A Normalien committed to independent and pluralistic media

Vianney Baudeu (class of 2008, Law, Economics, Management) has been, since July 2025, the general director of the Spiil, the Syndicate of Independent Online Information Press.
The Syndicate works in favor of the independence and pluralism of the media in France by defending its members: publishers of independent media.

Vianney Baudeu was admitted to the ENS Paris-Saclay competitive exam in 2008, in the law, economics, and management department, which depends on the newly created branch in Rennes. His normalien course is coupled with a Bachelor’s degree in Law and a Master 1 at the University of Rennes, including an Erasmus exchange at the University of Copenhagen. He then completes his education with a Master 2 at the University Paris 1, then with the “Public Affairs” Master’s at Sciences Po.
“I took the time to do my studies,” he comments, “seven years in all! That’s also a piece of advice I readily give to young normaliennes and normaliens who wonder about their future: ‘Think about your path. Outside of the teaching and research route, everything is possible after leaving the ENS.’”

After the sacrifices made during the preparation for the exam, Vianney appreciates the study conditions.
“We were very well supervised in brand-new premises,” he recalls, “and the School handled all the administrative aspects of the studies. The status of élève normalien allows us to be paid, therefore autonomous, which was not negligible,” he points out.
Little attracted by teaching, he chooses not to take the agrégation, considering that one should “leave it to those who wanted to make something of it.”
The School, according to him, favoring “substance over form,” encourages its students to “look deep into things.” That gave him methodological rigor and the ability “to write, argue, and discuss,” skills that served him especially at the beginning of his career.

Media and Public Affairs

During his studies, Vianney did internships in the communication department of the Senate, in the budget directorate, as well as in the film sector, which he particularly likes.
“I have always had a taste for public affairs and for media in general: I made the combination of both the guiding thread of my professional path.”
He enters the Conseil Supérieur de l’Audiovisuel (CSA), which became ARCOM in 2014, “a bit by chance.” He spends one year in the legal department, then three years in international and European affairs.
“This experience laid the foundations of my later involvement in defending the interests of media at the European level,” he confides.
In 2018, he joins, as advisor in charge of institutional and European affairs, the Société civile des auteurs multimédia (Scam), a collective management organization of copyright that redistributes royalties to documentary filmmakers, audiovisual and radio directors, journalists, press cartoonists, and photographers.

Acting in favor of the pluralism of independent press

Since July 2025, he holds the position of general director of the Spiil, the Syndicate of Independent Online Information Press.
This professional organization brings together 250 independent digital press publishers, essentially “pure players” (100% online media), as well as titles that have print editions.
“The Spiil works for the general interest,” asserts the normalien.
“My main mission is to ensure the defense of the interests of its members and, more broadly, the viability, sustainability, and pluralism of independent media.”

For Vianney, the world of information is crossed by a double fragility.
“It is first economic — the media market has seen a destruction of value of 7 billion euros between 2019 and 2024 in the European Union.
It is then democratic: the threats include disinformation, foreign interference, and the dominant position of digital platforms in the distribution of information.”

The Spiil acts above all to safeguard the independence of its members, faced with ownership structures “likely to generate conflicts of interest.”
Vianney Baudeu thus has as regular interlocutors the public authorities and their representatives.
The syndicate also plays a role of support and advice for its members. It helps them to build their files to obtain approval from the Commission paritaire de la presse, which allows access to the specific economic regime of the press.
“We also manage the association ‘J’aime l’info,’ a platform that allows media, whether members of the Spiil or not, to launch fundraising campaigns that are tax-exempt.”
Proof that the Spiil has succeeded in raising awareness: the platform collected nearly 8 million euros in donations last year.

“My overall agenda is clear,” concludes Vianney Baudeu, “entirely focused on a major democratic challenge: preserving the existence of independent media and defending publishers against platforms and artificial intelligence operators.”