Et Baam! was founded in 2012 by four female journalists who, upon graduating from journalism school, found it difficult to find employment in the existing media sector, especially within the larger institutions. Frustrated at not being able to find suitable positions, and disappointed by what they were reading in the local press about Marseille, their home region, they decided to create a blog on WordPress.
They began writing blog entries without a budget, creating a space for free expression so that people could discover unknown stories from their region, far from the tradititional subjects of the local press, which mainly focused on the Olympique de Marseille (the local football club) and miscellaneous news items. They gradually began to build an audience, and in 2014 decided to establish a non-profit association (Et Baam! Media Production), to finally launch Et Baam! as an online media outlet. The team got smaller, and currently, there are two of them providing the media with local stories from Marseille and Montreal.
They also work to promote media literacy, a subject they are passionate about, and organise workshops in primary and secondary schools, and prisons.
As part of this media literacy work, the organisation launched a board game in 2022, which takes a playful approach to journalism and fake news. The game is based on the team’s experience of media education workshops. The game currently exists as a prototype and has already been tested by the public.
Last updated: October 2023.