For the first time in decades, La Reunion Island is facing an unprecedented situation: no daily newspaper is available in a country of approximately 900,000 inhabitants. The only media available to access daily updated information is now the web.
Due to financial difficulties, “Témoignages” suspended printing of its edition in 2013. For several months, the “Journal de l’île” has experienced several interruptions in publication linked to a change of printer while the future of this media depends on a decision of the court. The dispute between the owner of the “JIR” and the printer means that this newspaper has not been printed since July 9.
Since July 25, it is the “Quotidien” to suffer the same fate. The reason? Unpaid invoices to Run Press, its distributor, headed by Carole Chan-Ki-Chune, former CEO of the “Quotidien”.
Due to the newspaper’s non-payment of the service, Run Press suspended its distribution on the island, which led to the suspension of publication since that date.
On July 29, employees of "Le Quotidien" met with Henri Nijdam, the new director of the newspaper. According to him, there would also be criticisms to be made against Run Press. Negotiations are underway.

Computer literacy

This situation is an illustration of the crisis in La Reunion Island. Its population had access to three daily newspapers about ten years ago, each with a very specific editorial line.
This diversity contributed to the expression of pluralism of opinions.
Today, the many Reunionese who have difficulty using a computer or smartphone no longer have access to daily updated information. The suspension of the printing of "Témoignages" had already significantly reduced the pluralism of the written press for this large part of the population. Since July 25, pluralism has been only on the Internet, provided that you can access it.
These events are part of the crisis in the written press linked to the arrival of a new information medium: the web. Access to free written information has called into question the model of the written press.

Let’s restore pluralism with three newspapers

Due to its smaller size than the "JIR" or "Le Quotidien", "Témoignages" was the first to suspend its printing in 2013.
It is now the turn of the "JIR" and the "Quotidien" to be in the same situation. Due to a lack of agreement with its printer, the "JIR" no longer appears. As for the "Quotidien", it is the impossibility of distributing that forces it to suspend printing.
"JIR" and "Quotidien" are experiencing or have experienced legal proceedings to allow the continuation of activity. But the workforce has considerably decreased. The director of "JIR" indicated that he was producing a daily newspaper with a team of journalists equivalent to that of a weekly newspaper.
The written press in La Reunion is in great difficulty and a model seems on the verge of collapse.
This requires reflection because the press is one of the conditions of democracy. Digitalization does not solve everything because many are victims of the digital divide.
When they were printed, "Témoignages", "JIR" and "Quotidien" made La Reunion a territory where pluralism could be fully expressed and accessible to all. It is important to struggle to restore this pluralism.

M.M.