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) 【覬覦】jìyú covet yearn to possess 【付費墻】 fùfèiqiáng paywall a digital gate that restricts access to content until payment is made 雨果?特拉弗斯大概并不認為自己是記者，但他可能是法國最受歡迎的記者。 現年26歲的特拉弗斯是法國媒體新創公司HugoDecrypte的創始人和代言人，該公司主要面向年輕受眾發布新聞。八年前，這家公司從一個大學生的YouTube頻道起步，現在其社交媒體賬戶擁有1400萬粉絲，TikTok上的月瀏覽量達2億次，YouTube上的月瀏覽量達3500萬次。 公司Instagram賬戶的粉絲數量超過了《世界報》（被廣泛認為是法國最重要的報紙）以及BFMTV和France24（法國最受歡迎的兩個全天候新聞網絡）。根據媒體監測機構ACPM的數據，它的每日新聞節目是法國下載次數最多的播客。 特拉弗斯在上個月接受美國有線電視新聞網采訪時說：“我起步時是一名YouTube博主，現在還是。” 無論你怎么定義他，不可否認的是，特拉弗斯的內容已經引起了法國年輕受眾的共鳴，這些人不看傳統媒體，比其他歐洲國家的人更不信任新聞媒體。 巴黎政治學院新聞學院副院長愛麗絲?安泰奧姆說：“他被視為非常可靠的新聞來源。” 鑒于該YouTube 頻道在15至34歲這一令人垂涎的客戶群中的強大影響力，包括埃馬紐埃爾?馬克龍總統在內的法國大多數政治家都與特拉弗斯合作來吸引年輕受眾。所有參加2022年法國大選的候選人都上過特拉弗斯的節目。 雖然贏得了連任，但隨著政治主張變得更加保守，馬克龍困難地維持著年輕選民的支持。今年1月，他任命34歲的加布里埃爾?阿塔爾為該國有史以來最年輕的總理，希望能給政府帶來活力。 HugoDecrypte的10分鐘新聞摘要平日發布在YouTube和播客平臺上。節目通常由英法混血的特拉弗斯主持，他衣著休閑，在辦公桌后簡明地解說新聞，穿插播放動畫或素材視頻。巴黎新索邦大學名譽教授、法國媒體專家弗朗索瓦?約斯特說，該頻道“巧妙使用視覺內容”吸引了年輕人。 盡管 HugoDecrypte團隊也會播報當日最大的新聞，但在選擇頭條時，他們經常尋求受眾的建議。心理健康問題經常被突出報道，其他媒體較少關注的地區沖突，例如蘇丹或剛果民主共和國發生的沖突，也時有報道。 政治領域之外，特拉弗斯的深度訪談也成為向法語國家推廣電影、書籍或電視劇的重要渠道。 特拉弗斯說：“從第一天起，我們打造的就是嚴肅新聞和嚴謹的報道。當然，表現形式有所不同。” 特拉弗斯將頻道的成功歸功于公司的初心：制作平易近人的內容。這意味著不設付費墻，在社交媒體上與年輕受眾直接互動。 (Translated by Debra) | 