Mariëlle Tweebeeke and her colleague Jeroen Wollaars have ended up in quite a negative spiral with their program Nieuwsuur. “I think they will be replaced next year.”
Nieuwsuur’s viewing figures are under heavy pressure and that is striking because elections have just taken place. Normally the program flourishes during the election campaign, but this year the high expectations were not met. In fact: Pieter Omtzigt even verbally knocked out Mariëlle Tweebeeke.
Negative spiral
Actually, that negative viewing spiral started there, says media critic Victor Vlam. “And if you’re in there, it’s very difficult to get out. Declining viewing figures often confirm themselves and that is not what you want. What happens if your viewing figures are lower? Then you can do very good journalism, but then people see it less.”
What should be done now? He continues in the podcast The Communicados: “I do think that things have to change and that they have to change drastically and that is the difficult thing with these kinds of things. If you only change course substantively, then you are not there yet, because people do not always find this out immediately.”
Marielle out?
If you want to attract viewers back, you have to be rigorous, Victor thinks. “You have to make it clear to the viewer that the course is different. And I’m starting to fear a little bit for Jeroen Wollaars and Mariëlle Tweebeeke. It is of course true that presenters are the face of the program.”
He continues: “A very easy way to make it clear that a new wind has started to blow is to replace the presenters. I certainly cannot rule out that Mariëlle Tweebeeke and Jeroen Wollaars will be replaced by other presenters at Christmas next year.”
Symbol
Huh? Mariëlle and Jeroen suddenly have to leave? Isn’t that a bit of an exaggeration? “Well, not necessarily because they are to blame for the crisis that that program is in, but because they symbolize it and that is sometimes why many presenters do not have a lot of job security. Unfortunately, these kinds of things can happen.”
It has happened before at the predecessor of Nieuwsuur, Victor knows. “That was Nova, in 2002. A radically different course had to be taken then. And then all three presenters, including Rob Trip, were replaced. Remarkably enough, by Matthijs van Nieuwkerk. He presented Nova for a very short time.”
A bit too abstract
Nova’s new course ultimately did not catch on. “But that is indeed how it can happen. That could happen again now.”
What should Nieuwsuur actually change? “I sometimes find the subjects a bit too abstract, a bit too elitist. I actually think they should take a good look at what EenVandaag makes accessible and do something similar to that, because I think the viewer is looking forward to that more.”