What does NRC think | Form the broadcaster to the NTR

When the Catholic Radio Omroep (KRO) was founded in 1925, the broadcaster acknowledged « God’s revelation as it is stored and passed on by the Roman Catholic Church in fulfilling his duties. » In the meantime, that porridge is no longer eaten as hot as it was served then, but just like with the NCRV or the EO, a confessional color is still recognizable. Something similar applies to, for example, the VARA, also founded in 1925, which is now no longer only for the « emancipating worker », but clearly shows different sounds than, for example, WNL. They once arose to make all voices within the pillarized society heard. They remained with small adjustments while society descerated.

Minister Eppo Bruins (Culture, NSC), who sent a letter to the House of Representatives on Friday about the reform of the public broadcaster, wants to retain that uniqueness of the order – as he himself says – and retain the ‘external pluriformity’, and even strengthen the ‘social root’. In addition, the Task broadcaster NTR would disappear to programs such as it Sinterklaasjournaal,,  » News hour and Het Klokhuis – either background, science and culture – to be placed with other broadcasters. Just like the NOS, the NTR is not dependent on members or an ideological background. Bruins’ proposal is just as astonishing and predictable.

Predictable because the chance would be little, the definitive abolition of the ‘columns’ of yesteryear would have a great priority at this cabinet, which itself often speaks with four mouths: each for its own supporters instead of the public interest. With the preservation of the broadcasting houses, the ‘pluriformity’ is not stimulated as the minister thinks, but rather the preservation of ‘own bubbles’ with which the pluriformity in society is threatened. The various social visions from the broadcaster may then vary less far than in 1925, the contradictions are certainly not bridged. It is therefore astonishing that a broadcaster who has a members -free, neutral position, and who has pluralism as a legal core task, has to clear the field.

That there is little vision for the future from these plans is just as gloomy. For example, there is no plan about how to deal with AI, or about how public broadcasters should compete with other media. It will also be cut from 2027, while the reforms start two years later. Without being looked at what reforms could have delivered financially, it has already been cut. Minister Bruins is right that there is too much money to go to boards, buildings and recruiting members, but if that is the main reason, he would have been better advocating the BBC model.

Had he done that, the NTR did not end up in the waste pit, but it formed the basis. « We wanted the public broadcaster to return to the core tasks of the task broadcasters, » said MP Claire Martens-America (VVD) in NRC. Mohammed Mohandis, media spokesperson for GroenLinks-Pvda, summarized the problem in essence: “I prefer it Sinterklaasjournaal is made by a neutral task broadcaster than from the lake ideological perspective of a broadcaster such as BNNVARA or unheard of the Netherlands. ”

The neutral programs of the NTR do not belong to broadcasters with a mission, but are there for the groups in the Netherlands that do not want to belong in one column. Keep the broadcaster that does not know color, but that brings as many colors as possible.

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