The Telegraaf Media Groep (TMG), which publishes the populist newspaper De Telegraaf, is planning to set up its own public broadcasting association. TMG hopes to go on air next year under the name Wakker Nederland (Awake Netherlands).
He quotes the Chairman of the Board of Netherlands Public Broadcasting, Henk Hagoort, as admitting that three regular current affairs programmes on Dutch TV are like three editions of the left-wing newspaper de Volkskrant. Mr Paradijs points out that his newspaper has almost three times as many readers as de Volkskrant, so has been missing an opportunity.
Backbone of society
Mr Paradijs says that the website of De Telegraaf is visited by one million unique users every day, proving that there is a demand for a different point of view. Many of these people are the backbone of society, says Mr Paradijs, and it's time their views were represented in the public media. He also mentions the elderly, many of whom feel that their interests are being overlooked.
On its website, De Telegraaf sets out the aims of Wakker Nederland, and explains how the organisation will work. The staff of the newspaper will be involved in setting up the association, but as soon as possible its members will appoint a members' council which will ensure its independent democratic nature, and total separation from the newspaper. The association will stand for the following values:
- Freedom of opinion
- Freedom of education
- Equality of men and women
- Tolerance towards others and opposition to all forms of discrimination
- Continuity in community relations as the basis for social cohesion
- Recognition of the entrepreneurial spirit of individuals and companies
- Support for people who make a constructive contribution to society
- Support for parliamentary democracy
No political affiliation
Wakker Nederland says it respects everyone's opinion, and is not linked to any political party, pressure group or ideological institution. It says it wants to produce programming inspired by discussion programmes such as the BBC's Question Time, which delivers a wide range of opinions. Mr Paradijs insists that the association is not right-wing, but the website names the controversial right-wing American Fox TV host Bill O'Reilly as one of the inspirations for the type of programming that it wants to produce. Nevertheless, Mr Paradijs believes Wakker Nederland can attract a substantial number of members who vote for the Labour Party in general elections.
TMG has placed an advertisement in De Telegraaf calling for members, as part of a campaign to get the required quota of 50,000 before 1 April. This would qualify it to apply for airtime on the public channels in the period 2010-2015. People who already subscribe to the newspaper will be given free membership of Wakker Nederland through a discount system on the price of the subscription.
Asked whether it would not be more appropriate to start a commercial TV station rather than a public broadcasting association, Mr Paradijs said that it was difficult to start a whole new TV station from scratch - even media tycoon John de Mol tried and failed. But he did not rule out the possibility of TMG eventually starting a commercial station, and in the meantime cooperation with existing commercial broadcasters has also not been ruled out. But for the immediate future, all efforts are directed at getting Wakker Nederland into the taxpayer-funded public broadcasting system.
Tags: AVRO, broadcasting, De Telegraaf, Sjuul Paradijs, TROS, TV, Wakker Nederland