Broadcasters AvroTros and WNL have not broken any rules with the financing of Forum for Democracy campaign videos by presenter Jort Kelder. That conclusion attracts the Media Authority (CvdM) Monday after investigating the matter. According to the regulator, the broadcasters have acted according to the letter of the law, but “there are questions” about how Kelder’s employers have applied the spirit of the law.
The presenter was discredited in July last year. Forum for Democracy leader Thierry Baudet then said in a podcast that Kelder had paid one of his unemployed editors to make videos for Baudet’s party. Kelder confirmed the payment for the videos last year – including a pub crawl in Groningen and the carnival in Den Bosch – but did not think that his journalistic independence was at stake. The presenter tells the ANP on Monday that he is happy with the conclusion of the CvdM, but at the same time acknowledges that “looking back, it may have been a bit awkward”.
The media watchdog writes that AvroTros and WNL have only given “minimal details” to the processes that must guarantee editorial independence. As a result, broadcasters run the risk of conflicts of interest and violating editorial independence in the future. The CvdM calls this ‘worrying’ and says it will enter into discussions with the broadcasters about how to overcome these risks.
Also read: Jort Kelder funded Forum for Democracy campaign videos