Minister Slob of OCW, also responsible for public broadcasting, says that in retrospect he was incompletely informed about the establishment of the documentary about D66 leader Kaag.
In a letter to the House of Representatives, he writes that he must determine “all things considered” that “there was indeed involvement of D66 in the making of the documentary”.
Slob concludes that the VPRO did not fully inform him about this before. As a result, his answers to parliamentary questions from PVV MP Bosma were formulated “too firmly” when he said that D66 had had no influence.
The minister admits that he has not correctly informed the House of Representatives. However, he does not want to pass judgment on the broadcaster’s conduct because of the “(constitutional) freedom of expression and independence of the media”. As a minister, he is not allowed to intervene for that reason.
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Slob considers the Media Authority, as an independent supervisor, “the appropriate party” to investigate whether the documentary was made in violation of the Media Act. Slob is also awaiting the investigation of the Ombudsman of the NPO.
“It is evident that there is in any case a relationship between politics and the media,” he writes in his letter to the House. “I see it as a daily task for everyone involved to keep this relationship as pure as possible, in the interest of the independence of all media and of course also of the public broadcaster.”
The minister reports that, despite his opinion, the VPRO continues to support the correctness of the information provided.
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