Will Angela de Jong soon become a ventriloquist dummy for RTL? There is a lot of speculation about it. “I am not going to write a letter differently about RTL than I have done so far,” she says resolutely.
We all know it from Shownieuws and, to a lesser extent, from RTL Boulevard: people rave about their own programs, but less about their own dramas. While the Shownieuws experts are deployed to keep Peter Gillis in the saddle, there is always disproportionately positive news about GTST in Boulevard.
Not a letter different
There is simply too strong a connection between the editors and the company they are part of. But what will happen to Angela de Jong if her AD will soon belong to the same club as RTL? There is plenty of speculation about the position of the influential TV columnist, because critics think that this will influence her columns.
Angela herself speaks in the newspaper very tough words. “DPG just does it. I am not going to write a letter differently about RTL than I have done so far,” she says resolutely.
Morally reprehensible
No one will silence her, according to Angela. “I still think that Peter van der Vorst is acting morally reprehensible by bringing in Matthijs van Nieuwkerk and is giving a big middle finger to his victims at De Wereld Draait Door. If the company expects otherwise, then they know me very poorly.”
However, Jan Dijkgraaf, columnist and biographer of the Meilandjes, does point to the influence of DPG boss Christian Van Thillo. He is Angela’s big boss. “He regularly spars with editors about journalism. Last week, for example, with the editorial staff and heads of the AD,” says DPG board member Erik van Gruijthuijsen. A.D.
Jan worried
What will Christian think of Angela writing a scathing column about his TV branch? “Sparring with Angela de Jong by the owner who does not interfere with the content will be fun,” predicts Jan Dijkgraaf on X.
Media critic Victor Vlam thinks that Angela will not be silenced very rigorously. “There is an editorial statute, so the AD will not suddenly write very positively about everything from RTL,” he says in his podcast The Communicados.
Subtle pressure
However, Victor thinks that it would be naive to think that Angela’s tone will not change at all. “There will of course be subtle pressure on the television reviewer of the DPG newspapers. And yes, sometimes that subtle pressure can also have an influence.”
He concludes: “So you can’t say that it will have a very big effect, but at the same time, I also find it unbelievable that it has no effect.”