Émile de Girardin: A figure of the innovative media entrepreneur in the nineteenth century[Émile de Girardin, une figure de l’entrepreneur innovateur des médias au xix e siècle]

This article aims to revisit the career of Émile de Girardin, a 19th century press magnate, in light of the emerging theory of the innovative entrepreneur that was taking shape at the time in the work of economists. It seeks to demonstrate, in particular, how Émile de Girardin embodies this new figure of the innovative entrepreneur of economic theory, which emerged simultaneously within a context favorable to the creation of enterprises, especially in the media sector. This historical perspective thus proposes to contribute to a better understanding of the media entrepreneur – a relatively recent object of research that nevertheless deserves special attention given the crucial issues of preserving pluralism in a media landscape profoundly shaped by concentration.