Taking as a basis for discussion an article from the British press and its translation into French, this paper examines the ways in which the content of such journalistic texts may be judged to require adaptation to suit the needs of the target audience. It focuses on the strategies of omission and addition frequently adopted in this translation, and relates the decisions made to the relative importance or relevance of certain elements in the source text. Key concepts have to be clearly conveyed even if this sometimes requires lengthy or even clumsy insertions, but other components of the article, despite contributing much to its appeal to the original readers, may be judged cumbersome, obscure, or quite simply superfluous in the translation. The translator's decisions aim at preserving a balance between conveying the essential and ensuring that the organisation, tone and style are acceptable to the target audience.