There is hardly any threshold for new and existing broadcasters to be admitted to the public broadcasting system. There are serious objections to the arrival of broadcasters Ongehoord Nederland and Zwart, but the admission test is so flawed that not all of those objections could be taken into account.
This is apparent from internal documents from the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, the supervisory authority of the Media Authority and the Council for Culture, obtained on the basis of the Government Information (Public Access) Act (Wob).
Also read the research story: New broadcasters easily admitted to order, as a result of ‘idiotic test’
Every five years, the minister asks the Dutch Public Broadcasting (NPO), the Council for Culture and the regulator for the Media Authority: which broadcasters are eligible for a five-year broadcasting licence? The three parties check whether the broadcasters meet the requirements of the Media Act. For example, new broadcasters must attract at least 50,000 paying members, represent a ‘movement’ and be of ‘added value’.
In practice, concepts from the law have not been elaborated on and assessment frameworks are missing or lost. Advisors who consider the broadcasters’ requests speak behind the scenes of an ‘idiotic test’. According to the Council for Culture, testing cannot be done critically enough. It is even said that the plans of broadcasters were “too often too positive”.
This spring, two new broadcasters, Ongehoord Nederland and broadcaster Zwart, received three positive recommendations. It now appears that the advisers had serious objections, but in the end did not weigh them all. For example, there are doubts about the added value of both broadcasters and ON! concerns about the spread of disinformation. The entry of ON! is called a risk by the Council for Culture.
Outgoing minister Slob (Media, ChristenUnie) decided this summer that the broadcasters will receive a broadcasting license for five years from January 2022. “It is complicated to reject these broadcasters because there are positive opinions from three advisers.”
‘It is complicated to reject these broadcasters’ page C8-9
source https://pledgetimes.com/dissatisfaction-with-advisors-and-minister-about-idiotic-test-for-broadcasters/
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