of the covered subjects and services on which they are offered to the public. It requires moreover that the applicant be attached to the national collective agreement of work of the journalists and to the one of his qualifications.

The social status afférant with the quality of journalist (the allowance for expenses of employment of the journalists and reduced rates of contributions of social security which had by the companies of press for employment) finds application.

In short a journalist on Internet can have the chart of press if it answers has three principal criteria :

1. To work as journalist in an independent structure.
2. To have for principal mission, that to inform the public.
3. To raise of the collective agreement of the journalists and to be remunerated like tel.

This assumption was not really checked owing to the fact that the press on Internet was seen granted some specific legal rules to its statute.

The rules, which direct the press on Internet, in general will find application in the old law of the press of 1881 but it also will have its own rules which come from its new design features.

It will not have, for example, of preliminary declaration to make as it will not have either access to assistances which are planned for the newspaper industry and which will not apply to the electronic press.

It remains it should be noted that there is no fundamental change between the rules which apply to the newspaper industry and the rules which apply to Internet.

The theoretical checking of these assumptions showed us in a first point that the electronic version of the daily newspapers was going to come complémentariser the version paper.

Like made the radio and television, Internet is new media which go complémentariser with the others.

The theoretical checking of these assumptions also proposed this activity as being a new profession with new professionals and a particular statute.

With regard to his state in the economic market, one feels although the electronic press suffers from a lack of audience.

Internet is a media still little used compared to the others and when it is used is not primarily to go on the sites of press.

The profitability of this electronic press does not cause in general at present profit.

There is indeed the report/ratio of a maintenance carried out near Mr Frederic Saler, journalist multi-media with the electronic daily newspaper Sudouest.com. ^64(*)

With also carried out an investigation near the population of the South Basin with a sample of 150 people.

The first was to present the Western Southern group and its Sudouest.com. daily newspaper.

In the second place, this research will analyze the behavior and the attitudes of the population of the South Basin to reach their regional information.

Lastly, they aim to support our theoretical research in order to check our assumptions.

* ³⁶ Author of « Désigning Web usability : The practice off simplicity » ; New riders publishing ; 1999; One can see his site with www.useit.com

* ⁴⁰ Charles de Laubier ; The press one line in Europe ; http://www.scd.univ-tours.fr/Epress/sommaire.html; Chapter 9

* ⁴¹ Charles de Laubier ; « The press on Internet » ; ED. What I know ?; 2000 ; Pages 92

* ⁴⁵ Charles de Laubier ; « The press on Internet » ; ED. What I know ?; 2000 ; Pages 96

* ⁵⁴ speeches quoted by stephane Arteta ; « Foul weather for the press on line » ; New observer ; 2002 ; http://www.nouvelobs.com/articles/p1946/a11757.html.

* ⁶¹ « Schedule business DNA » ; Juriscom.net ; 1998 ; http://www.juriscom.net/txt/jurisfr/da/tgistrasbourg19980204.htm

* 1⁶² « Judgment of the company Barber » ; juriscom.net ; 1999 ; http://www.juriscom.net/txt/jurisfr/da/tgiparis19990414.htm.

E-Presse : Presse en danger ou complément de l'information

arrival of direct marketing could make followers in the editors tempted to deliver on line a single edition for each reader, according to his needs.

With the practice personalized of « push », the telenetspectator was born.