It would be strange if editor-in-chief Pieter Klok of… de Volkskrant would suddenly appear in an insurance company’s television advertisement. Or political commentator Wouter de Winther van De Telegraph would promote investment products. No one would believe in their independence anymore. The journalistic code of de Volkskrant prohibits journalists with a certain personal financial interest from writing about topics directly related to that interest. Logical, right? You have to be able to trust journalists blindly.
But at the public broadcaster, which is already under a magnifying glass, it is possible and it does happen. Without embarrassment and in violation of the rules that state that public broadcasting may not serve the profit of third parties and must operate independently. We see Janine Abbring, prominent presenter, journalist and editor-in-chief of the satirical VPROprogram by Arjen Lubach to excel night after night in an advertisement for a (pension) insurer Brandnewdaya commercial company ready to ‘your pension gap’ to fill, perhaps the gap that is created as a result of the complicated conversion of the current pension system, which is causing The Hague to shake to its foundations these days.
As the journalistic mores of de Volkskrant By accepting this job, Abbring has silenced Arjen Lubach’s program in this lively discussion, one of the largest financial operations after the Second World War. The interests of millions of Dutch people are involved and it is an extremely controversial file because of the many loose ends and the uncertain outcome for millions of pensioners, including those in broadcasting.
Brandnewday could have chosen any other self-employed person.
Janine participates in advertising as a self-employed person, she says. From the 1.5 million self-employed people, Brandnewday could have chosen any other self-employed person without employees. But they chose Janine Abbring, without doubt because of her stature of reliability and independence, built on the authority of the public broadcaster and the VPRO which should not lend itself to this.
Many columns are filled with discussions about this on social media and in the newspapers controversial pension transition.It’s a toxic file. It largely comes from a lobby group Netspar called, in which The Dutch Bank, insurance companies, unions, employers and government work together, according to some ‘conspire’. There is therefore every reason to approach this theme, which critics predict may surpass the benefits affair in its impact, with an appropriately critical attitude. But it will necessarily be absent from Lubach’s agenda because the editor-in-chief cannot intervene in a discussion in which she herself has (the appearance of) an interest. Mistake, thanks! Time for a public register that reveals all the side interests of everyone NPO-employees who fulfill a journalistic function. That will be scary.
In the context of rebuttal, the VPRO this response:
Janine Abbring is not employed by the VPRO. She works as a freelance program maker and presenter for several broadcasters and clients. The VPRO is not enthusiastic about this choice, but it does not conflict with the current contract. We understand from Janine Abbring that it is contractually stipulated that affiliation with the aforementioned pension provider will in no way influence her work for VPRO programs. In addition, Janine Abbring has recorded that she is free to report critically about this pension provider in all her work.
SOUND VERLIND
2024-01-22 15:39:50
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