News item | 19-12-2023 | 4:00 pm
Compliance with the journalistic code must become part of the Media Act
Omroep Ongehoord Nederland (ON) remains in the public broadcasting system. This was decided by State Secretary Van Weyenberg (Media). This decision is in line with the intended decision of two weeks ago. The NPO had requested withdrawal of recognition in April, based on a lack of willingness to cooperate on the part of ON.
Van Weyenberg’s predecessor rejected the NPO’s request for withdrawal in the proposed decision. There appeared to be insufficient legal grounds for withdrawal. The views received have not led to a different assessment.
State Secretary Van Weyenberg: “ON retains its provisional recognition, but they will have to continue to demonstrate that they take improvement seriously and work better with, for example, the NPO. That is why I strongly urge them to properly implement their own improvement plans. I also expect them to adhere to the principles of the journalistic code.
Enshrining the journalistic code in the Media Act
The State Secretary notes that measures are needed to make the public broadcasting system more robust and strengthen the independence of journalistic content.
State Secretary Van Weyenberg: “I want to anchor the journalistic code in the Media Act, whereby its content naturally remains part of journalism. It is now voluntary for broadcasters to subscribe to the code, but it should be mandatory to do so and to adhere to it. If you do not comply with the code, that should be an explicit reason to impose a sanction on a broadcaster.”
State Secretary Van Weyenberg will discuss the elaboration of these proposals with the NPO, the College of Broadcasters and the Media Authority. He will let this play a role in the elaboration of the conclusions of the National Public Broadcasting Advisory Board.