“Experienced Journalist Sophie Van Leeuwen Joins RTL to Report on Urgent Themes Across Africa”

The 45-year-old Van Leeuwen will report for RTL from Cape Town and will travel through Africa to create stories that ‘touch the mind and heart’.

“Africa is bursting with urgency. Everything comes together there: our search for raw materials, extreme climate change and large migration flows, geopolitics. It is a young continent full of creative ideas. We are going to film them!”, says Van Leeuwen.

Earlier work

For the past five years, Van Leeuwen has worked in The Hague for BNR Nieuwsradio. There she reported, among other things, on the corona crisis and, together with Laurens Boven, wrote the book ‘Silence on the Binnenhof, politics in corona time’. She also made the podcast ‘Studio Den Haag’.

Previously, Van Leeuwen worked as a freelance correspondent in Brussels during the financial crisis, as a reporter for the Africa editorial of the Wereldomroep and for the VPRO.

‘Happy with’

Ilse Openneer, editor-in-chief of RTL Nieuws, is looking forward to the contributions from Africa. “The continent harbors major themes and also attracts the attention of many countries – such as China and Russia – who invest heavily in it.”

“The future of Africa affects the whole world and is therefore of great importance in journalism. With Sophie, RTL Nieuws is getting a very experienced journalist in Africa and we are really happy with that.”