Strasbourg โคmourns Loss of Media Philosopher Clara-Doรฏna Schmelck at 40
STRASBOURG, France – โThe world of French journalism and academia isโ in mourning following theโฃ deathโค of Clara-Doรฏna Schmelck, a respected philosopher, journalist, andโฃ specialist in social networks. Schmelck passed away in โStrasbourg at the end of โAugust 2025, at the age of 40, after a battle with stomach โฃcancer. โฃA private burial was held this Wednesday, โฃSeptember 3rd.
Those โคwho knew Schmelck remember her for her โ”intellectual โฃliveliness, human โคwarmth, andโ relevance,” qualities evident even during her early years at the Leclerc college in Schiltigheim, where she firstโค impressed her peers.
born in 1985,Schmelck pursued a rigorous academic path,attendingโข the high schoolโ of pontonniers in Strasbourg,followed by โpreparatory โฃclasses for the grandes รฉcoles โฃ at the Jeanne-d’Albret high school in Saint-germain-en-Laye. As a Normalienne, she immersed herself in the studyโ of beliefs, history, and โgeography before ultimately โฃchoosing a career in journalism, graduating from the CFPJ in Paris.Schmelck quickly established herself as aโ leading voice on the intersection of media, technology, and society. She lectured at โSciences Po Strasbourg and the EFJ journalism school, sharing her insights on the evolving digital landscape. โHer expertise โคwas sought โafter nationally; โขin Februaryโข 2024, she presented at the Strasbourg bioethicsโ forum on โฃthe complex relationship between artificialโข intelligence and human connection, and frequently appeared on France Culture to debate the impact of social networks.
Inโ 2019, sheโฃ co-authored The Professions of the Future with Isabelle โคRouhan, published byโ First.
The Association of Media Journalists (AJM) describedโ Schmelckโค as a “fine observer” of new media, praising her “philosophical and sociological reflection on the world of the media, in particular in the face of โtheโข challenges raised by social networks.” Colleagues remember her as brilliant, sympathetic, and โpossessing a keen sense of humor.
Her untimely passingโฃ represents a criticallyโ important loss for those โseeking to understand theโ profound changes shaping the modern media habitat.