Paris office:

• Thierry Dupont, former head of the politics desk in the French desk, is now editor-in-chief alongside Marie-Catherine Beuth, in Paris, and Jean-Sébastien Lefebvre, and Quentin Ariès in Brussels.
• Stéphanie Collié, former managing editor of the agriculture and environment desk, will head politics for the French desk.
• Pierre Duquesne, French desk politics reporter, will join the environment team in Paris.
• Juliette Droz will leave the transport team to report for the French desk’s politics team.

In the Brussels office:

• Arthur Bamas will join the transport team at our Paris office, leaving the Brussels office and agricultural policy reporting behind.
• Juliette Fekkar will continue reporting on EU environmental policy but has moved from the France desk to the EU desk.
• Damien Génicot will soon be leaving the energy team’s French desk to become an environmental reporter.

And finally, Guénaël Pépin, a media reporter in Brussels, has reduced his editorial coverage to take on the role of AI lead for the entire newsroom.

Lots to keep up with!

Revealing changes

This succession of changes is unprecedented. It began with one departure, which led to three new openings. That these openings were all filled internally doesn’t mean we no longer want to welcome new talent— quite the opposite is true — but does shows that our teams have matured.

Could these changes have taken place three years ago? Perhaps not. This internal reshuffle reveals what Contexte’s newsroom has become: a collective of over 70 people in Paris and Brussels, with varied profiles, sharing an unprecedented degree of complementary experience as well as a new capacity to absorb shocks. These changes are made possible by the company’s continued growth.

But the most important take-away lies elsewhere, in my opinion.

In recent years, the question of how to evolve within the newsroom has become a recurring one — and this reshuffling provides a very interesting answer.

It shows that it is possible to evolve within the company — and career prospects are indeed vital for one’s professional life.

Helping teams grow and strengthening our cohesion

This round of personnel changes is an opportunity to strengthen our teams by blending new skills, approaches, and personalities, thereby deepening our cohesion. It’s a chance to freshen up teams with new perspectives, to nudge established habits.

It’s also a major editorial asset. Having people who’ve grown to master multiple public policy topics allows us to cultivate rare skills in our field. In politics, building bridges between different issues is crucial. The recent reshuffle enables us to do so with journalists who have a broad set of knowledge, skills and perspectives.

These moves also set an example. They could help those who may be less likely to voice a desire for change. They normalize the idea of learning new topics and acquiring new skills while having the necessary time and support.

These reporter moves also remind managers of the need to help everyone plan their own professional development — or of the need to think outside the box and create a new role, capable of meeting the newsroom’s growth.

Ensuring transparency

Transparency was central to these changes. The rules of the process were made clear at every step so as to avoid internal politics and backroom deals favouring some individuals over others.

This means that a job description was posted for each opening. Candidates had to submit an application following which a collective recruitment process, involving members of each team, was initiated, tailored to the specific circumstances in question. In every instance, the aim was to sincerely assess the motivation and needs of the candidates, of the team they would be joining, and of the newsroom as a whole.

But I don’t want to paint an overly rosy picture of HR or gloss over the difficult parts.

Building careers together

Some people took a chance and in some cases were not selected. It takes courage to seek a new role while under the watchful eyes of colleagues, and it takes courage to accept rejection. I’m impressed that some candidates felt confident enough to do that. As managers, our responsibility is now to help them overcome their legitimate disappointments and to work with them to plan what’s next for their careers.

All these changes also have an impact on the teams involved. Welcoming newcomers—even those we know—calls for effort, adaptability, and the willingness to accept our daily work could change. To be successful, such changes require the involvement of the entire team, as well as team spirit and solidarity. We need to make time to create tailored onboarding processes that help everyone settle into their new roles with confidence.

This experience— this big game of musical chairs —  will be useful for managers. It will allow us to work with HR team on developing potential future pathways for someone joining Contexte, and to think of new ways of making journalism or of contributing to the newsroom, even after several years.