The House of Representatives wants to address abuses in public broadcasting as quickly as possible. This is the conclusion of today’s debate. There is also much criticism of the DWDD abuse investigation, criticisms which SP Member of Parliament Peter Kwint supports.
Among other things, he spoke of a ‘gang’ at the Media Park and in reality it is not clear why action was taken earlier. “What you notice is that a lot of things get rejected with a reaction of ‘that’s just the way it is.’ The same goes for those flexible contracts. It is said that “media is just a different industry and flexible contracts just fit that.” And because they consider themselves so special, things have to take their course.’
Kwint is well aware that these abuses have been going on for some time, but his attempts to do something about it have repeatedly failed in the House. “I have a whole stack of motions asking for more permanent contracts at Media Park, but they couldn’t count on a majority until now.”
Revolt
Political journalist Leendert Beekman calls the whole situation “very Hague,” meaning that a “public row” is needed to get political Hague moving. Quint agrees. “I just imagine that a proposal to make more permanent contracts at Mediapark now has a much better chance than when I presented it four years ago.”
According to Kwint, unacceptable behavior in newsrooms also plays a role. “The moment you see someone misbehaving in a newsroom, and you also know that someone who’s been critical about it — with a flexible contract — could pack their bags right away?” That’s enough aside from the fact that you’re a young 20-year-old with a dream job, which may already be taking more than it should. But if you know that saying something is actually breaking the contract – with a boss who has a lot of contacts in that world – that makes people very vulnerable.
The ministry is to blame
Kwint has previously said the ministry is largely to blame, in part because of – in his words – poor interpretation of their authority vis-à -vis the NPO. “When it comes to outdoor producers, for example, or what happens to money. The ministry then says very quickly that they are not talking about it.’
As an example, Kwint cites outside producers: commercial companies that make programs or devise concepts on behalf of the public broadcaster and sell them to a broadcaster. ‘Many of these outdoor manufacturers have been taken over by large international companies. In other words: many programs of the public broadcaster are used by commercial multinationals, which also often evade taxes.’
The unintended byproduct of this appears to be that the programs facilitate a flow of money to foreign countries. Kwint: “I don’t think that’s what it’s intended for, let alone facilitate tax avoidance.”
Source: BNR
Fernando Dowling is an author and political journalist who writes for 24 News Globe. He has a deep understanding of the political landscape and a passion for analyzing the latest political trends and news.
