CFJ  >   School  >  CFJ values

CFJ values

Our manifesto

 

“Journalists can never claim to have found the absolute truth. They must seek it out afresh every day.”

Jacques RICHET, founder of the CFJ

Our history and our purpose

 

 

Over seventy years ago, Philippe Viannay and Jacques Richet, both journalists with the ‘Défense de la France’ group set up by the French Résistance, founded the CFJ with the aim of training the quality journalists so badly needed by post-liberation press. Today, the media world is changing and needs quality professionals more than ever. The CFJ’s mission thus continues.

FOR THE SAKE OF FREEDOM

The CFJ’s fundamental philosophy is to resist oppression and fight for both civil freedom and freedom of speech. As well as teaching know-how and expertise, our vocational courses never lose sight of this basic tenet: journalists are free thinkers who act as intermediaries in society, between the facts they report and the citizens who engage with their work.

THE IMPORTANCE OF OUR INDEPENDENT STATUS…

A private, vocational university, the CFJ is autonomously run. We control our own budget and have independent leadership. The board of directors, all of whom work on a volunteer basis, come from some very different media backgrounds. The CFJ also works closely with the CFPJ, a professional training centre which is now part of the Abilways vocational training group.

…AND OF DEFENDING JOURNALISM’S FUNDAMENTAL VALUES

L’école transmet depuis plus de sept décennies les valeurs fondamentales et déontologiques de

For over seven decades, our school has been teaching the fundamental values and ethical tenets behind journalism: objective reporting, fact-checking, free speech, team work, and systematically working with the strictures of doubt.

Constant innovation

 

At the CFJ, we have always tried to stay abreast of technological and cultural developments in the media. Examples of this include the video journalism course we opened in 1984, our use of multimedia resources as early as 2000, our international launch in 2006, the creation of apprenticeships for French students in 2007, the newsroom courses we set up in 2013 and 2016 and the creation of a programme focusing on the new, visual communication tools now so common in the media and on social networks.

THE PURSUIT OF EXCELLENCE

Since 1946, over 2500 journalists have graduated from our school. Most of them now hold important positions at major media channels in Paris, other parts of France or abroad.

A REFERENCE FROM THE OUTSET

As a professional and vocational university and a member of the Conférence des grandes écoles, the CFJ requires students to take an entrance exam and delivers a Master’s degree which is recognized by the French Ministry of Education as well as the Commission nationale paritaire de l’emploi des journalistes (French journalism commission). The CFJ name has thus always been synonymous with professional quality and responsibility.

Everybody’s welcome!

 

Our admissions policy and relatively low enrolment fees make CFJ courses available to as wide an audience as possible. This allows for a diverse body of students, each with their own voice.