Good-bye Tribune de Genève and 24 Heures

I often wondered what my last day working for 24Heures and Tribune de Genève would look like. I know now. The streets of New York City are hot and humid today. Outside my office, construction workers are working on yet another apartment building in downtown Brooklyn, a place that has undergone an tremendous transformation in the 19 years I have lived here.

When I first moved to the City in 2002, the original plan was to stay for 5 years and then head back to Switzerland. But New York adopted me, transformed me, gave me a family and a new career in documentary filmmaking.

This day marks the end of a 22-year career at 24 Heures and La Tribune de Genève, two daily newspapers with which I have never stopped identifying myself since they hired me on August 1, 1999. I still remember the feeling of pride I felt that day when I joined the World News section fresh out of college. Not to mention the happiness I felt when I was named U.S. Correspondent for the two newspapers in 2002.

For the past 19 years, I have been lucky to be able to feel the pulse of America’s “brutal and blind heart” described by Jean-Paul Dubois, the journalist and author whom I have never stopped emulating. When I first arrived in New York in 2002, I was actually carrying in my luggage "Until then, everything was fine in America", a collection of essays that Jean-Paul Dubois had written during his time as a U.S. Correspondent for the French magazine Le Nouvel Observateur. I loved this book and read it so much that it ended up falling apart. And when I took it out this morning to take its picture and write this message, I realized that it had been signed by Dubois with this message for me: “Dear Jean-Cosme, I wish you luck, courage and a beautiful life in New York”.

I needed courage to make it in the City, but I can says that my life in New York is great because I am lucky to have a job I am passionate about. After 22 years at 24 Heures and at the Tribune de Genève, I concluded that it was time for me to turn the page and embark on another path which led me to the Tribeca Film Festival in June for the world premier of my latest film HARLEY.

I am fortunate not to leave alone. The thousands of people I met around the world and interviewed during my career, are leading me onto this new path. In the last story I wrote for 24 Heures and the Tribune de Genève, I was able to track down the bravest journalist I had ever met in Havana. After several stays in Cuban prisons, Roberto Guerra Perez had to flee to the United States, where he unfortunately could not keep working as a journalist. So he reinvented himself as a gardener.

Roberto and so many others like him made me grow both as a journalist and as a person. It is also thanks to them that I had the courage to make this move to keep creating. So to all of you who are interested in working with me, I am constantly looking for new challenges and new collaborations besides my films. So please do not hesitate to reach out.

Au revoir 24 Heures et Tribune de Genève

Je me suis longtemps demandé à quoi ressemblerait mon départ de 24 Heures et de la Tribune de Genève. Aujourd'hui, je le sais. Il se déroule ce 31 août dans la moiteur new-yorkaise, cette ville que j’adore pour m’avoir adopté, donné une famille et élargi mes horizons professionnels en me permettant de me reconvertir dans le film documentaire.

Ce départ vient clore une belle histoire de 22 ans au sein des rédactions de deux quotidiens auxquels je n’ai cessé de m’identifier depuis qu’ils m’ont donné ma chance le 1er août 1999. Je me souviens encore de ma fierté le jour où j’ai été engagé par Gian Pozzy pour rejoindre la rubrique internationale de 24 Heures alors que j’étais encore à la fac. Sans oublier l’excitation en 2002 lorsque j’ai été nommé correspondant aux Etats-Unis pour la Tribune de Genève et 24 Heures par Pierre Ruetschi et Jacques Poget.

Ces deux sentiments m'ont animé jusqu'à aujourd'hui et ont été renforcés au contact de journalistes hors pair avec lesquels j'ai eu la chance de travailler, à commencer par Reto Breiter, Philippe Dumartheray, Nicolas Verdan, Jean Gaud, Jean-François Verdonnet, Jean-Marc Corset, Jean-Philippe Jutzi, Bernard Bridel et Nicolas Willemin qui m'ont accueilli dans les quotidiens à l'époque. Mais il y en a bien d'autres qui se reconnaîtront dans cette expression de gratitude.

Depuis 2002, j’ai eu la chance d’écouter battre le “coeur brutal et aveugle” de cette Amérique qu’a raconté - et raconte toujours - avec tant de talent et d’éloquence Jean-Paul Dubois, le journaliste et auteur que je n’ai cessé d’émuler. A mon arrivée à New York en 2002, j’avais d'ailleurs dans mes bagages “Jusque-là, tout allait bien en Amérique”, un recueil qu’avait écrit Jean-Paul Dubois pendant sa correspondance aux Etats-Unis pour Le Nouvel Observateur. J’ai tellement lu et adoré ce livre que m’avait offert mes parents, qu’il a fini par ses désintégrer. Les pages se sont mises à voler et tomber, mais le livre est toujours là. Et quand je l’ai pris ce matin pour le photographier et écrire ce message, j’ai réalisé qu’il m'était dédicacé par Dubois en ces termes: “Cher Jean-Cosme, je vous souhaite de la chance, du courage et une belle vie new-yorkaise”.

Il m'a fallu du courage pour dompter cette ville depuis 2002, mais ma vie new-yorkaise est belle car j’ai de la chance de pouvoir exercer le métier qui me passionne. Après 22 ans à 24 Heures et à la Tribune de Genève, j’ai conclu qu’il était temps pour moi de tourner la page et de vivre cette passion ailleurs en m’engageant sur une autre voie qui m’a notamment mené en juin sur la scène du Festival de Tribeca avec mon nouveau film HARLEY.

J’ai la chance de ne pas partir seul. Les milliers de personnes que j’ai pu rencontrer à travers le monde et d’interviewer au cours de ma carrière, m’accompagnent et me portent vers ces nouveaux horizons. Pour mon dernier article pour 24 Heures et la Tribune de Genève, j’ai retrouvé le journaliste le plus courageux que j’ai rencontré au cours de ma carrière. Son nom: Roberto Guerra Perez. Après des séjours dans les prisons cubaines, Roberto a dû se résoudre à fuir son pays pour les Etats-Unis. Dans l’incapacité de pouvoir poursuivre son activité de journaliste, il s’est réinventé en pépiniériste.

Roberto et tant d’autres comme lui ont donné aux lecteurs de 24 Heures et de la Tribune de Genève une fenêtre sur le monde qui les entoure. Et ils m’ont fait grandir tant au niveau journalistique que personnel. C’est aussi grâce à eux que j’ai pu avoir le courage de faire ce saut dans l'inconnu pour continuer à créer. A tous ceux d’entre vous qui ont lu ce message jusqu’au bout et qui sont intéressés à collaborer avec moi, sachez que je suis constamment à la recherche de nouveaux défis et de nouvelles collaborations en marge de mes films. N’hésitez donc pas à me contacter.

Je vous laisse avec quelques photos marquantes de ma carrière à 24 Heures et la Tribune de Genève. Have a good day y’all.

Featured on the Cinechill podcast

I was recently interviewed about my new film Harley by the Cinechill podcast. You can check it out here.

The starving revolution in Venezuela

Supermarkets are empty. Parts of Caracas are in the dark. The brand new currency has no real value because of a rampant inflation. As Nicolas Maduro starts his second term as president today in Venezuela, the situation is dire in the South American country. Read my latest story from Caracas, that ran today in 24 Heures and Tribune de Genève in Switzerland.

The tragic story of Alexandre and his family

Last week, I worked on a complicated story about the murder-suicide of the Griffith family in Mapleton, Utah, late last year. This exclusive story raised a lot of questions about what you should reveal as a journalist and what is best kept private. I located the biological father of the alleged murderer, Timothy Griffith, and his ex-wife. The father shared the story of his son and his quest for answers. His son Timothy is accused of shooting and killing his wife Jessica, 16-year-old Samantha, his wife's daughter, and 5 year-old Alexandre, the son he had with Jessica. Timothy is also accused of shooting the family dog before committing suicide.

The Mapleton police department concluded that Jessica planned this murder-suicide with her husband. She thought she was dying from an imaginary cancer and the family's financial situation was dire. The police report was detailed and devastating for both parents, who had fled their financial problems in Switzerland according to people I interviewed for the story. Jessica made several claims to her husband, mother and brother about her childhood, that might help us explain why she was in such distress  in the days leading up to the murder-suicide.  For those who can read French, here is the story that ran last Sunday in Le Matin Dimanche, a major Sunday paper in Switzerland.

Tears and prayers are not enough - Editorial

Here is my latest editorial for the Tribune de Genève on the March for our Lives in Washington D.C. It went with this story. In Washington, I was fortunate to meet with Jason Kaplan, the father of twin girls who survived the Parkland shooting. Molly and her sister Rebecca were hiding in a closet during the shooting. They emailed their dad to tell him how scared they were. Jason came from Parkland, FL, to Washington D.C. last Saturday to say that he wanted change. 

Historic March for our Lives in Washington DC

Here is my story on the historic March for our Lives in Washington DC today. It ran in the Swiss newspapers 24 Heures and Tribune de Genève.

Donald Trump criticizes Robert Mueller

Here is my latest story for the Tribune de Genève and 24 Heures on the Russia investigation. It came out today in both newspapers [in French]. It tells the story behind the firing of former FBI Deputy Director, Andrew McCabe.