Recent Liberation front page headlined: We Are A Newspaper; Photograph: Pierre Andrieu/AFP/Getty Images
Liberation has always been known for its unique treatment of obituaries, as in a tribute to the creator of the cartoon character Tintin, Georges Prosper Remi dit Hergé, upon his death in 1983. The entire edition included photos of the character.
Indeed, we bond with those publications which we help to redesign, to rethink, to move from one stage to the next.
This time, it is France's Liberation. This is the newspaper that Jean Paul Sartre created, along with Serge July (the editor with whom we were honored to work).
It has been the darling of the intellectual left. Of those who made it part of their morning ritual, along with cafe au lair and a croissant. Of those who love the unconventional, as when an entire edition runs photos of Fred Astaire on the day the famous Hollywood tap dancer died.
For us at Garcia Media, in 2003 Liberation became a project that took us to lovely Paris, and into its precious building with the great views of the capital's landmarks.
Just moving around the “morgue” or archives of this daily was a delight. We should have paid for the opportunity. I remember that, as I researched the visual past of this newspaper, they almost had to pluck me away from the bound volumes: so much delightful history of France and the world, of celebrities long gone, a virtual tour of life in Paris as per the lens of Libé's journalists and photographers. A tour de force.
Libé has always been a feisty newspaper. Fighting has been part of its DNA. And today, it fights with a stronger sense of what's right, and in danger of losing the battle. It's definitely a bitter battle taking place between stakeholders, journalists and management.
Recently, the paper published a front-page striking back at the management's plans for diversification, with the headline: ‘We are a newspaper (and not a restaurant, a social network, a cultural space, a TV set, a bar, or a start-up incubator)'.'
Here is hoping that Libé prevails. It is a unique title that should continue to kiss ass, whether you agree with its mission or not.
I know that I am better having participated in one of Liberation's many remakes.
Of related interest
Mark Porter on Liberation's redesigns
http://www.markporter.com/notebook/?p=270
Recommended reading today
10 essential self-taught journalism skills
http://www.journalism.co.uk/news/ten-essential-self-taught-journalism-skills/s2/a557267/
Highlight:
No journalism course is all-encompassing and there will always be new skills to learn, so here are some skills to consider picking up in your free time