The strengths of a monthly magazine

Le Regard Libre N° 50 - Jonas Follonier

Five years and three months of volunteer work, but so much fun too! Shaving in the morning, there have been many times when I've wondered if this wonderful adventure wasn't more crazy than beautiful. What's the point of all these daily hours devoted to the life of this magazine? On the occasion of the publication of our fiftieth edition, I'm more than convinced: not only is our investment not in vain, but we can also see its fruits in concrete terms. Right before our eyes. By striving to provide interesting material for our ever-growing readership, we have proudly achieved this result: a classy sixty-eight-page magazine, produced every month by the passion of a few young people.

We can be proud. Proud to spark debate and propose major cultural projects. Proud to count eminent personalities among our subscribers and supporters. Proud of our efforts to think beyond the flow of information. Proud to have stood firm in the face of a certain journalistic and artistic caste's lack of openness and consideration. Proud to have believed in an approach that no one else did. Proud to have given a voice to individuals with diverse sensibilities, passionate, sometimes crazy, always critical, never bland.

But in this age of information frenzy, our publication seems to me to have a quality that we don't often talk about: its monthly rhythm. This format allows time for analysis. We've come to realize this over the years. How sweet it is not to have to provide the news that all the other media are already providing about the Notre-Dame fire the very day after the tragedy. Instead, we're offering a drawing by our very own Nicolas Locatelli, based on an event that everyone already knows about, and that no-one wants to read again in an article.

As for our editorial content, the fact that we can't be current in the strict sense of the term means that we're aiming not for the inactual, but for another kind of current: the permanent. Important issues, cross-cutting debates, which we strive to read in an original, honest and constructive way. The many interviews in our columns often provide the opportunity for discussions that are both singular and universal; the large-format articles, it goes without saying, are the key support for analysis or personal reflection; even our cultural chronicles, which are based on literary, cinematographic or musical material, enable us to appreciate the intellectual and sensual springs that touch on our condition as human beings.

But enough of this blah, this magazine changes from issue to issue. In terms of both graphics and content, our fifteen or so contributors are genuinely concerned with renewal. It's certainly a good sign to be satisfied with an issue when it comes out and to consider it minor two years later. This is because we try to adapt to our ambitions and the recommendations of our subscribers. For some time now, our aim has been to make our mark on the French-language media scene. We're going to get there, thanks to you.

For this fiftieth edition, my colleagues and I opted for an off-the-beaten-track cover. From our own beaten track. Because, it's true, we often hear that our magazine is demanding. Subscribers know this, and we make no secret of it. But we wanted to show through an unusual interview that Le Regard Libre has also been built on a rejection of snobbery. In the realm of ideas, as in culture, we don't like the institutional shackles that dictate what is interesting, moral, beautiful or good.

Freedom has always been threatened, by totalitarianisms that never claimed to be such in the first place.. Today, we are witnessing the powerful influence of political correctness on our lives. It's true that bien-pensance is a misused concept, but it has a very real impact. In the end, however we define this thought police, it's important to promote critical thinking and freedom of taste and opinion. No elite or pseudo-elite has a monopoly on art or thought.

Le Regard Libre intends to participate in the debate of ideas in a curious and courageous way. Bringing together different currents, social categories, subjects, centuries and generations. And if this journalistic magma gives food for thought to even a handful of people, our primary objective will have been achieved. To please our readers, by pleasing ourselves.

Write to the author: jonas.follonier@leregardlibre.com

Photo credit: © Lauriane Pipoz for Le Regard Libre