Jeroen Bao sat on the wrong side of the table.

he joined Khaled and Sofia To chat about golf and met D66 leader Sigrid Kage there. She was allowed to come to the talk show table to complain of intimidation during her visit to the rural town of Overijssel-Diebenheim. Cage had run into a fence of angry farmers and a number of foolish torchbearers. The meeting was uncomfortable to watch, because the torchbearer was already at Kag’s door once. Some lunatics were chanting murders at her around her house.

Pauw, who had sat at the head of the table for years, listened to Kaag for a while and then asked the question himself: “Do you think sometimes, maybe I am too?” Perhaps I am part of a government that disappoints these people so much?“

This wasn’t a good question, it was a major question, one that clearly bothered Kag.

So one good question, you might think.

Safe behavior left

Kaag looked at Pau and said, ‘But I find that question too easy these days and from a topsy-turvy world. I’m not going to explain why people are standing there with torches, I’d like to know what inspires them, how we can better explain solutions and better discuss difficult choices together. As she spoke, she looked at the woman at the head of the table: Sophie Hillebrand. helps?

It appears that Pauw’s unexpected intervention was not required in the program as D66, PvdA and GroenLinks have long been given safe behavior. For example, on the day Kaag was given speaking time, Geert Wilders could also join us to talk about his years in enforced exile. But Wilders never joined Khaled and Sofia Seated, in fact: no representative of the PVV, the country’s seventeen third-party seats, has ever had the opportunity to be questioned so uncomfortably.

Alliance friendly guest list

And so public television turned into the Koekoek Eendrone, a well-done monotonous echo from which the same mantra always rings out. On Twitter, there’s an insightful account that shows how one-sidedly colored the talk show tables are: Watch diversity (Opercens).

First the facts. Watch diversity It measures the performance of political parties on four talk shows that have received a lot of attention since the beginning of this year: in 1And Khaled and SofiaAnd Buitenhof And Genk.

in 1 It is a program that has a very consortium-friendly guest list. Of the political seats that were filled, 39 were for government parties and 16 for the opposition, most of them from the left. VVD: 17 appearances, D66: 11 CDA: 8 and Christen Unie: 3. The left opposition has been allowed to shine 13 times. (PvdA: 5, GL: 5 times, SP, Bij1 and Denk: once).

Their right-wing counterparts (representing 37 seats in the room) were only allowed to heat the seat three times. BBB: two appearances, SGP: one. Unfortunately, there was no place in the director of the PVV, FVD, Ja21, Volt, Animal Party and independent member of parliament Omtzigt (good for more than 342,000 preferential votes). in 1.

Street tiles at the Binnenhof

bee Khaled and Sofia The pendulum swings with invitations to left-wing guests. In 2023, D66, PvdA, Party for the Animals, and GroenLinks have performed together eight times (three invitations more than D66). Al-Haq had to settle for two offers: Ja21 and BVNL.

from Buitenhof. Center parties on the right and left participate in the debate program on Sunday. CDA: 4, VVD: 3, PvdA: 2, D66: 2. GroenLinks has also been allowed to fall back. In 2023, private parties from PVV to SP have not had the opportunity to express their discontent with Europe, climate policy and asylum policy. editorial field Buitenhof The street tiles are in the Binnenhof.

Finally: what about the commercial Genk?

With the RTL talk show, politics is a less prominent topic from the audience, as there are only 11 political guests. Of these, five are from PvdA, two are from D66, and two are from CDA. One for BBB and one for VVD.

journalistic consideration

What do we define? Public radio has a lineup that mainly represents the current and left opposition. Genk Turns to the liberal left in advocacy politics.

Is a guest list without anti-right votes a problem? bee Genk Do not think in these terms. The show does a daily press review, as Jinek has already claimed Norwegian Refugee Council. Each guest we invite is preceded by a press process. What is this voice, who does it represent, what is the size of their following? It is never thought of lightly. Every day I realize the impact of my program. every day.’

Assassination attempt

Genk’s attempt at a daily journalistic assessment seems sincere. However, Eva Genk had Thierry Baudt demolished by a cabaret performer in a botched performance roast. It was an attempted assassination of a journalist on the edge of the night. Will it also happen to Mark Root or Sigrid Cage? I dare doubt it.

The journalistic adage that every guest should be treated no matter who they are is hard to find on talk shows and even undermined. Jeroen Pauw was confronted by colleagues on Twitter that he asked Kaag a rude and irresponsible question. Great view. Questions can hurt journalism but ultimately feed it.

room for wasps

Tim Hoffman, himself a left-wing activist journalist, also found it strange. During his coronation as “Journalist of the Year” (for revealing infringing behavior in the sound) spoke warm words about the press. He summoned a room full of press mobs to ask questions, including nasty, vulgar, and unkind questions. ‘If he.’ embarrassed I know I did my job well.”

He pleaded with Hoffman to give space to the pesky wasps. He’s right. As long as the “other voice” has no space, the respondents should do their best. As long as a question in the form of a question mark is seen as a slap in the face, there is still a lot to be gained in Mediapark. The press is not there to spare reputation or advocate decency. The press is there to show us a mirror with unpleasant facts.

Mark Koster A report at Wynia Week on the turmoil in the Dutch media market. You can find previous episodes here.

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