“If he wants to do “Le Gala du sport”, it will be a no”: L'Équipe journalists are worried about the arrival of a former celebrity press director

Le quotidien L’Équipe s’apprête à vivre une petite révolution en interne. MAXPPP – Mathieu LERCH

L’ex-directeur de Gala, Matthias Gurtler, est nommé à la tête de la rédaction de L’Equipe. Objectif : élargir son audience au-delà des fans de sport. Pour quelle ligne éditoriale ?

Former editorial director of Gala, journalist Matthias Gurtler, will take over the management of the newspaper L’Équipe as of February 3, the eponymous media group announced on Tuesday, keen to expand its audience beyond sports fans.

Appointed “print and digital editorial director”, Matthias Gurtler will also be “member of the executive committee”, the group L’Équipe specified in a press release, seven months after the arrival of its new CEO, Rolf Heinz. He “will have the mission of fully engaging the editorial staff of L’Équipe in the strategic development plan”recently unveiled to the press, which plans a “very significant expansion of the playing field” of the newspaper, a benchmark in the world of sport.

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The daily aims for 500,000 digital subscribers by 2030

The objective is “in particular to win over a young and female audience and also to target sports enthusiasts”, recalls the group, which is aiming for 500,000 digital subscribers by 2030, compared to 210,000 currently. This will happen “through the launch of new themes as well as the development of new formats”, explains L’Équipe, which intends to “accelerate” on video and digital.

This choice alerts us, even worries us

The appointment of Matthias Gurtler had been anticipated by the press since mid-January and the announcement of his departure from Gala, which coincided with the availability of his predecessor at L'Équipe, Lionel Dangoumau, and his deputy, Jean-Philippe Leclaire.

“This choice alerts us, even worries us”, reacted Tuesday the Society of Journalists (SDJ) of L'Équipe, questioning “the arrival of a press man foreign to the world of sport and the DNA of L'Équipe”.

Gurtler, a digital specialist

Matthias Gurtler took over the editorial leadership of Gala in 2009, then part of the Prisma Media group, headed by the German-Spanish Rolf Heinz from 2009 to 2021. Under his leadership, the celebrity magazine, which has 14.6 million subscribers on TikTok and was bought in 2023 by Le Figaro, has become“a leader in the digital press, an international reference on social networks”, underlines the press release from L’Équipe.

Having worked for RTL and I-Télé, Matthias Gurtler was also deputy editor-in-chief of VSD from 2006 to 2007, then editor-in-chief of Télé Loisirs, where he launched the website. In 2023, he created the first French version of the American fashion magazine Harper’s Bazaar.

I will be the guarantor of its excellence and editorial independence

“If he wants to do “Le Gala du sport”, it will be a no,” Ralf Woodall, secretary of the social and economic committee (CSE) of L’Equipe, warned AFP. But “if he is a good manager, if he wants to do things well and if he does not impose preconceived ideas […] it could go well”, added the SNJ elected official, specifying that a “major project” awaited him with the “reorganization of the editorial staff”.

“My various professional experiences have always given pride of place to sport when possible”, underlined Matthias Gurtler, quoted in the press release from L'Equipe. It will be fully in line with the DNA of the newspaper, in particular by guaranteeing its excellence and editorial independence, assured Rolf Heinz.