Hugo Travers may not think of himself as a journalist, but he could be the most popular one in France.

Travers, 26, is the founder and face of HugoDecrypte, a French media start-up that delivers news aimed primarily at young audiences. What began eight years ago as a university student’s YouTube channel now boasts 14 million followers across its social media accounts, 200 million monthly views on TikTok and another 35 million on YouTube.

HugoDecrypte’s Instagram account has more followers than Le Monde, the French daily widely considered the country’s newspaper of record, as well as BFMTV and France24, arguably the two most popular 24-hour news networks in France. And its daily news update is the most downloaded podcast in the country, according to media monitor ACPM.

“What’s very special is the fact that I really started as a YouTuber and I consider myself really as a YouTuber,” Travers told CNN in an interview last month.

Whatever you call him, there’s no denying that Travers has created something that resonates with young audiences shunning traditional media in France, where mistrust of the news industry runs deeper than in much of the rest of Europe.

“He is seen as a very reliable source for news,” said Alice Antheaume, vice-dean at the Sciences Po Journalism School.

Given the YouTube channel’s dominance among the coveted age 15 to 34 demographic, most major politicians in France, including President Emmanuel Macron, have sat down with Travers to reach a younger audience. Travers hosted nearly all of the candidates running for president in 2022.

While Macron went on to win re-election, he has struggled to maintain support among younger voters as his agenda has become more conservative. In January, Macron appointed 34-year-old Gabriel Attal as the country’s youngest-ever prime minister and tasked him with revitalizing his government.

HugoDecrypte’s 10-minute news digest is posted weekdays on YouTube and audio platforms. It typically features the Franco-British Travers, often casually dressed, delivering explainer-style summaries from behind a desk, alongside animations or stock video. Francois Jost, an emeritus professor at Sorbonne Nouvelle University in Paris and expert on the French media, said the channel’s “great use of images” appealed to young people.

Though the HugoDecrypte team doesn’t shy away from the biggest news of the day, it often looks to its audiences for guidance in choosing the lead story. Mental health issues are frequently the first story covered, as are conflicts less often in the media spotlight, such as those in Sudan or the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Beyond the world of politics, Travers’ in-depth interviews have also become a valued stop for anyone promoting a film, book or TV series to the Francophone world.

“What we’re building, since day one, is something serious in terms of news, in terms of its journalistic approach,” Travers said. “Of course, the format is different.”

Travers attributes the brand’s success to the channel’s original mission: producing accessible content. That means no paywall and interacting directly with younger audiences on social media.

(SD-Agencies)

【觊觎】jìyú

covet

yearn to possess

【付费墙】 fùfèiqiáng

paywall

a digital gate that restricts access to content until payment is made

雨果•特拉弗斯大概并不认为自己是记者，但他可能是法国最受欢迎的记者。

现年26岁的特拉弗斯是法国媒体新创公司HugoDecrypte的创始人和代言人，该公司主要面向年轻受众发布新闻。八年前，这家公司从一个大学生的YouTube频道起步，现在其社交媒体账户拥有1400万粉丝，TikTok上的月浏览量达2亿次，YouTube上的月浏览量达3500万次。

公司Instagram账户的粉丝数量超过了《世界报》（被广泛认为是法国最重要的报纸）以及BFMTV和France24（法国最受欢迎的两个全天候新闻网络）。根据媒体监测机构ACPM的数据，它的每日新闻节目是法国下载次数最多的播客。

特拉弗斯在上个月接受美国有线电视新闻网采访时说：“我起步时是一名YouTube博主，现在还是。”

无论你怎么定义他，不可否认的是，特拉弗斯的内容已经引起了法国年轻受众的共鸣，这些人不看传统媒体，比其他欧洲国家的人更不信任新闻媒体。

巴黎政治学院新闻学院副院长爱丽丝•安泰奥姆说：“他被视为非常可靠的新闻来源。”

鉴于该YouTube 频道在15至34岁这一令人垂涎的客户群中的强大影响力，包括埃马纽埃尔•马克龙总统在内的法国大多数政治家都与特拉弗斯合作来吸引年轻受众。所有参加2022年法国大选的候选人都上过特拉弗斯的节目。

虽然赢得了连任，但随着政治主张变得更加保守，马克龙困难地维持着年轻选民的支持。今年1月，他任命34岁的加布里埃尔•阿塔尔为该国有史以来最年轻的总理，希望能给政府带来活力。

HugoDecrypte的10分钟新闻摘要平日发布在YouTube和播客平台上。节目通常由英法混血的特拉弗斯主持，他衣着休闲，在办公桌后简明地解说新闻，穿插播放动画或素材视频。巴黎新索邦大学名誉教授、法国媒体专家弗朗索瓦•约斯特说，该频道“巧妙使用视觉内容”吸引了年轻人。

尽管 HugoDecrypte团队也会播报当日最大的新闻，但在选择头条时，他们经常寻求受众的建议。心理健康问题经常被突出报道，其他媒体较少关注的地区冲突，例如苏丹或刚果民主共和国发生的冲突，也时有报道。

政治领域之外，特拉弗斯的深度访谈也成为向法语国家推广电影、书籍或电视剧的重要渠道。

特拉弗斯说：“从第一天起，我们打造的就是严肃新闻和严谨的报道。当然，表现形式有所不同。”

特拉弗斯将频道的成功归功于公司的初心：制作平易近人的内容。这意味着不设付费墙，在社交媒体上与年轻受众直接互动。

(Translated by Debra)