Lauren Bain, a Journalist from the Biggest Little City in the City of Love
Emily Richards interviews Reno native Lauren Bain on how she went from the Reynolds School of Journalism at UNR to working for France 24 in Paris, after completing a master’s at the prestigious Sciences Po Journalism School.
What is your background and what led you to journalism?
I grew up in Reno, I went to high school there. I think my first real exposure was in journalism and newspaper classes. My senior year I was the editor-in-chief, and I even got to go to this journalism conference in Washington D.C. It was really eye-opening! It was so thrilling and cool, to interview people, to report, to produce something in a team, and you have a tangible thing that you can be proud of. That’s really what sparked my interest.
How did you choose the University of Nevada, Reno?
Actually, when I was a senior in high school I met Kari Barber and Nico Colombant [who both teach at the Reynolds School of Journalism.] They were my neighbors and they were having a housewarming. I went over there with my parents and we just got to talking. I was still deciding on where I wanted to go for school and everything. I really wanted to go out of state, I didn’t want to stay in Reno having grown up here. But after talking to them, they both just had just incredible diverse experiences like reporting in West Africa, Kari with all her documentary work, and just in Nico being French. The fact that they were also professors at UNR kind of made me think, ‘Oh, I guess I could really see myself going to UNR and studying journalism there.’ The journalism program is pretty good in terms of getting you exposed to good professors, good connections, and things like that, which I think is super important in this industry.
Why did you decide to complete your masters abroad?
I did the international reporting class [at UNR] and I was talking to Nico who was talking about different ways to go abroad. He brought in lots of speakers and things like that. He was even saying that one of the ways is to do a master’s abroad. That’s when the idea was in the back of my head. I think it wasn’t until a year or two later when I was about to graduate, I applied to a master’s program in Paris. I’d already done a study abroad in France, so I love France, and I was like, ‘Anything to get me back to France.’
How did you find work in Paris?
In France, having a formal education is even more regarded than in the US. They really care about where you went to school and things like that, which I didn’t even really understand until I came here. I started freelancing about six months after graduating, which was in 2021 when the pandemic was still going on. I’m glad I stayed [in France] and I’m still kind of trying to figure out how to continue working here. As a freelancer, it’s really kind of tricky because it’s not always a sure thing with month-to-month income. As a foreigner trying to prove to the government you have what it takes to stay is always kind of a fight. So far what I’ve been doing is I’ve been working at France 24, which is a television broadcast news station. They also do web and digital stuff, but primarily TV. I always said I would never do the 24-hour news cycle, but I’m literally working at a place where 24 is in the name. I’ve learned so much and I really understand more of the business and the way things actually work in news. I really like the production side because it is so collaborative.
What freelance work do you do? Do you prefer to cover a specific topic?
The way it works is not like what you consider typical freelancing where you have a story, you’re working on it, and you’re producing it. I go in, I do my job because every single day is breaking news. That’s kind of what we do at France24. It’s international breaking news, so it’s the latest, most recent information. It’s kinda like the BBC of France, you’re just kind of covering everything. You’re trying to have eyes on the world at all times. A lot of that is politics, natural disasters, conflicts, protests, and then obviously being in France, a very strong French focus as well. I’ve been doing this thing, it’s called Focus, which is kind of more in-depth journalism. We have journalists that are based everywhere. They’ll pitch us an idea, then they’ll film it, and they’ll work on it. If it’s done in French, then they’ll send us their French version and I, working on the English Channel, will work to adapt it into English for an English-speaking audience. I really like these stories that come from the French territories, like Tahiti, Martinique, or Guadeloupe. These are places that we’re not super familiar with. In the US I feel like people are surprised, and they don’t even realize France exists outside of mainland France. It’s actually a significant amount of people. I love covering those kinds of stories and also environmental stuff.
Do you normally do a lot of translating from French to English? Do you ever report in just English or just French?
Basically yes to it all. I am working as a production coordinator for Focus. At France 24 I wear a lot of different hats. Each role does a different thing. So for Focus, I try to produce the French and English stories that are going to be reported on. We air a story every single day. On that side, I do need to be bilingual in French and English. The Debate is like a show where I don’t know if you are familiar with François Picard, but he’s one of our journalists and he covers a lot of politics. He has this 45-minute show where he invites guests and panels and they have a debate about a news topic. I get to be a producer on that, which is cool. And that involves a little more research having to dig for the most relevant videos and images that we can show to illustrate something. Right now I’m just working basically as a video editor.
Are there any big differences between being a journalist in France versus the United States, or do you find that most of the things are the same?
I actually don’t have a whole lot of experience in the US since I’ve kind of started my career here. I don’t even know where to begin. From what I’ve observed with the media landscape, the US is very polarized when it comes to the right and the left. That’s because of the political system and you know that you only have two options. Versus France, you have many different parties in this, but it’s kind of this difference between the extremes. You have the extreme right and the extreme left, and they’re kind of all against the government, basically. There’s not this dichotomy like the right versus the left. So that’s like one thing when it comes to politics. Also, I feel the news is not only focused on politics, which I feel like that’s what a majority of the US news has become. It’s not even news at a certain point, it’s just like just back and forth. I think a lot of the news that I see is almost like entertainment. There are so many other stories to cover and expose. We do cover the US and we cover US politics, but it’s not only that. The same with France. There’s a lot of French politics that are happening, but we’re not only focused on that. The whole media landscape is very different than what it is in the US.
How does the general population in France feel about journalists?
I think there’s definitely more respect for journalists here. That may be because there is such a rigorous formation process with going to a school and getting press credentials because that’s all through the government. You apply to get your press card, it’s not like anyone can just be a journalist. It really takes some formal education or things like that. I think it is seen maybe how journalism was seen like 20 or 30 years ago in the US. France 24 is part of France Media Monde. It’s funded by the French government essentially. There are a lot of publicly funded French outlets. They have five different channels: France 1, France 2, France 3, France 4, France 5. They’re all funded by the government, which is like PBS. It’s publicly funded. You might argue that is obviously biased because we’re not going to cover the government as it should, but I think there is enough coverage. We’re also not as polarized. There’s no incentive then to where a lot of corporations fund journalism in the US. So just looking at the financial structure, I think really can dictate what is being said on the news. It is seen more as a public service than anything in France.
What is your advice to journalists who want to work internationally?
Move abroad. Get as much international experience as you can, and talk to people who have been international. Get yourself familiar with what is happening in the world in politics and things like that. Learn from others kind of how I learned from Kari and Nico. Figure out what worked for them and follow in their stream and then you figure out your own path. Look at visa requirements, that’s a big one. Practically speaking, that is the main hurdle. Anyone can do it, it takes time, patience, and a lot of determination.
Note: Quotes edited for clarity and length.
