It may surprise some people – George Bush amongst them – that when it comes to the IT press, France has the most entrepreneurial journalists in Europe. The media landscape is dominated by blogs and online publications run by the journalists who edit them. So I was delighted to hear that the same is beginning to happen in the electronics sector. Pierrick Arlot and François Gauthier have announced the launch of a new online publication, L’Embarqué (“The Embedded”), with a website; daily and weekly email newsletters and a quarterly digital magazine. They’re not only informing French engineers, as they will also publish an English language email newsletter that will update readers on news related to the French embedded market. The publication will cover news related to embedded hardware and software technology, as well as including market research and issues related to working in the embedded market.
This is great news. In B2B trade media, it’s becoming harder for large publishing companies with their unavoidable overheads, to be profitable. Either publishers need to offer a much broader range of services, or the model need to change. Whilst it’s not easy for journalists to start their own publications, when it works a higher percentage of the income ends up with the journalists that create the value. This has to be a good thing. And France is suffering from a lack of electronics publications: there’s no possibility that this new title will lead to an overcrowded market!
I wish Pierrick and François the very best of luck with L’Embarqué and hope this new title goes from strength to strength.