The NPO must stop hunting for viewing figures and market shares. That huntdoes not belong to public broadcasting, but to commercial broadcasting. Sosays CDA MP and former Lingo presenter Lucille Werner. According to Werner,control over programs should return to the broadcasting associations. ‘The NPOhas gained too much power’.
According to Werner, the incident with Matthijs van Nieuwkerk at De WereldDraait Door is directly related to the ‘rat race for the ratings’ within theNPO. ‘The hunt for viewing figures and market share is not the job of the NPO.It hardens because of this.’
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By removing power within the public broadcaster from the NPO and thentransferring it back to the broadcasting associations, the broadcasters wouldknow better where they stand, thinks the CDA MP. ‘That way they know betterwhat the length and duration of a program is. With more control, more peoplecan be hired on a permanent basis, which is also good for pluralism.’ Moreattention should be paid to the appreciation of the programs among the varioustarget groups, Werner thinks.
Broadcasters are the gold of our country
The idea that has existed for some time to convert the NPO to the BBC model,so without broadcasting associations, is not a good idea, thinks Werner. ‘Thebroadcasting associations are the gold of our country. That’s so unique. Wehave so many newspapers in our country with different currents. We also havemany broadcasting associations with their own sound. Because they have toolittle say, they can’t make that sound heard properly.’
And so power must go away from the NPO. ‘It has been given too much power,broadcasting associations have to deal with the content. Not the NPO. That isalso contrary to the media law.’ However, this shift does not prevent a powerincident such as with Matthijs van Nieuwkerk, says Werner. ‘He wanted to makethe best program in the Netherlands. That’s allowed. But not about corpses.’
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Martin van Rijn
It has now become known that former minister Martin van Rijn will lead theinvestigation into abuses at editorial offices within the NPO. That researchshould not only be an inventory, but also offer solutions for the future. Thisis what chairman Arjan Lock said on Monday on behalf of the Board ofBroadcasters (CvO), the advisory body in which all broadcasters have united.This week, the broadcasters discussed the revelations about the culture offear on talk show De Wereld Draait Door.
‘It is very good that the NPO is having an independent investigation done,’says Lock. ‘But there really needs to be a thorough investigation into whatwent wrong and why. We also advocate looking to the future. To preventsituations like this, something needs to change in the structures andhierarchical relationships within Hilversum.’
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According to CDA MP and former Lingo presenter Lucille Werner, control overprograms should return to the broadcasting associations. ‘The NPO has gainedtoo much power’. (ANP / Robin Utrecht)
VVD wants openness NPO about spending
The VVD thinks that the NPO is too secretive about the costs of TV programsand therefore wants the cabinet to ensure that a transparency register is setup. This must state how much money is spent per radio or TV program and onwhat exactly. The liberal party wants this to also provide more clarity aboutthe top salaries of presenters.
Next year, the cabinet will invest 856 million euros in the NPO, accountingfor three-quarters of government expenditure on media. It is unclear exactlyhow that money is spent, the Court of Audit stated in a critical report a fewyears ago. External producers in particular provide little transparency. Theprograms they make are generally viewed better, but are considerably moreexpensive than the productions of the public broadcaster itself.
The plan must also clarify how public money is spent by external producers,’so that salary constructions become as transparent as possible’. The Memberof Parliament notes that ‘rules for top salaries of presenters arecircumvented by hiring presenters through private companies’.
French multinational
Last weekend, the journalistic collective Spit published an investigation intoexternal producers of programs on public broadcasting in the opinion magazineVrij Nederland. For example, the talk show Op1 is produced by a Frenchmultinational and the EO program Het Familiediner by a subsidiary of theMediawan stock exchange fund. It remains unclear how the government moneyspent on these and other programs is spent, according to the investigativejournalists.