Netherlands broadcaster: the NPO now has a total of eleven. Yet the offer is not yet complete, think initiators of new broadcasters. They do not feel represented in the current media offer and therefore set up their own broadcaster.
Two contenders are Ongehoord Nederland, by journalist Arnold Karskens, and Omroep Zwart, of which rapper and activist Akwasi is one of the initiators.
Will it lead to fragmentation to allow more new broadcasters? Media researcher Piet Bakker does not think so: “What they do is at the heart of the public system in the Netherlands. If you feel unheard of, you can try to participate.”
Onheard Netherlands announced at the end of last year that it had already reached the required 50,000 members, but now they need 8,000 again, according to Karskens. Omroep Zwart reported on Wednesday that it had acquired enough members.
Arnold Karskens cannot say whether they will reach 50,000, but: “We believe that we have an obligation to the Dutch people to reach that number.” According to Karskens, Ongehoord Nederland is “a patriotic broadcaster”.
Omroep Zwart wants the NPO “to be an adequate reflection of society:” We address people with a disability, but also people from the LGBTQ + community and people with Jewish-Israeli descent, up to Nicaragua. We are there for people who want a voice. “
Karskens says with his broadcaster that he is critical of the European Union and mass immigration: “And we are for the preservation of Dutch culture, so for Zwarte Piet.”
The initiators of Ongehoord Nederland and Omroep Zwart explain what they want to add to the current media offering:
Ongehoord Nederland already posts videos on social media channels such as Youtube. It makes a Zwarte Pieten journal, among other things. This also brings problems, says Karskens, who according to him demonstrate the need for Ongehoord Nederland as a new broadcaster: “Due to the censorship measures of Facebook and Youtube, the margins on the free internet have become increasingly narrow.”
Facebook decided to ban images of Zwarte Piet altogether, at Youtube video makers can no longer earn advertising money with videos of Zwarte Piet.
Omroep Zwart wants to show that “a mixed group of people are working on programs in front of and behind the scenes”, says co-founder Gianni Grot.
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We illuminate the news from a different angle, with our feet in the mud.
Even before Ongehoord Nederland was admitted to the system, aspiring broadcaster had already been the scene of internal disagreement and commotion. Co-founder and screenwriter Haye van der Heyden resigned after statements that Holocaust deniers should in principle also be able to get a stage at the broadcaster.
In May, former VVD MP Ybeltje Berckmoes left the broadcaster due to a lack of space for “spiritual and other kinds of experiences”. Berckmoes posted videos on YouTube on behalf of Ongehoord Nederland with conspiracy thinkers and an interview with Pim Fortuyn. At least, with a medium who claimed that the murdered politician spoke through him.
That kind of programs do not seem to be available at Ongehoord Nederland. Current affairs programs do, says Arnold Karskens. “The news is not complete, we illuminate it from a different angle, with our feet in the mud.”
He therefore believes that aspiring broadcaster distinguishes itself from, for example, WNL: “WNL would not dare to do a Zwarte Pietenjournaal.”
Moluccan History
Omroep Zwart also thinks that they are sufficiently different from other broadcasters, such as the NTR, which makes many programs for and about minorities. Gianni Grot: “Our supporters are already innovations.” In terms of programs, you can think of programs about Moluccan history, for example, says Grot: “That is also part of Dutch history.”
Still, Piet Bakker does not think that the Media Authority will assess distinctiveness as the most important point: “Just try to demonstrate that they do not appeal to a new target group. When in doubt, I think the Media Authority says: cross over.”