Angelina and Brad helped put a small French newspaper on the map when they handed Nice Matin exclusive first news of their newborn twins’ July 12 birth.
The tiny daily paper delivered a major coup when it beat big-name media outlets to the punch with news that Angelina had given birth to son, Knox Leon and daughter Vivienne Marcheline at 6:27 p.m. local time on July 12.
“It was Brad who chose to give the scoop to Nice-Matin,” says assistant editor-in-chief Olivier Biscaye. “He said to the doctor that the local media should be the first informed about the birth. We knew we would be the first in the world.”
While TV shows, newspapers and magazines from around the world were camped outside Lenval Hospital around the clock clamoring for updates on the birth, Brad invited Nice Matin reporter Jean-Francois Roubaud to Angelina’s hospital room. Rouboud was tipped off about the news and given special access to Lenval’s maternity ward and to Angelina’s obstetrician, Dr. Michel Sussmann.
Roubaud was told 30 minutes before Jolie underwent a Caesarean section for the delivery on the evening of July 12, says editor Christophe Caietti. The birth certificates show that Knox Leon was born at 6:27 p.m. and his sister, Vivienne Marcheline, a minute later.
“Roubaud spoke to the doctor around 10 p.m. We had all the details,” says Caietti. As the major daily serving the French Riviera, celebrity news is a mainstay for the 280,000-circulation Nice-Matin. But Caietti insists it is his paper’s integrity that helped them land the scoop of the summer.
“Nice Matin has always chosen not to play the game of paparazzi towards the celebrities who have chosen to live in the region,” he says. “We respect them, and they do likewise. We let [celebrities] have a peaceful life. This is why I think Brad and Angelina have chosen to make this gift to Nice Matin.”
Source: TheImproper