‘We are not coming here to determine what the NOS should write’

For the Hilversum Mediapark train station, Martijn Dekker quickly sums up the last instructions: staying together, and those who do not want to be filmed can pull a scarf for his face. Then he stabs a fist in the air. The procession starts to move.

About a hundred activists from Extinction Rebellion (XR) gathered on Saturday morning to walk to the NOS building and ‘occupy’ the square in front of the entrance. The parade is recorded by a cameraman and reporter of XR. There are people with drums, people with rainbow flags, Palestinian scarves and there is a woman who has spelled a plate on her backpack: « only oat milk. »

The action – according to the organization ‘less suitable for new rebels’ – stems from dissatisfaction with the reporting of the NOS. According to the activists, who always speak of « the state broadcaster, » the NOS is « not fair. » The broadcaster uses « misleading frames, fake neutrality and false balance »

Femke van Veldhuizen (44 years old, « full -time mother and activist ») is on the edge of a lawn, and says that the NOS « maneuvers around the truth. » She means that the broadcaster should call the events in Gaza ‘genocide’, and that journalists, for example, be better able to speak of ‘climate crisis’ than ‘climate change’. And besides, she says, the balance is lost. « There is too much attention for entertainment and too little for the climate. » She herself has stopped following the news, for another reason: « I am depressed by all that misery. »

Other XR activists say that they are annoyed by messages about heat waves where a photo of the beach is there. Or heads that mention that there are deaths due to floods. That also includes, they think, the word « climate crisis ». The NOS uses vague language, according to XR spokesman Martijn Dekker. People make choices every day, from the messages to politics. In order to be able to make up for such choices, he says, you must be ‘well informed’. « With clear language. »

Further on, a man starts by calling a loudspeaker, the crowd chants: « Free, Free Palestine », « Everytime the Media Lies, Another Child in Gaza Dies. » There are also sentences such as « Israel bombards, NOS legitimizes » and « nos, blood on your hands. »

Media attention

The announced occupation could count on a lot of media attention last week. Journalists, in turn, got angry about the choice of words of the activists. « It is quite possible to say that the NOS does not give the climate crisis the attention it deserves, » wrote Jaap Tielbeke De Groene Amsterdammer: « The problem is that the XR action goes a lot further than delivering structural criticism. » XR accuses the NOS of ‘propaganda’, Tielbeke explains, and suggests that the broadcaster is guided by ‘the interests of governments and large polluting companies’. « Such unfounded suspicions distract from the valid media criticism. »

Others fell about the demands of Xr. The action group writes that she stands for ‘freedom of the press’, how can that be reconciled with this action? Meteorologist Gerrit Hiemstra had tried to change the XR members on LinkedIn. Hiemstra presented it again at the NOS until 2023. « If XR were wise, they would demonstrate before the NOS, not against it. The independent press is an ally, not an enemy, » he wrote. « XR wants to prescribe the NOS how to report, what the ‘truth’ is and what words the NOS may and may not use. This is clearly restrictions of the freedom of the press. »

Concerned citizens

At the entrance of the NOS building, Dekker says that the media with their message « gained ». « We just sit on the square. We don’t come here to determine what the NOS should write. We are worried citizens. »

But it sounds different on the XR site. There « demands » a « weekly NOS climate journal ». Laura Kits, also spokesperson for XR, says that she has already had several conversations with the NOS. In 2022, the action group filed a complaint with the Ombudsman, because the broadcaster would have « insufficient attention » for the climate crisis. The complaint was unfounded explained. That they are now here is because their requirements have still not been granted, says Kits. « I find this promotion not intimidating. We use our right to demonstrate. »

On the side of the NOS building, campaigners quickly bring out two stairs. Five XR members climb the roof and hang a banner on the facade: « Nos, be honest ». Two police officers address the activists at the bottom of the stairs: « This is not according to the agreement, » they say. « And it is also a bit dangerous. »

Words matter, scanning activists on the square. But what about their own use of words? Yes, say present XR members, sometimes it might be a bit firm. « But we are activists, not journalists. » Another, who also wants to remain anonymous, grins: « Okay » blood on your hands « goes pretty far. But otherwise we will not get media attention. »

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