Big news from Paris.
The top management of Le Monde resigned last night.
Eric Fottorino, Pierre Jeantet and Bruno Patino (in the AFP picture) are gone.
The print journalists rejected their 2008 budget.
They objected to the transfer of more funds to the online operation.
As you know, Le Monde is one of the few newspapers in Europe that is defending the separation between online and offline newsrooms.
This separation is now an open war.
And the first casualties are the new directors of the company, among them Bruno Patino, who was once head of Le Monde Interactive, the newspaper’s online operation.
On November 19, the new management reported that Le Monde has a debt of more than $190 million, and recommended savings of $19 million for 2008.
Since 2005, the staff has 200 fewer people.
2007 was the year of the Liberation crisis.
2008 will be Le Monde’s.