Claire Chazal's classy farewell

Another page has turned in broadcast journalism in France.

Sunday evening witnessed a classy farewell from, Claire Chazal, the woman who has anchored the lunchtime and evening weekend news on TF1 for the past 24 years.

Claire Chazal (screenshot, TF1 - her last news programme)

Chazal was unceremoniously "given the boot" after returning from her summer hols.

In much the same fashion as Patrick Poivre d'Arvor (PPDA) back in July 2008, Chazal was "thanked for her services" and given just a few weeks notice.

Indeed, PPDA (among many others) even Tweeted his support and admiration after Chazal's last broadcast, saying pointedly how she had shown "an elegance most definitely missing in her boss" Nonce Paolini.

PPDA Tweet

Her departure probably didn't come as much of a surprise. In fact, it has been on the cards for some time, especially after PPDA was shown the door.

They both came from a different era in terms of news broadcasting.

Falling audiences (ah yes - the news isn't really just about "news" now, is it? Ratings...and advertising revenue also count) and a desire from the Powers That Be to "rejuvenate" the channel's news team are probably the main factors leading to Chazal's rather fast dismissal.

She'll be replaced by her summer stand-in (and 20-year younger) Anne-Claire Coudray.

Chazal's "style",  deferential and somewhat staid, has come in for a fair amount of criticism over the years and the 58-year-old, no matter how popular she might be among the French, has often been perceived as "soft" on her studio guests.

The most recent example came four years ago when  the former International Monetary Fund boss, Dominique Strauss Kahn chose Chazal's evening news programme to declare his innocence and admit to only having made a "moral error" after alleged  rape charges against him in New York had been dropped.

Chazal, a close friend of DSK's then-wife, Anne Sinclair, didn't pursue any real line of journalistic questioning, allowing her "guest" to have his say.

And that was very much her "technique" over the years: one which quite possibly endeared her to the public but didn't sit particularly well with "real news" gatherers.

Chazal's final "goodbye" and a montage of some of her moments, used to pay tribute to her by her colleagues, were fittingly graceful.

She thanked viewers and those with whom she had worked, saluting the "professionalism of the TF1 editorial team"  saying that she left her post with "immense sadness" but wished her successor, Coudray, "as much enjoyment as she had had."




Claire Chazal's classy farewell - would you really have expected anything less?

TF1 prime time news anchor Laurence Ferrari quits

TF1's prime time news anchor Laurence Ferrari will bid farewell to viewers on Thursday evening.

Laurence Ferrari (screenshot TF1 news)

She's off to pastures new(ish), returning to work for the Canal + group with a talk show on Direct 8 which will, in her words, "give her more freedom" and where she'll be able to "bring her experience and personality" - something Ferrari feels she has been unable to do at TF1.

It's hardly the end of an era for French television as the 46-year old has only been presenting TF1's prime time news since September 2008.

That pales somewhat into insignificance compared to the length of tenure of her predecessor, Patrick Poivre d'Arvor (PPDA), who had been doing the job for donkeys years - well 21 of them to be precise.

But her decision came as something of a surprise apparently and the channel now has to look for a replacement.

That of course means speculation is rife and the "usual suspects" are being put forward as potential successors.

Perhaps the most obvious choice would be Harry Roselmack.

He's popular (with viewers) has done the job before (as a stand-in for both PPDA and Ferrari) and currently presents a couple of other programmes on TF1.

But it's only a year since Roselmack announced that he was stepping down from presenting the news to "concentrate on his other projects" - maybe too soon for a return.

Anne-Sophie Lapix, who replaced Ferrari at TF1 when she initially left for Canal + and then again at Canal + when Ferrari returned to TF1 (yes this is very much a game of musical chairs) has already ruled herself out saying she's happy where she is.

And then there's the name of "the dashing" Laurent Delahousse, who has very much stamped his mark on the weekend news over at France 2.

Every time there's a vacancy somewhere (such as when M6 launched its revamped nightly news bulletin or was looking around for a new presenter for 'Capital') Delahousse's name crops up.

He's saying nothing...at the moment.

Mélissa Theuriau? She seems happy at M6 with the fortnightly investigative magazine 'Zone Interdite'.

Julien Arnaud is another possibility. He's currently the replacement for TF1's weekend anchor Claire Chazal but there's a blemish on his record as the mid-morning programme he presented, 'Près de chez vous', was cancelled a year ago after just five months.

And let's not forget Ferrari's former husband Thomas Hugues (hold on to your hats, here comes more musical chairs).

He used to fill in for Chazal at the weekends and present TF1's Sunday evening magazine  'Sept à Huit' with Ferrari.

Both jobs were handed to Roselmack when Ferrari left for Canal + first time around and Hugues went to...well everywhere and nowhere really, most notably i>Télé.

On second thoughts perhaps Hugues is simply too lightweight to be considered.

In the short term it'll be TF1's former London and Washington correspondent Gilles Bouleau who'll take over.

He has been Ferrari's stand-in since Roselmack resigned (aaaaaaargh - this is impossible to follow isn't it) and is also being touted by some as a potential full-time replacement, especially as he comes with little "celebrity status" baggage.

The successful candidate will surely need to be someone the French feel they can - in a manner of speaking - welcome into their homes every evening and who has the stature and credibility of being both a presenter and a journalist.

Those aren't easy roles to combine in a country where the softly-softly deferential approach is often the preferred one especially when "interviewing" political leaders on TV.

Whoever TF1 chooses, the likelihood is that the decision will be made with one eye on audience figures.

Yes,  TV is news is ratings-driven and that has been a constant criticism levelled at Ferrari with the numbers tuning in to watch falling from a nightly average of 9.1 million when she took over to around 6.4 million.

It would be unfair to put that down solely to Ferrari.

She has been up against stiff competition, most notably from David Pujadas who presents the equivalent prime time news programme at exactly the same time as Ferrari over at the public channel France 2.

And there has probably also been a change in French viewing habits - not everyone wants to watch the news at eight o'clock in the evening - coupled with a wider choice of channels - in number if not content.

Throw in the fact that there are now competing all-news broadcasters such as BFM TV, i>Télé and TF1's sister channel LCI and it's surely little surprise that viewing figures have dropped.

Finally on a purely professional behind-the-scenes level he or she will have to work with TF1 news director Catherine Nayl with whom Ferrari has apparently had a less than easy relationship.

And here's the latest news from France read to you by...

Laurence Ferrari. Who? You might well ask.

Ah well she's the golden girl of French news, the darling of the media here (for the moment) and the not-so-new face at the helm of TF1's flagship prime time news , Le Journal de 20 heures (JT)

Not so new in the sense that she's returning to TF1, France's largest private channel, after a couple of years at rival Canal +.

On Monday 8,3 million French (40.2 per cent of the viewing public) tuned in to watch her as she made her debut. The curiosity factor undoubtedly high as she stepped in to the role so long the almost exclusive property of veteran newscaster, Patrick Poivre d'Arvor, (PPDA).

He made his last broadcast at the beginning of the summer, "resigning" from the channel after 21 years on the job following TF1's decision to replace him with Ferrari.

So how did she do? Was there really anything new that she brought to the broadcast apart from being a fresh face and a woman? Did she live up to the media kerfuffle and hype surrounding her appointment?

Well of course it's early days yet, but that hasn't stopped the press from taking a slightly partisan interest. After all, some would argue there's nothing more any profession likes more than discussing and analysing itself. So why should journalism be any different? And Ferrari has certainly filled more than her fair share of column inches over the past few days.

The website of one weekly news magazine, Le Point, has even gone so far as to promise to follow her progress over the whole of her first week on the job, and has invited readers to share their opinions.

Of course those opinions tend to be very much split, running the whole gamut from saying Ferrari "gabbles" is "too distant" and "lacks humility'" to a "breath of fresh air" and "youthful vigour."

Whatever the case, Ferrari undoubtedly has a hard act to follow as PPDA was something of a national institution here in France and for three decades on one channel or another had been virtually the face and voice of television news.

Part of the reported reason for his dismissal was the gradual drop in ratings over the past year even though hovering around an average share of 35 per cent plus, it was still twice that of its main rival on France 2, the country's public television channel.

TF1 has seen a drop in its general share of the audience across the spectrum, partly because there are a number of new (private) channels that have sprung up.

And when it comes to news, not only does it now find itself competing of course with other sources such as the Net, but there are also three other all-news channels to be taken into account (LCI, BFM and i-Tele).

Add to that the tradition here in France that both TF1 and France 2 have their flagship news broadcasts going head-to-head at 8pm and it's perhaps not surprising that JT has seen a drop in ratings over the past year.

Whatever media pundits might say - and they've been saying plenty - TF1 has hardly taken a gamble with Ferrari. Far from being simply a pretty face to fill the screen, she's also an accomplished and well-respected journalist.

The 41-year-old first joined TF1 in 2000 and for the next six years formed one half of the golden couple of TV news along with her former husband, Thomas Hugues. The pair presented a weekly fast-paced news magazine and were regular holiday stand-ins for the channel’s main news presenters - Ferrari for Claire Chazal at the weekends and Hugues ironically enough for PPDA on weekdays.

In 2006 she jumped ship for Canal +, which gave her less exposure to the public at large but couldn’t have been better timed professionally speaking as it came at the beginning of the campaign for last year’s presidential elections.

Her weekly political programme, “Dimanche”, gave Ferrari the chance to go one-on-one with some of France’s leading figures. And she won accolades for her pugnacity especially with the two main presidential candidates at the time, Nicolas Sarkozy and Ségoléne Royal.

Indeed the chemistry between Ferrari and Sarkozy certainly clicked – if only on a professional level rather than, as falsely rumoured later, the personal one.

The fact that TF1's CEO is Martin Bouygues, a personal friend of Sarkozy, didn't go unnoticed in the press, and there were suggestions from some quarters that more sinister powers were at work when news of Ferrari's appointment broke.

As for how she's really going to fare and what impact she will have, of course it's far too early to reach any solid conclusions. But there's unlikely to be a radical change in the near future - apart from there being a new face popping up in French sitting rooms.

Ferrari herself is quoted as saying that she doesn't want to bring about a radical shake-up in the way things have been done in the past.

"The only objective that TF1 has fixed is to produce a good news programme," she said in interviews before taking over. "I believe in continuity (of the programme) and I would prefer gradual changes rather than a revolution."

And to an extent that's exactly what she delivered. By Tuesday the curiosity factor had worn off somewhat and 7.4 million (38.7 per cent) tuned in for her second broadcast.

France's top 50 favourites "French" of course. What else did you expect?

Here's a test for some of you Francophiles out there. Who do you think the most popular (French) person in France is?

Well twice a year the national Sunday newspaper, Le Journal du Dimanche, JDD, publishes a list of this country's 50 most popular "celebrities". The inverted commas are there to stress how broad a term that is - encompassing figures from the world of sports, entertainment and heaven help us, politics.

Twice a year perhaps, not because there's that much difference between the two polls, but it sure does fill a few column inches, sets tongues a-wagging and provides some simple filler fodder for television and radio news bulletin, when there's not much else about.

And once again - just as he was last December - it's former tennis ace-turned singer and musician Yannick Noah, who is this country's most popular person.

Now you might not initially give two hoots about who the French consider to be their favourite person. But hang about a moment, because in a sense it reveals quite a lot about the country, the people and the way they think, if for nothing more than the sheer diversity of the people listed.

Tennis ace

Noah's father was a professional footballer for the Cameroon and his mother the daughter of a French poet.

It was his tennis career that first put him on the map, winning the French Open at Roland Garros back in 1983, endearing him to many in France by bringing pride to the nation as a Frenchman winning on home turf (or better said clay). He twice steered the French team as captain to victory in the Davis Cup and in the 1990s reinvented himself as a musician and singer with the first in a string of hit albums and singles.

Twice married with five children - one of whom, Joakim plays for the Chicago Bulls in the NBA - Noah perhaps represents much of what the French love about their "stars". He is an individual who has succeeded in more than one sphere and is not afraid to speak his mind.

He has been an outspoken defender of the rights of immigrants, humanitarian causes and the environment as well as being politically engaged and critical of the centre-right Union pour un Mouvement Populaire (Union for a Popular Movement UMP) party.

In last year's presidential election he openly supported the Socialist candidate, Ségolène Royal, and told the media he would be "profoundly disappointed" if Nicolas Sarkozy were to win.

Box office hit

Figuring for the first time in the poll as the country's second most popular figure is the actor, comedian and director Dany Boon.

Again another multi-talented person (seemingly a French speciality as many stars shine in more than one field) Boon's latest film, Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis, became the country's largest grossing domestic box office hit ever when it was released in February this year, attracting more than 20 million cinema goers.

Again that says a lot about the French, who are not exactly renowned for being able to laugh at themselves. The film illustrates with a great deal of humour, the differences between those living in the "cold, wet north" and their virtually impenetrable dialect with those from the "hot, sunny south" of the country.

It's not the French laughing "at" those from the north (where Boon was born and brought up) but "with" them, challenging the established clichés and prejudices.

Of course it's a formula guaranteed to work abroad. The rights have already been sold to Italy. And in the United States, look out for actor Will Smith to Hollywood-it up.

Zizou, the environmentalist and the top woman

Retired football international, and arguably one of the world's greatest players ever, Zinedine Zidane, ranks third in the new poll.

Whatever he may have done during the closing minutes of the 2006 World Cup final in Germany, "Zizou", as he is affectionately known here, remains an idol for many of the country's youth and a favourite among the French in general and has held the top spot several times over the years.

At number 4 in the rankings is a man probably not too well known outside of France, - the environmentalist, ecologist and TV presenter, Nicolas Hulot.

Against all odds perhaps, he somehow managed to get politicians in last year's presidential elections to sign a pledge saying they would make environmental issues an essential element in any of their policy decisions should they be elected.

Rounding out the top five is the first woman - a perennial favourite in this country, in the shape of the diminutive, Mimie Mathy - star of a popular television series, comdienne, singer and all-round entertainer.

Top favourites

In the 20 years that the poll has been going, only five different people have occupied the number one slot, proving perhaps that once the French take someone to their hearts, they're unwilling and unlikely to drop them.

And none of the most revered five has been Posh 'n Becks or Brangelina types figures.

Topping the list for more than a decade were two men. Either the French naval office, explorer, ecologist, fimaker, scientist, photographer - you name it he seems to have done it - the late Jacques-Yves Cousteau. Or L'Abbé Pierre.

In fact when the newspaper decided to commission the "top of the tops" so-to-speak, it was L'Abbé Pierre who came out ahead - just.

And few in this country will forget the tributes paid to him last year when he died at the age of 94.

During his life, the Catholic priest (born Henri Grouès) was not only a member of the French resistance in the Second World War, but a member of parliament, a champion of the poor, the homeless and of refugees.

In 1949 he founded the Emmaus charity here in France, a concept for providing accommodation and employment for otherwise homeless people and "recycling" a number of what might otherwise be considered "useless" products.

In France, if you have a table for example that you no longer need, don't throw it out, but donate it to Emmaus instead, they'll sell it on and put the money to good use.

L'Abbé Pierre was, and still is, the "voice and the conscience" of the poor for many here in France.

The only other three French (men - as a woman has yet make the number one slot) to top the poll have all been sportsmen. As well as Noah and Zizou of course, there has been multi world and Olympic judo champion, David Douillet.

Best of the rest

Among other notable names that might strike a chord outside of France in this latest Top 50 is the recently sacked prime time news anchor Patrick Poivre d'Avoir, PPDA (15).

He still remains popular in spite of what his former employer TF1 might think. PPDA's replacement in the autumn, the golden girl of television news, Laurence Ferrari (48), makes her first appearance in the top 50.

Among politicians, it's Ingrid Betancourt (21) , much in the headlines after her release last month by FARC and also making her first appearance in the list, who is the highest placed, well ahead of Sarkozy (44) and Royal (49).

In between the two "finalists" for last year's French presidential race is another face from the world of (French) politics, the 34-year-old leader and spokesman of the far left, Ligue Communiste Révolutionnaire, Olivier Besancenot (45). Now that certainly speaks volumes about how the French view their politicians.

And squeezing in to the top 50 for the very first time is Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, officially defined in the poll as a "singer"

Adieu PPDA

There was an end of a television era here yesterday as Patrick Poivre d'Arvor, affectionately known in this country as PPDA, made his final broadcast as anchorman on TF1's prime time news slot.

Think of a news anchor in your own country, someone who has been around for donkeys years and at a certain time of the day when the small screen is flickering becomes almost part of the sitting room furniture.

PPDA has been something of a national institution in France for the past three decades and has quite simply been the face and voice of news, first on public television in 1976 and then from the mid 80s on the nation's main private channel, TF1.

When you turned on the box to tune in at 8.00pm any weekday evening (holidays excepted of course) there he was in his own distinctive, laid back, gentle yet authoritative style, reading what you somehow just knew to be true - even if sometimes it wasn't, such as the fake "exclusive" personal interview with Fidel Castro that had in fact simply been edited material lifted from a press conference.

But recent events have forced 60-year-old PPDA into earlier than expected retirement - at least from what's considered to be the plum job in French television news. And from September he'll be replaced by Laurence Ferrari, who'll be making her return to TF1 after a couple of years honing her not inconsiderable skills on a rival channel.

Millions tuned in for PPDA's last broadcast, which as usual he read with panache, switching from one report to another and then effortlessly and seamlessly arriving at his farewell.

There wasn't a moment's hesitation, no sudden change, no melodramatic difference in tone as PPDA simply quoted Shakespeare by saying there was a time when everyone had to move on and the inevitable could not be avoided.

He thanked viewers for their support throughout the years, his production team and even his (now) former employer TF1

"Thank you for these past two magnificent decades. It has been an honour to be here and to have been able to practise this magical profession," he modestly said.

And then directly to the viewers, "I'm sure we'll see each other soon."

As the credits rolled, the clock went back over the decades to a time when PPDA still had a full head of hair.

There were clips of a much younger PPDA reporting live from Rwanda and more recently from New York after 9/11. Then a whole host of interview partners throughout the years including "spats" with former and current French presidents, Mitterrand, Chirac and Sarkozy. Interviews with other international figures past and present, Mother Theresa, Nelson Mandela, Bill Clinton, Saddam Hussein, Yasser Arafat and many, many more as television did what only television can by summing up a life or a career in less than 30 seconds.

His dignity made one particular viewer feel most humble.


PPDA's farewell

Ferrari to return as PPDA is given the boot

One of France’s top news anchors, Patrick Poivre d'Arvor, will bid farewell to viewers this summer and be replaced by the darling of the French media, Laurence Ferrari.

PPDA as he is more affectionately known has been a familiar face on prime time news for more than three decades. For Ferrari it marks a return to TF1 – the country’s biggest private television channel - which she left in December 2006 to host a weekly political programme on rival station Canal +.

The change signals something of a revolution in French television journalism. After all PPDA has been more or less the face and the voice of television news for the past 30 years.

In February 1976 he was chosen to present the prime time news on the country’s public channel Antenne 2, which later became France 2. He jumped ship nine years later to join TF1, where he has been ever since.

His tenure has been remarkable in the often fickle world of television in which ratings rule. But a recent drop in viewing figures has been compounded by stories of his autocratic style with newsroom colleagues and the desire by the powers-that-be for a change at the top.

Not surprisingly Ferrari didn’t require that much persuading to return to TF1. Despite a recent drop in ratings, the 8 o’clock evening news still regularly attracts more than 10 million viewers and is quite simply the most prestigious job in television journalism.

The 41-year-old first joined TF1 in 2000 and for the next six years formed one half of the golden couple of TV news along with her former husband, Thomas Hugues. The pair presented a weekly fast-paced news magazine and were regular holiday stand-ins for the channel’s main news presenters - Ferrari for Claire Chazal at the weekends and Hugues ironically enough for PPDA on weekdays.

Ferrari’s move in 2006 to Canal + came as a surprise to many, after all it gave her less exposure to the public at large. But it couldn’t have been better timed professionally speaking, coming as it did at the beginning of the campaign for last year’s presidential elections.

Her weekly political programme, “Dimanche”, gave Ferrari the chance to go one-on-one with some of France’s leading figures. And she won accolades for her pugnacity especially with the two main presidential candidates at the time, Nicolas Sarkozy and Ségoléne Royal.

Indeed the chemistry between Ferrari and Sarkozy certainly clicked – if only on a professional level rather than, as falsely rumoured later, the personal one.

Much is being made of Ferrari’s glamour and there’s no denying her looks but she’s also an accomplished journalist with years of experience. Her arrival should provide a boost to TF1, not least from those curious to see a fresh face at the helm.

But for some media watchers there are perhaps more sinister powers at work.

The merry-go-round in front of the cameras is also being accompanied by a shake up behind the scenes at TF1 with appointments in both news production and direction seeming to be made at the behest of the channel’s major shareholder – Bouygues – whose CEO, Martin Bouygues, just happens to be a close friend of Sarkozy.

At the same time public television is getting ready to scrap advertising, as ordered by Sarkozy earlier this year, with rumours a-plenty that the aim is in fact to pave the way to eventual privatisation of the main channel, France 2.

Not surprisingly perhaps there’s speculation in some quarters that Sarkozy is setting himself up as France’s answer to Italy’s Silvio Berlusconi, with a hands-on approach to setting the media agenda.

Be that as it may, the immediate question is what next for the 60-year-old PPDA? With his experience he’ll certainly be courted by competitive channels and is unlikely to disappear completely from the small screen. And of course there’s also doubt as to how long Chazal will be able to hang on to her weekend slot before being replaced.