From the audience to the editorial office: behind the scenes of a long-form IHECS x Le Soir investigation

21.02.2026
For the eighth consecutive year, Master 2 students in Press and Information (PI) are publishing their web-first supplement produced with Le Soir. Entitled "Il était une fois Brussel" (Once upon a time in Brussels), it explores the reality of Flemish peopl

On 21 February 2026, around fifteen MA2 PI students published a long-form investigation (on the web and in the form of a supplement) produced as part of the course "Local investigation in partnership with Le Soir" supervised by Philippe Laloux and Jean-François Leconte.

Launched in 2018, this structural partnership between the PI section and Le Soir is celebrating its eighth edition this year. For our future journalists, this experience is a total immersion in the profession. From researching angles to gathering information, from writing to editing, the requirements are identical to those of a professional newsroom.

Once upon a time in Brussels

For the 2026 edition, this long-form article is entitled "Once upon a time in Brussels: how Dutch speakers experience their capital" and focuses on the realities of Dutch speakers in Brussels.

The theme, defined jointly by IHECS and the editor-in-chief of Le Soir, is imposed on the budding journalists. After two weeks of immersion in the subject, it is time for the "pitch", at the heart of the editorial office, to defend the chosen angles. The objective? To get the green light from Xavier Counasse, editor-in-chief of Le Soir, and Bernard Demonty, head of the political department. The exercise takes place in real-life professional conditions, expectations are high and each topic must meet the daily newspaper's quality standards. There are no exceptions for students.

For this edition, the students set out to meet a variety of people, such as residents of the Dansaert neighbourhood and pupils at Dutch-speaking schools, to show, for example, how multilingualism is transforming the city. The work ended with a final editing phase carried out directly in the newsroom.

In practical terms, the students worked individually or in pairs. Throughout the process, they were supported by the teaching team and followed a structured path:

  • familiarisation with the subject and immersion in the theme;
  • identifying angles and searching for contradictory sources;
  • field research, interviews, writing and successive rewrites;
  • submission of articles in December for academic assessment;
  • editing work in February at Le Soir itself.

For the editing stage, the students returned individually to the editorial office to rework their texts with the journalists. Two students from the workshop are also doing their internships at Le Soir and are actively involved in the editorial work for the supplement and the enrichment of web content.

Read the article

IHECS congratulates all the students for their work and warmly thanks the editorial staff of Le Soir, in particular Philippe Laloux and Jean-François Leconte, for their ongoing commitment to training our future graduates.

Well done, everyone!

List of students in the 2026 workshop:

  • Azagra Soria Léa
  • Castiaux Juliette
  • de Foestraets Jules
  • Alicia Gumpel-Mallentjer
  • Henry Elise
  • Hodzic Mia
  • Horvath Célia
  • Kamba Ndaya-Badiunda Grace
  • Lepoutre Emilien
  • Ligot Clara
  • Melaet Tiffany
  • Mignon Lucas
  • Potloot Noah
  • Roeland Noé
  • Saâd Farahy