A childhood memory turned into a winning documentary - The creator of Red Blood and the power of good storytelling
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Jean-Marie Goussard (France) in a frame from the AIPS SMA 2020 Ceremony
LAUSANNE, April 22, 2021 - Jean Marie Goussard was only 10 years old at the time of the events he recounted in his documentary Red Blood, and had no idea that he would become a storyteller. But the Villeneuve-Pironi story had left such a deep impression on him that he kept it in mind 38 years later to make a documentary about it.
In four months. Jean Marie dusted off the 1982 French Formula 1 archives to tell the story of a friendship marked by rivalry and betrayal that ended in tragedy. The story was gripping, touching and so well told that it became a winner - The jury of the AIPS Sport Media Awards gave it the 3rd place in the Best Documentary category presented at the 2020 edition. The idea of making it just came to him by chance, in the context of lockdown imposed by Covid-19, where journalists had to adapt to survive this pandemic.
What does Red Blood, the title of your production mean?
Red refers to Ferrari because the story is about two Ferrari drivers, Gilles Villeneuve and Didier Pironi. And Blood because it was the story of a dramatic year and season which was 1982, the year when Gilles Villeneuve died, and the year when Didier Pironi was seriously injured in an accident and did not finish the season. He even missed out on the world champion title that seemed to be promised to him.
To produce your one-hour long documentary, you went back into the archives. How long did it take you to produce Rouge Sang?
Not that long, actually. To tell you the truth, it's a story I've known for a very long time. I was 10 years old in 1982 and it's a story that had a lot of repercussions in the years that followed. You know that Didier Pironi died 5 years later and his wife was pregnant. She gave birth to twins who are both named Gilles and Didier as a tribute to this story. It is a story that has left a deep impression on me personally and that the current generation, at least those who follow Formula 1 on our channel, did not know. I've been thinking to work on the subject for several months, even several years, and it's actually a job that took me four months, no more. The time to find archival images. In France, it's relatively easy to find images from that period, from that season, images made by French channels, Italian channels, and some archives from Canadian television for Gilles Villeneuve.
How did you come up with the idea of making this documentary to tell the story of Pironi and Villeneuve?
Shortly after my arrival I spoke about it to my boss who is in charge of documentaries. I told him that there was a story I would like to tell. I'm not even familiar with the world of Formula 1. My channel broadcasts Formula 1, but I don't work on it. I told them, if there is a story to tell, it is this one and it is up to us to do it because we have been broadcasting formula 1 for 7 or 8 seasons. This is a very strong story, and we have Villeneuve's son, Jacques Villeneuve, as a consultant on our channel. It seemed obvious to me that this story should be told by Canal Plus.
You were 10 years old at the time of the events. Did you think at the time that you would become a sports journalist to tell this story?
No, I didn't imagine it, neither working in television, no. I was a boy who loved sport, who already had the idea of becoming a journalist, but not to the point of working in TV, not to the point of making documentaries. It wasn't something that had crossed my mind. But on the other hand, all these stories go through my childhood and remain with me. And this story is really very special and very strong. A story of friendship, a story of betrayal, a tragic story. It's really not funny. And at the same time, it's a story that is almost universal, that deals with things that are ultimately very current. You find stories about rivalry competitions in Formula 1 and in many other sports.
How did you get into sports journalism?
I've been doing journalism for nearly 30 years and practically only on sport. I first started in the local press at in the provinces of France. I worked there for 6 years and then I went to a school of journalism which allowed me to enter radio first. I worked in radio, before new channels were created in France around the year 2000, particularly sports channels. As sport has always been my passion, I naturally went to these channels. I was lucky enough when I was almost 30 years old to see new sports channels emerging and a new generation of sports journalists of which I was a part. This is how I got into sport journalism.
What has made the biggest impression on you during your 30 years in the sports press?
There are many things. I've done so many different things. Covering sport events such as 2010 and 2014 football World Cups, the 2004 Athens Olympics, the 2016 Rio Olympics - these are the things that leave their mark. I don't even know if I'll have the chance to cover them again. I've also done more basic things that I liked when I was starting out in this profession. What interests me most is the human aspect. I like to meet people, I like to tell their stories and I like them to allow me to tell stories. I am a storyteller and that is how I see my job. Beyond the passion for sport, it is the passion of the men and women who practice sport that lead me and that is endless.
How did you live through the difficult year marked by COVID 19, which suddenly broke off all human contact?
This year was a real break, in fact. I recently complained about it to my superior. It's true, we've broken the link with the sportsmen and women, which is increasingly difficult to maintain. Even before Covid-19 pandemic, it was difficult to get in touch with athletes, agents or agencies. There are many people who prevent you from approaching sportsmen and women. And this Covid prevents us from accessing something essential, because the essence of our job is to be able to approach, discuss, know the life and daily life of people, to have news, and this connection has become very complicated over the last year.
Do you think in these conditions that the future of sports journalism could be in the past, i.e. a return to the archives for subjects like yours?
Yes, I do. This year has been a bit special. Because it distracted me from current sportsmen, it forced me to refocus on things from the past. In fact, I’m working on another documentary and images from the past. I don't know if I'm going to make this my speciality, but I am. For lack of telling current stories and being able to shoot them, I went to see what was shot in the past. Is this the trend? I don't know. But I hope it will be temporary because if I have to make new documentaries what I like is to be able to shoot my own images and have my own narrative.
How did you feel when you were told that your production was ranked 3rd at the AIPS Awards?
Honestly, I was very surprised. I was also very honoured and flattered, because I could not imagine that my story would make an impression on people in the international press. I also looked at what was submitted by the first and second place winners in my category and I find it hard to compare myself to them. They have done work that seems to me to be denser, richer, with much more means as well. I find mine quite artisanal (laugh) in the end and I was flattered that it took place on the podium. To be honest, I did not expect it. But I know that it was the story that stood out much more than the way it was told. I am quite touched that the story of Didier Pironi and Gilles Villeneuve has made such an impression on the jury. I am very happy about that.
This was your first participation in the AIPS Awards after 2 editions. What convinced you to participate?
It was actually my boss who asked the whole Sport department to submit some of our productions. But I had no particular ambition. I thought I might as well enrich the AIPS Awards with our productions and show that we too do things. Some of them made it into the top 10, then the top 5 and then the final. We are flattered.
Can we expect a Goussard’s production at the next Awards?
Yes, I will send something for sure. We have to contribute to the AIPS initiative of promoting sport media excellency. It may still be an archive subject because I don't see myself going into something more ambitious by the end of the year. And then we have the ambition to make this association live and better known in France. The AIPS is not well known in France and I regret this because it is an association that was born in France, that has a common history with France and so it is also up to us journalists in France to make it known in this country. So yes, we will contribute at our level to make the AIPS known in France.
30 years of experience in a difficult context due to Covid and many other things. Do you think that it would be easy for a young reporter who is starting out in this profession to do 30 more years?
I don't know if I would like to be 20 years old today and start in sports journalism. It's very complicated, whether it's sports or anything else. I will have difficulty projecting myself into the next 30 years. We are in a period where communication and disinformation reign, where we have the impression that we need more and more journalism and real journalists. People who bring the truth, who cross-check their information, who need to bring the facts to the attention of as many people as possible. But today we have the impression that we are being bounced all over the place by people who like to use the codes of journalism, but it's not journalism. It's complicated to think that this profession as I have known it will last for years.
To give you an example, I'm working on a story I'm going to publish in two weeks on football. I asked some players, in particular a Brazilian player who was ready to answer, but who clearly asked for money to answer. This is not part of my principles at all. I request from people information, either they talk, either they don't talk, but unfortunately I don't have any money to offer and my channel doesn't have any. More and more people are asking you to pay for interviews, and sometimes it's huge sums. In this case it was 2000 dollars. These are things that people would never have been proposed to me 10 or 20 years ago. I wonder where we are heading, what the meaning of history is if we have to be paid, will we continue to tell stories if the reports are biased by money. I make documentaries, but we are competing with American platforms that offer a lot of money to make things that look like journalism and that are not quite journalism, but that are content that makes a lot of money, with a lot of audience. This is on what the fight must be focused on today. With thes practices it is difficult to exist as a journalist with an ethic of rules that I cannot break. I might as well change jobs than continue doing this.
Is the profession in danger?
Sometimes I feel it is in danger. Sometimes it's just trends. I make documentaries, but there was a time when documentaries didn't exist. They have arrived in the last few years. There is a trend. Maybe in 10 years it will have gone the other way, I don't know. The trend is not good, but may be in 10 years things will have returned to balance. I also trust the public, those who read and follow us, and their requirements.
Can initiatives like the AIPS Awards help to bring balance back to the practice of sports journalism?
I hope so. All initiatives are good and at the level of the AIPS, just the fact of creating link, and contact between journalists from all over the world can contribute to bring back this requirement. I myself do not often meet foreign colleagues. But I see that the problems encountered by an American or Australian journalist are the same as mine. And wherever the AIPS makes a connection, it is good for us.
In four months. Jean Marie dusted off the 1982 French Formula 1 archives to tell the story of a friendship marked by rivalry and betrayal that ended in tragedy. The story was gripping, touching and so well told that it became a winner - The jury of the AIPS Sport Media Awards gave it the 3rd place in the Best Documentary category presented at the 2020 edition. The idea of making it just came to him by chance, in the context of lockdown imposed by Covid-19, where journalists had to adapt to survive this pandemic.
What does Red Blood, the title of your production mean?
Red refers to Ferrari because the story is about two Ferrari drivers, Gilles Villeneuve and Didier Pironi. And Blood because it was the story of a dramatic year and season which was 1982, the year when Gilles Villeneuve died, and the year when Didier Pironi was seriously injured in an accident and did not finish the season. He even missed out on the world champion title that seemed to be promised to him.
To produce your one-hour long documentary, you went back into the archives. How long did it take you to produce Rouge Sang?
Not that long, actually. To tell you the truth, it's a story I've known for a very long time. I was 10 years old in 1982 and it's a story that had a lot of repercussions in the years that followed. You know that Didier Pironi died 5 years later and his wife was pregnant. She gave birth to twins who are both named Gilles and Didier as a tribute to this story. It is a story that has left a deep impression on me personally and that the current generation, at least those who follow Formula 1 on our channel, did not know. I've been thinking to work on the subject for several months, even several years, and it's actually a job that took me four months, no more. The time to find archival images. In France, it's relatively easy to find images from that period, from that season, images made by French channels, Italian channels, and some archives from Canadian television for Gilles Villeneuve.
How did you come up with the idea of making this documentary to tell the story of Pironi and Villeneuve?
Shortly after my arrival I spoke about it to my boss who is in charge of documentaries. I told him that there was a story I would like to tell. I'm not even familiar with the world of Formula 1. My channel broadcasts Formula 1, but I don't work on it. I told them, if there is a story to tell, it is this one and it is up to us to do it because we have been broadcasting formula 1 for 7 or 8 seasons. This is a very strong story, and we have Villeneuve's son, Jacques Villeneuve, as a consultant on our channel. It seemed obvious to me that this story should be told by Canal Plus.
You were 10 years old at the time of the events. Did you think at the time that you would become a sports journalist to tell this story?
No, I didn't imagine it, neither working in television, no. I was a boy who loved sport, who already had the idea of becoming a journalist, but not to the point of working in TV, not to the point of making documentaries. It wasn't something that had crossed my mind. But on the other hand, all these stories go through my childhood and remain with me. And this story is really very special and very strong. A story of friendship, a story of betrayal, a tragic story. It's really not funny. And at the same time, it's a story that is almost universal, that deals with things that are ultimately very current. You find stories about rivalry competitions in Formula 1 and in many other sports.
How did you get into sports journalism?
I've been doing journalism for nearly 30 years and practically only on sport. I first started in the local press at in the provinces of France. I worked there for 6 years and then I went to a school of journalism which allowed me to enter radio first. I worked in radio, before new channels were created in France around the year 2000, particularly sports channels. As sport has always been my passion, I naturally went to these channels. I was lucky enough when I was almost 30 years old to see new sports channels emerging and a new generation of sports journalists of which I was a part. This is how I got into sport journalism.
What has made the biggest impression on you during your 30 years in the sports press?
There are many things. I've done so many different things. Covering sport events such as 2010 and 2014 football World Cups, the 2004 Athens Olympics, the 2016 Rio Olympics - these are the things that leave their mark. I don't even know if I'll have the chance to cover them again. I've also done more basic things that I liked when I was starting out in this profession. What interests me most is the human aspect. I like to meet people, I like to tell their stories and I like them to allow me to tell stories. I am a storyteller and that is how I see my job. Beyond the passion for sport, it is the passion of the men and women who practice sport that lead me and that is endless.
How did you live through the difficult year marked by COVID 19, which suddenly broke off all human contact?
This year was a real break, in fact. I recently complained about it to my superior. It's true, we've broken the link with the sportsmen and women, which is increasingly difficult to maintain. Even before Covid-19 pandemic, it was difficult to get in touch with athletes, agents or agencies. There are many people who prevent you from approaching sportsmen and women. And this Covid prevents us from accessing something essential, because the essence of our job is to be able to approach, discuss, know the life and daily life of people, to have news, and this connection has become very complicated over the last year.
Do you think in these conditions that the future of sports journalism could be in the past, i.e. a return to the archives for subjects like yours?
Yes, I do. This year has been a bit special. Because it distracted me from current sportsmen, it forced me to refocus on things from the past. In fact, I’m working on another documentary and images from the past. I don't know if I'm going to make this my speciality, but I am. For lack of telling current stories and being able to shoot them, I went to see what was shot in the past. Is this the trend? I don't know. But I hope it will be temporary because if I have to make new documentaries what I like is to be able to shoot my own images and have my own narrative.
How did you feel when you were told that your production was ranked 3rd at the AIPS Awards?
Honestly, I was very surprised. I was also very honoured and flattered, because I could not imagine that my story would make an impression on people in the international press. I also looked at what was submitted by the first and second place winners in my category and I find it hard to compare myself to them. They have done work that seems to me to be denser, richer, with much more means as well. I find mine quite artisanal (laugh) in the end and I was flattered that it took place on the podium. To be honest, I did not expect it. But I know that it was the story that stood out much more than the way it was told. I am quite touched that the story of Didier Pironi and Gilles Villeneuve has made such an impression on the jury. I am very happy about that.
This was your first participation in the AIPS Awards after 2 editions. What convinced you to participate?
It was actually my boss who asked the whole Sport department to submit some of our productions. But I had no particular ambition. I thought I might as well enrich the AIPS Awards with our productions and show that we too do things. Some of them made it into the top 10, then the top 5 and then the final. We are flattered.
Can we expect a Goussard’s production at the next Awards?
Yes, I will send something for sure. We have to contribute to the AIPS initiative of promoting sport media excellency. It may still be an archive subject because I don't see myself going into something more ambitious by the end of the year. And then we have the ambition to make this association live and better known in France. The AIPS is not well known in France and I regret this because it is an association that was born in France, that has a common history with France and so it is also up to us journalists in France to make it known in this country. So yes, we will contribute at our level to make the AIPS known in France.
30 years of experience in a difficult context due to Covid and many other things. Do you think that it would be easy for a young reporter who is starting out in this profession to do 30 more years?
I don't know if I would like to be 20 years old today and start in sports journalism. It's very complicated, whether it's sports or anything else. I will have difficulty projecting myself into the next 30 years. We are in a period where communication and disinformation reign, where we have the impression that we need more and more journalism and real journalists. People who bring the truth, who cross-check their information, who need to bring the facts to the attention of as many people as possible. But today we have the impression that we are being bounced all over the place by people who like to use the codes of journalism, but it's not journalism. It's complicated to think that this profession as I have known it will last for years.
To give you an example, I'm working on a story I'm going to publish in two weeks on football. I asked some players, in particular a Brazilian player who was ready to answer, but who clearly asked for money to answer. This is not part of my principles at all. I request from people information, either they talk, either they don't talk, but unfortunately I don't have any money to offer and my channel doesn't have any. More and more people are asking you to pay for interviews, and sometimes it's huge sums. In this case it was 2000 dollars. These are things that people would never have been proposed to me 10 or 20 years ago. I wonder where we are heading, what the meaning of history is if we have to be paid, will we continue to tell stories if the reports are biased by money. I make documentaries, but we are competing with American platforms that offer a lot of money to make things that look like journalism and that are not quite journalism, but that are content that makes a lot of money, with a lot of audience. This is on what the fight must be focused on today. With thes practices it is difficult to exist as a journalist with an ethic of rules that I cannot break. I might as well change jobs than continue doing this.
Is the profession in danger?
Sometimes I feel it is in danger. Sometimes it's just trends. I make documentaries, but there was a time when documentaries didn't exist. They have arrived in the last few years. There is a trend. Maybe in 10 years it will have gone the other way, I don't know. The trend is not good, but may be in 10 years things will have returned to balance. I also trust the public, those who read and follow us, and their requirements.
Can initiatives like the AIPS Awards help to bring balance back to the practice of sports journalism?
I hope so. All initiatives are good and at the level of the AIPS, just the fact of creating link, and contact between journalists from all over the world can contribute to bring back this requirement. I myself do not often meet foreign colleagues. But I see that the problems encountered by an American or Australian journalist are the same as mine. And wherever the AIPS makes a connection, it is good for us.
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