Shortly after ten at night, Éric Brunet, the presenter of the programme, repeats the same ritual every day: he explains to the viewers that there will only be a few minute commercial break. “Then make yourself comfortable because we will talk about Ukraine for 90 minutes, without interruptions,” he adds.
The French private continuous information channel LCI, a subsidiary of TF1 –owned by the Bouygues group– and founded in 1994, has made an unusual bet among the international media. Since the invasion of Ukraine took place 17 months ago, it has devoted massive coverage to the conflict. It is the dominant theme throughout the time slot. It usually has several teams of special envoys on the ground, also one in Russia or in the annexed Ukrainian regions. Those responsible for the chain pride themselves on being probably the medium outside of Russia and Ukraine that reports the most on the war, even more than the mythical BBC and CNN.
A legion of analysts parade through the LCI studios, including historians, geopolitical scientists, military experts –including former NATO senior commanders–, Russian and Ukrainian exiles, ambassadors. The war in Ukraine, with all its angles, is the main plot of most programs, also on the weekend. Maps are shown, videos obtained from social networks are disseminated and excerpts from Russian television programs are offered. One of the challenges is the constant verification of the authenticity of the material they show, to rule out false news as much as possible.
Those responsible for the station, number 26 on the list of channels, have managed to demonstrate that trash TV is not an inexorable curse, that there is a thirst for good international information and that it is possible to win over a loyal audience, little tempted by channel surfing. One of the most interesting facts is that the LCI viewer remains connected, on average, 42 minutes, much longer than the two competing stations, BFMTV and CNews. The first has specialized in crimes and disasters. The second, in the opinion channel, heavily listed to the right.
One of the stars of LCI is David Pujadas, a famous journalist of Catalan origin – born in Barcelona in 1964 – who for many years presented the news on France 2. Pujadas is a master of pedagogy. His program on LCI, 24h Pujadas, is broadcast live between 6 and 8 in the afternoon. The distinguishing feature of it is the brief section Les indispensibles, a preliminary summary of facts and data on the situation that will be addressed later by the analysts on the set. Pujadas’s slogan is to be pedagogical and avoid drama. He almost always hits his goal.
LCI’s courageous journalistic strategy has earned it a double audience in one year. It currently holds 2.4% compared to 3.1% for BFMTV, the leading broadcaster among information channels. CNews is at 2.2%. They are modest percentages, but relevant, taking into account the nature of the channels, necessarily minority, which compete with numerous generalist channels and recreational content. During the Wagner militia coup attempt and the days that followed, LCI approached 5% of global audience, a figure never seen before.
It is not by chance that it is in France where such a singular news phenomenon occurs. The country has highly prestigious media in international coverage, with the newspaper Le Monde as its flagship. Traditional land of asylum, France has always welcomed Russian refugees, since before the Bolshevik revolution, during the Soviet era and with Putin in the Kremlin. The Russian and Ukrainian diaspora in France is plentiful and with a lot of gray matter, from former diplomats who collaborated with Gorbachev on perestroika to former KGB agents who dealt with Putin. LCI is the chain that most thoroughly exploits this vein.
Thanks to the internet, LCI has its audience abroad. Its presenters remind from time to time, with pride, that in the Kremlin they are also attentive to channel 26. Moscow is not left indifferent by a television that contributes so much to shaping opinion on the war in the only EU country that is a permanent member of the UN Security Council and a nuclear power.
