Young man creates his own news channel that attracts more viewers than media companies

Ở tuổi 26, Hugo Travers là người sáng lập và gương mặt đại diện của HugoDecrypte - Ảnh: CNN — At 26, Hugo Travers is the founder and face of HugoDecrypte - Photo: CNN

Travers may not consider himself a journalist, but the news channels he manages have a following that is larger than that of traditional news outlets.

News channel beats traditional news agencies

Travers' YouTube channel, which he started eight years ago as a college student, now has 14 million subscribers. He gets 200 million views a month on TikTok and 35 million views on YouTube.

HugoDecrypte's Instagram account has more followers than Le Monde , France's popular daily newspaper, as well as BFMTV and France24 , arguably the two most popular 24-hour news networks in France. HugoDecrypte's podcast also tops the list of most downloaded shows in the country.

"He is considered a very reliable source of news," said Alice Antheaume, vice-dean of Sciences Po's School of Journalism.

With a YouTube channel that attracts a large audience of 15- to 34-year-olds, most major politicians in France, including President Emmanuel Macron, have met with Travers to reach the younger audience. He has spoken to nearly all candidates running for president in 2022.

HugoDecrypte's 10-minute news recaps are posted weekdays on YouTube and podcast platforms, where Travers, dressed casually, provides briefs as an explainer, along with available animations or videos.

HugoDecrypte often relies on its audience to choose the main stories it covers. Mental health issues are often the first to be covered, as are conflicts that get little media attention, such as those in Sudan or the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Hugo Travers trò chuyện cùng Tổng thống Pháp Emmanuel Macron năm 2023 - Ảnh: CNN — Hugo Travers chats with French President Emmanuel Macron in 2023 - Photo: CNN

Build trust, understand psychology

In 2015, while Travers was studying at Sciences Po, a prestigious university in Paris, the idea for his YouTube channel was born. Like most Gen Zers, he spent hours on YouTube. His subscriptions included history and science channels, but no favorite source of French-language journalism.

Besides, despite being interested in politics for many years, Travers said that whenever he and his friends turned on political debates on television, they barely understood what was being discussed.

The HugoDecrypte channel was launched with the mission of providing young French audiences with a quick and easy way to understand the news. Travers’ goal is to create in-depth, accessible videos that don’t confuse young audiences or require too much pre-existing knowledge.

“My generation spends a lot of time on YouTube. You have to create content where people are. If I spend time on YouTube or Instagram, why am I not getting information from YouTube or Instagram?” he said.

To grow, Travers decided to hire staff. Benjamin Aleberteau, a recent college graduate, became HugoDecrypte’s first employee in January 2019. Today, Aleberteau is the editor-in-chief. HugoDecrypte has expanded to a company of about 25 employees.

Mục tiêu của Travers là tạo ra những video có chiều sâu, dễ tiếp cận, không làm khán giả trẻ bối rối cũng như không đòi hỏi quá nhiều kiến thức sẵn có - Ảnh: CNN — Travers' goal is to create videos that are in-depth, accessible, and don't confuse young audiences or require too much pre-existing knowledge - Photo: CNN

Kênh HugoDecrypte ra mắt với sứ mệnh cung cấp cho khán giả trẻ Pháp một cách hiểu tin tức nhanh chóng, dễ dàng - Ảnh: CNN — HugoDecrypte channel launched with the mission of providing young French audiences with a quick and easy way to understand the news - Photo: CNN

HugoDecrypte đã mở rộng thành một công ty gồm khoảng 25 nhân viên - Ảnh: CNN — HugoDecrypte has expanded into a company of about 25 employees - Photo: CNN

Beyond politics, Travers' in-depth interviews have also become a valuable stop for anyone promoting a film, book or TV series to the Francophone world. CNN notes that HugoDecrypte's success is remarkable given the bleak state of the French news media landscape.

Travers attributes the brand's success to the channel's original mission, producing accessible, free content and engaging directly with a young audience on social media.

To reach Gen Z, HugoDecrypte launched on TikTok earlier than most French media outlets. Some experts say that branding with Travers’ name and image has allowed him to inspire a level of trust with a younger audience that doesn’t consume traditional media.

Travers and Aleberteau believe that HugoDecrypte's model can work anywhere there is social media. "In every country, there is a need for information. And in every country, there are young people who want to be informed," Aleberteau says.

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