Michèle Léridon
Born(1958-11-10)10 November 1958
Canteleu, France
Died3 May 2021(2021-05-03) (aged 62)
Paris, France
NationalityFrench
Occupation(s)journalist, news editor

Michèle Léridon (10 November 1958 – 3 May 2021) was a French journalist and news director. A longtime journalist and editor at Agence France-Presse (AFP), she was its global news director from 2014 to 2019, when she became a member of the French Conseil supérieur de l'audiovisuel.

Early life and education

Michèle Léridon was born in Canteleu, the daughter of a physician and a radiologist, and was educated at the Lycée du Parc Chabrières in Ouillins. She earned degrees in economics from the Lumière University Lyon 2 and in journalism from the Centre de formation des journalistes in Paris.[1]

Career

Léridon began her career in 1977, working as a reporter for two regional newspapers, La Voix de l'Ain and La Nouvelle République du Centre-Ouest, then at the magazine L'Usine Nouvelle.[1]

She joined AFP in 1981, working first in France and covering media news during privatisation,[2] and later in Africa, where she covered wars in Sierra Leone and Liberia[2] and became the first woman director of the agency's Africa coverage.[3] She subsequently worked in other managerial positions including as chief of the Rome bureau, and in 2014 became global news director, also the first woman to hold that post.[2][3][4]

In early 2019 she was appointed to the Conseil supérieur de l'audiovisuel, the regulator of electronic media in France, where she headed the working group on rights and liberties, pluralism and professional ethics,[4] and was influential in shaping policy on social media and other online platforms and combatting disinformation.[3][5] She was also an administrative member of Reporters Without Borders.[3][4]

Awards

She was awarded the annual prize of the Assises internationales du journalisme et de l'information in the news reporting category in 2014, and the European Alliance of News Agencies prize in 2015.[1]

Personal life

Léridon was divorced; she had three sons.[1][4]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Michèle Léridon: Journaliste". Who's Who in France (in French). Retrieved 4 October 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 "AFP, CSA: mort de Michèle Léridon". France Inter (in French). 4 May 2021. Retrieved 4 October 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Ex-AFP news chief Michele Leridon dies". France 24. AFP. 4 May 2021. Retrieved 4 October 2021.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Aude Dassonville (4 May 2021). "Michèle Léridon, ex-journaliste de l'AFP et conseillère au CSA, est morte". Le Monde (in French). Retrieved 4 October 2021.
  5. ↑ Enguérand Renault (4 May 2021). "Décès de Michèle Léridon, figure du journalisme". Le Figaro (in French). Retrieved 4 October 2021.


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