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On board the editorial ship with Pierre-Louis Castelli at the helm, a competent crew composed of Laurent Vareille, Eric Le Bihan, Françoise Polvêche, Sophie Peyridieu, Isabelle Rolland, and David Di Giacomo will raise their microphones to provide you with even more news.
Watch out, a wave of Blues is coming to your airwaves with the priority of making your life easier and more interesting!
Captain Pierre-Louis Castelli will be in charge: A return to the homeland for this Nice navigator!
Nice-Première: Pierre-Louis Castelli, introduce yourself to the Nice-Première internet users?
Pierre-Louis Castelli: Pierre-Louis Castelli. I was born in Nice, a long time ago. I studied here. I worked at Radio Monte-Carlo and in local stations. I went to Radio France in Valence in the Drôme for two and a half years, then I returned here for two years, and after that, I spent nineteen years at France Inter where I was in charge of sports coverage. And for a month and a half, I’ve been the Editor-in-Chief of France BLEU Azur.
N-P: In a radio station, what is the role of an Editor-in-Chief?
P-L C.: It’s to lead a team, to ensure everything functions smoothly, and to have a rather precise editorial line. Locally, it’s simpler than nationally. Locally, we follow local news, then we try to be insightful about sports and to be present on economic and political news. Therefore, being an Editor-in-Chief involves leading a team, coming up with ideas, getting out into the field, presenting news bulletins, and making everything work. Because even though it’s a small team, we’re six and with me, seven, we have to manage the schedules, people who may be sick, and unexpected events.
N-P: What qualities must an Editor-in-Chief have?
P-L C.: They must have a good understanding of a journalist’s life: to have a good sense of the news. I believe they must be able to communicate with those who work around them, whether they are journalists, technicians, or hosts. In a local radio station, there cannot be clashes between two or three people, as it’s too small a structure.
N-P: What are your goals for the new season on France BLEU Azur?
P-L C.: It’s to deliver relevant, proximate, truly local news so that people discover us. They must finally realize that here in the Alpes-Maritimes department, there is a local radio station that provides information and that there is only one: ours, because the others don’t, because we go out into the field. That’s the strength of Radio France: having journalists on the ground.
N-P: How is the audience of France BLEU Azur doing?
P-L C.: The audience is stable throughout the Alpes-Maritimes, and it has eroded in Nice. It has been offset by a very good increase in the cities of Cannes, Grasses, and Antibes. Which means it’s still spread out evenly. We still have three audience points, and between 22,000 and 28,000 people listening to the radio. It could be much better, even though we know the competition is fierce, but these are radios that do things differently. Here, they listen to France Inter, France Info, France Culture, RMC Info, but also Europe 2, Le Mouv, RTL 2… There is enormous competition, and then the radio evolves every day.
N-P: Last year, you organized a “Chico & the Gypsies” concert, last Monday it was an open day in the gardens of France BLEU Azur with farm products; any other projects in perspective for the listeners?
P-L C.: No, not immediately, but it is not impossible that we might organize more. I’m not sure yet where. We are very present in sports, especially football, with full coverage of OGC Nice matches both at home and away, commented by Eric Le Bihan. I think we might go on a tour in the hinterland and maybe set up for the opening of the ski season.
N-P: What do you think of the media landscape in Nice?
P-L C.: I think it has evolved. When I left, there was a newspaper that is inevitably different now. It’s no longer the same legal structure or the same group. Before, there were major private local stations. RMC was very powerful in Monaco; it still is but in Paris. But the major pillars remain the same: there is the regional newspaper, Nice-Matin, a local TV station, France 3 Méditerranée with a Côte d’Azur edition, and then there are a lot of radios. The novelty is people like you: the Internet sites, but in fact, it’s not new because I come from a national radio station where we do a lot online. We are one of the groups with the largest multimedia editorial team. I realize, from reading you in the morning and reading emails, that the Internet works on the Côte d’Azur, that people are interested in it, and that’s a plus. It’s a new hub, but it’s not just here; it’s all over France.
N-P: If I say?
P-L C.:
Radio: Spontaneity, live, speed, reflection, and emotion when it comes to broadcasting sounds.
Internet: Novelty, 21st-century revolution.
Nice: Naturally, the sun, the quality of life, and the people of Nice.
N-P: And finally, a little advice for those wishing to pursue your career.
P-L C.: I would tell them that they need to persevere, to fight, but never to believe that everything is accomplished. Always question themselves. Never think they hold the truth. Don’t get overconfident and try to be effective every day. Have great availability and don’t put on airs.
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