FRANCAISReporters sans frontières - History
1985-1989
-June 1985, France: RSF is founded in Montpellier by four reporters, Rémy Loury, Jacques Molénat, Émilien Jubineau and Robert Ménard. A reporter for Radio France in the department of Hérault, the latter was inspired by the criticisms made by Rony Brauman, president of MSF, against sensational media coverage of famines, wars and natural disasters. RSF aims at informing about the destitute and sensitizing the public opinion on the reality of crisis-ridden countries beyond emergency situations.
-1987-1989, France: RSF organizes a symposium that leads to the creation of a World Media Watch Center on the 15th of October 1987. Headquartered in Montpellier, it aims to analyze censorship and the difficulties met by journalists in each country. At first, RSF and the World Media Watch Center co-exist, the former funding reports and the latter defending journalists. Both entities then merge into one organization on the 23rd of June 1989 to improve their focus on defending the freedom of the press in the world. This new mission replaces the original one, i.e. to produce an “alternative journalism” on issues neglected by the traditional press. Jean-Claude Guillebaud becomes the president of RSF, Rony Brauman the vice-president and Robert Ménard the executive director.
-1988-1989, France: after a first international seminar held in the castle of Castrie on the 12th and 13th of October 1988, RSF publishes the following year a country directory on the freedom of information, the degree of independence of the main media and the dangers of working as a reporter. During the bicentenary celebration of the French Revolution, the association also contributes to the “world liberties atlas” of MSF. From 1989 on, RSF eventually publishes for journalists a monthly newsletter which will become a press review two years later. As a matter of fact, the media are more and more involved in the work of the association. On the 25th of October 1989, RSF thus launches a sponsorship program to help incarcerated journalists throughout the world, following the pattern of the adoption of prisoners of conscience by Amnesty International. The French media are supposed to contribute by keeping the public informed about the evolution of individual cases.
-From 1989 on, Spain: RSF opens its first branch abroad on the 3rd of August 1989. On the model of Amnesty International, other sections will follow in Switzerland, Belgium, Germany and Italy. However, these foreign branches are not really autonomous: their main task is to spread the information from the French headquarter.
