Born on December 2, 1964, in the Catalan city of Barcelona, David Pujadas is undoubtedly one of the most popular French journalists of the moment. Former star presenter of the 8 p.m. newscast on the public channel France 2, this Frenchman of Spanish origin has managed to achieve unanimity on his talent and journalistic abilities. Very popular with spectators in France, this outstanding journalist has also won the favor of people in the French-speaking world.
Far from being overrated, his reputation has been confirmed over the years, making him one of the most famous media men. This celebrity was confirmed after his ousting from 8 p.m. on France 2, because David Pujadas was courted by an impressive number of television channels, all of which wanted to offer his services. We will, in the lines that follow, take a close look at the salary, the various incomes, as well as the personal fortune of this star of the small screen.
The young Pujadas did his secondary studies in Ain at the international high school of Ferney-Voltaire. With his baccalaureate in his pocket, he moved to Aix-en-Provence where he joined the faculty of economics of the University of the Mediterranean Aix-Marseille II. He studied there for 3 years and came out with a degree in economics. Passionate about politics, David Pujadas passed the entrance examination for the Paris Institute of Political Studies (IEP). He succeeded and joined Sciences-Po where he rubbed shoulders with personalities such as TV host Isabelle Giordano, comedian and actress Anne Roumanoff and former minister Jean-François Copé. At the end of his training, he did a 4-month internship at the premises of the daily Nice-Matin, where he contracted the journalism virus. In 1988, he took the plunge and enrolled at the Paris Journalists Training Center. He came out two years later with a diploma in journalism.
A studious and passionate student, David Pujadas gave pride of place to his studies during his apprenticeship. He spared no means to integrate the schools he dreamed of and learn what he was passionate about. This unfailing abnegation and pronounced taste for effort allowed him to stay focused and achieve his goals despite the pitfalls that stood in his way. Always among the best students, he graduated top of his promotion at the Paris Journalists Training Center. This pronounced taste for excellence earned him the Jean d’Arcy prize which rewards young talents in journalism. This prize earned him a year’s contract at TF1 where he worked as a reporter, thus fulfilling a dream of several years. The young Franco-Spanish demonstrates that you should never stop believing in your dreams.
Winner of a journalist competition organized by French Television 1 (TF1), he became a reporter for this channel, covering in particular the fall of Nicolae Ceausescu in Romania in 1989, the Gulf War in 1991 and the siege of Sarajevo in 1992. He also presented the morning news and the 11:00 p.m. news during the regular presenters’ holidays between 1992 and 1993. At the same time, from 1990 to 1994, he carried out investigations for Charles Villeneuve’s investigative magazine ” The right to know”.
At the end of June 1994, he joined LCI, TF1’s new continuous news channel, where he regularly presents news flashes. From September 1996, he started presenting the program “Le Grand Journal” between 6:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. He also created the weekly magazine “100% politique”. In September 2001, he replaced Claude Sérillon as presenter of the France 2 newspapers at the request of the new news director Olivier Mazerolle. It covers, for this purpose, the events of September 11 live on television.
On February 3, 2004, David Pujadas announced at the opening of the 8 p.m. news on France 2, the official withdrawal of Alain Juppé from political life, information immediately denied by the person concerned. Pujadas apologizes for this error in the next day’s edition, but two days later, following a vote of confidence by the directors of the chain, he is sanctioned and is forced to take two weeks of vacation during which he is replaced. by Carole Gaessler. During the 2005–06 season, Pujadas presented ‘The Contract’, a monthly political interview on the Parliamentary Channel. From February 2006, he hosted the weekly “Madame, Monsieur, bonsoir” with Hervé Chabalier on France 5.
During the 2012 French presidential election, he presented “Words and Deeds”, a program in which the candidates are confronted with their public image, their economic program, their campaign strategies and a politician from the ‘opposition. He also co-chaired with Laurence Ferrari the televised debate between François Hollande and Nicolas Sarkozy. Despite his good performance, the director of France Télévisions decided on May 17, 2017 to dismiss him from his post as presenter at the end of the season.
In his early days as a reporter for TF1, David Pujadas obviously did not earn a fortune, new as he was. To make ends meet, the young reporter also did many subcontracts for various media. Things improved a bit when he was co-opted in 1994 by LCL. For 7 years, he cut his teeth there by presenting various television news and other programs dealing with political news. His salary and lifestyle are stable there until he joins France 2 and opts for public service.
Working for the public service was, for him, more a question of conviction than of money. By working for this public channel, the young journalist knew that he was not going to earn a fortune there. But he wanted, above all, to return the elevator to this nation, which gave him everything and to whom he owes everything. With a salary of 18,000 euros per month for the presentation of the 20-hour newspaper and around 5,000 euros monthly for special political broadcasts, he is far behind TF1 journalists Claire Chazal and Jean-Pierre Pernaut, who had respective monthly salaries. of 120,000 and 50,000 €. Admittedly, the journalist earns his living comfortably, but the money is not what makes him run.
David Pujadas is a passionate person who makes it a point of honor to carry out the tasks entrusted to him with a high professional conscience. Fortune is in no way what interests him. If that was the case, he wouldn’t have spent 16 years in public service. His popularity would have enabled him to earn almost 10 times what he was paid on France 2. Anxious to restore journalism to its former glory, he is not one of those business journalists who are more concerned with the bait gain and fortune than by the job of journalist itself.
Thus, the sites talking about the miraculous personal fortune of David Pujadas are actually parody entities trying to create buzz, because if the journalist cannot complain about his fate, he is not one of the millionaires either. He devotes most of his time to his job as a journalist and does not bother with the dubious contracts into which many media men engage, head down. His talent is the fortune he wants to bequeath to posterity. During his long career, he succeeded in federating the admiration of listeners in the French-speaking world and his programs broke audience records.
With his eviction from the television news of France 2, David Pujadas has now purged his debt and is now free of any commitment. With the staggering number of media houses jostling at his door, it would not be surprising if his salary and income took off to reach the heights. He deserves it, because he has nothing to envy to these journalists who until now earned up to 5 times his salary when he served in the public service at France 2.
Passionate about journalism and politics, David Pujadas is, without a doubt, one of the best contemporary journalists. This Franco-Spanish has gradually climbed the various levels to establish himself as one of the most talented media men of his time. Its fiery broadcasts won large audiences and its newscasts broke audience records. However, it’s not the money that drives this talented tradesman. If this were the case, he would have long since left this public television, whose salaries border on the ridiculous compared to the generous remuneration paid by private television channels. His 16 years of good and loyal service to France 2 are, above all, motivated by this constant concern to push the search for excellence to its lowest limits. Even if he cannot claim to have earned a fortune there, David Pujadas can be proud of the immense task he has accomplished there.