Marie-Claude Barrette insists: the fact that she is launching her own platform does not mean that she is ruling out a possible return to the small screen. But for now, his new project is taking up all his time. “I didn’t shut the door on TV. It was TV that closed the door on me,” she explains.
On Wednesday, Marie-Claude Barrette lifted the veil on MarieClub, a digital “discovery and learning” space which offers content that she produces through Umano, a production company that she created in collaboration with Attraction (Live from the universe, Les chefs).
Accessible from her new website, this platform includes video interviews in which she discusses a wide range of subjects (personal finances, health, family) with different experts (the psychologists Rose-Marie Charest and Lory Zephyr, the professor Jacques Nantel, pediatrician Jean-François Chicoine), a reading club in which actresses Maude Guérin, Sophie Prégent and Guylaine Tremblay participate, as well as a personal journal. Once a month, Marie-Claude Barrette will interview a well-known personality, and every week, a new episode of Ouvre ton jeux, her popular podcast show, will be posted there, first and without advertising.
“It’s the only path I could take,” says Marie-Claude Barrette. I no longer have room on TV. What do I do after this? Now is not the time to put out a magazine; we know how difficult it is. But I didn’t want to return home and stop being the transmission belt that I had been all these years. I want to continue to equip people. »
“I’m not old enough to retire,” continues the 54-year-old communicator. When you lose your job, you inevitably look for something else. »
The cost of subscribing to MarieClub will undoubtedly put off some people. We’re talking $15.99 per month or $149.99 per year. Marie-Claude Barrette knows that this can be a hindrance, especially in times of inflation. “I see the comments. People would like to follow me, but financially, it’s not possible for some of them. »
The host says she had no choice. “I didn’t want to depend on financial partners, sponsorships… I wanted freedom, in terms of content creation. »
According to Marie-Claude Barrette, the MarieClub needs to reach 2000 members to fall “into a stable zone”. The first phase of the project has only just begun, but other phases are already planned.
Marie-Claude Barrette is categorical: her foray into the digital world is far from being a disavowal of television. She also continues to present documentary projects as a producer.
“For me, TV is still an exceptional medium. I consume a lot of it. Every day, I watch Indefensible, STAT and If we loved each other. I listen to documentaries on ICI Tou.tv, Vrai, Crave… I listen to everything, and I try to encourage everything that is Quebecois. But do I need to be on TV? Not really. She lives very well without me. »
By launching the MarieClub, and particularly its book club, Marie-Claude Barrette is visibly inspired by the model of Oprah Winfrey, one of the first media personalities to have adopted the therapeutic style.
“Obviously Oprah influenced me. Janette [Bertrand] too. These two women fed me. They taught me a lot. »
As for the book club, Marie-Claude Barrette says she tried to found one during her years at TVA, but the operation always proved too complex.
“He told me, ‘Listen to Oprah. Listen to Claire Lamarche. Try being part of a group to stop your loneliness.” Because isolation isn’t fair when there’s no one in your life. I had three children, but sometimes, talking to other adults feels good,” she emphasizes.
