Television should be the window on the world, but it is often no more than the window on the Media Park. The public broadcaster also talked about itself on Tuesday. The government wants to remove 150 million from the annual budget of 850 million. Two broadcasters announced on Tuesday which programs will therefore stop as of 2027. AVROTROS cancels six cultural programs. BNNVARA is cutting entertainment, among other things. So program makers appeared on the talk shows to sound the alarm. “Axe Day!”
As a TV critic, ending twelve TV programs saves me a lot of viewing time, and there are titles among them that I honestly won’t miss, but otherwise it is a reduction in the offering. And this is just the beginning, Jan Slagter argued at the talk show table Pauw & De Wit (NPO1). The MAX director spoke with some pathos: “God forbid that there is a right-wing cabinet because then you can also carry this table outside. Then it will be over and done with.”
Here and there, however, there were also voices in the talk shows that the broadcasting system, with its thirteen broadcasters, could be more efficient. Albert Verlinde agreed RTL Tonight (RTL4) that the broadcasters are playing “the sad card”. However, the defenders emphasized that the Dutch public broadcaster operated so cheaply – with the same overhead as the BBC.
I must say that I was not very enthusiastic about the subject until Amber Kortzorg introduced it Eva (NPO1) expanded. First, the presenter emphasized the importance of her own Checkout, that too must give way. This consumer program defends the interests of the powerless, she argued; a core task of public broadcasting.
Kortzorg then pointed out that these cuts were imposed by parties such as the PVV, which are hostile to the public broadcaster and other democratic institutions. Public broadcasting is also being undermined in other Western countries where fascism is advancing. Kortzorg said that politicians must strengthen democracy and therefore support public broadcasting.
Tyranny of the majority
Wouter de Winther opposed it. The right-wing commentator believed that Kortzorg should not complain: the majority had decided and that was democracy. Period. Now I really sat up. Because what De Winther defended here was not democracy but “the tyranny of the majority”. This arises when the majority in power no longer takes into account the minorities, or the democratic institutions, such as journalism, that stand up for them: “Perverse effects that turn against democracy itself.” That would be De Winther, columnist for the VVD newspaper The Telegraphstill need to know. This warning comes from Alexis de Tocqueville, one of the founders of liberalism.
Quickly to such a pearl of public broadcasting, Mr. Noor (NPO2). This three-part documentary follows Noor Nezami and the small-scale elderly homes he runs in South Limburg. They look like a shining example for elderly care. The residents and caregivers are very satisfied in the homely environment. Nezami is an Afghan refugee, according to him his idea of taking care of each other comes from his home country: “Afghanistan is a country of survival so we have to rely on each other.”
The warm, positive portraits of the homes and their residents made me wonder why this can’t also be done in the rest of the Netherlands. What does Nezami do differently, apart from his philosophy of respect and feeling at home? Why doesn’t he run into financial limits? Unfortunately that was not discussed. The Hague also wants to make major cuts in elderly care. But it doesn’t seem to bother Nezami. He continues to expand and has just opened another beautiful castle. I would also like to live there, in due time, when there is no more television to discuss.
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