Media: Serge Nedjar, head of CNews, appointed editorial director of Prisma Media
CNews boss Serge Nedjar, a close associate of Vincent Bolloré, was appointed editorial director of the Prisma Media magazine group, also owned by the conservative billionaire, on Wednesday, September 10, according to a message to employees, which has sparked internal fears. "What we have long feared is happening: this is truly the beginning of Bolloré's reactionary offensive against Prisma Media," declared Emmanuel Vire, the group's SNJ-CGT union representative.
"Serge Nedjar has been appointed Director of the Women's, TV, Ludique, Découverte and Economique editorial teams," writes Arnaud Lagardère, the new president of Prisma Media (Voici, Capital, Femme actuelle, Télé-Loisirs, etc.), in this message revealed by Challenges magazine. Serge Nedjar will retain his position at CNews. At Prisma Media, he reports to the new vice-president Gérald-Brice Viret, who is also the general director of Canal+ France, to which CNews belongs.
Prisma's management returned the internal message without further comment. Arnaud Lagardère wrote that Serge Nedjar's arrival reflects the desire to "strengthen the leadership" of France's leading magazine group.
These appointments follow the departure at the end of August of Prisma Media President Claire Léost, who left for CMA Media (RMC radio and BFMTV). She was replaced by Arnaud Lagardère, who is also Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors of Louis Hachette Group, which owns Prisma.
Vivendi, a group controlled by Vincent Bolloré since 2014, acquired Prisma Media in 2021 , and already owned Canal+. Last December, this giant split into four separate entities: Canal+, Havas (communications), Louis Hachette Group (publishing and media, including Europe 1 and JDD via the Lagardère group) and what remains of the Vivendi holding company.
CNews, France's leading news channel in terms of audience share, has been accused by left-wing politicians of promoting far-right ideas, a claim it denies. Interviewed by MPs in early 2024, Serge Nedjar assured that he had "never been subjected to any pressure" from Vincent Bolloré . He said he called him "almost daily, or every other day, about audience figures."
In July, Prisma entered into "exclusive negotiations" to buy the celebrity titles Ici Paris and France Dimanche.
Furthermore, journalists and unions from Le Parisien/Aujourd'hui en France expressed alarm on Tuesday at the possibility of the daily newspaper being sold to the Bolloré group by the luxury giant LVMH, following recurring rumors.
La Croıx
