NU.nl runs 24 hours a day, including at night. But who works at night? And what does such a night shift look like? What if an earth-shattering event happens after noon? We asked our night editors Emma van der Zalm and Evelien Dommerholt.
During the day dozens of editors are working to keep NU.nl continuously up-to-date, but at night that is reduced to just one person. This person is responsible for everything that happens on NU.nl that night, from writing stories to answering emails and taking care of the final editing. However, there is always a standby editor available should something drastic happen.
Two permanent night editors
NU.nl currently has two permanent night editors: Emma van der Zalm and Evelien Dommerholt. They both work two fixed nights a week. The other night shifts are performed by other freelancers. Emma has been a night editor for a year and a half. She works from Egypt. “After my Masters in Journalism, I went to Egypt to work as a freelance correspondent. Developments in Syria and Iraq followed each other at a rapid pace and that attracted me enormously. Egypt seemed to me a good base, conveniently located and relatively safe” , says Emma.
She has been living in Dahab with her husband for four years now. “In addition to my work focused on the Middle East, I wanted to do something different and the vacancy of night editor at NU.nl immediately appealed to me. I have many friends and family in the Netherlands and in this way I maintain a bond with the country. the rhythm in Egypt is very different. People here often live in the evenings and at night and there is no weekend here, so I didn’t have to give up much.”
Night work due to sleeping problems
Evelien has been working as a night editor for over six months now and she does this ‘just’ from her home in Deventer. The choice to work at night was a very conscious one for Evelien. She had been sleeping badly for a long time, didn’t want to thrive in a nine-to-five job, and was already used to night shifts from her previous care work. “I’ve always been a night owl,” says Evelien.
“In addition to my work for NU.nl, I write for other employers. I often did this work at night. I am at my best at night and I can’t sleep anyway. The desire to fully go into the night started with I had a cynical attitude towards my sleeping problem, but it quickly took shape when I saw the vacancy for night editor at NU.nl.”
At 3 a.m. ‘lunch’
When you work at night, you have to think about when you sleep and eat. Evelien and Emma have both devised a system for this. They both sleep for their shift which starts at 11pm from 4pm to 10pm. And even when the shift ends at 07:00, they try to get a few more hours of sleep. “That’s how you slept for eight hours, albeit intermittently,” says Evelien. They both eat hot before 4 pm. Evelien only eats some fruit during her shift, while Emma has ‘lunch’ around 3:00 am, often with bread and egg. In the morning they both have a light breakfast.
“After my shift, I sleep for two hours and then I work on my other assignments. I have the afternoon off; I see this as my evening. In the past, after a day’s work, I no longer had the energy to make something of my evening, but that is now a thing of the past. In the afternoon I often go to sports and afterwards I have time for fun things. Ideal,” says Evelien. Emma keeps her days off after a night shift and just works during the day for the rest of the week. Switching between rhythms works well for her.
“Sometimes I get really tired during my shift,” says Emma. “But I have tricks for that. I walk around a lot, listen to music and drink four strong coffees a night. My caffeine level has to be at the right level to stay alert.” Coffee is not necessary for Evelien, enough sleep is enough. Although, she does need a lot of water during a night shift.
The sole ruler of NU.nl
Evelien calls it “survival journalism” and Emma feels the ‘sole ruler’ of NU.nl during her service. “You are on your own and this was very exciting in the beginning. On the one hand it is super cool, but on the other hand it entails a lot of responsibility,” says Evelien.
“While the Netherlands is sleeping, anything can happen, both at home and abroad. It can be very busy or super quiet. There is always an on-call worker ready, but luckily I have not had to use it yet. At the beginning of the war (in Ukraine ed.) it was all about it.”
Lonely
“It’s quite lonely work,” says Emma. “At night you are really on your own and then I miss the interaction. I once called the standby editor to spar about a push message. Still, the tension and responsibility that come with night work is a huge attraction for me And luckily I have contact with colleagues in my other work.”
Evelien also sometimes misses someone to spar with, but on the other hand she really enjoys the peace. “I love it. It is completely quiet around you, except for a few birds. And I am always aware of the fact that many people start the day with the news from NU.nl. How great that I am responsible there. for ben.”