March 12th 2010
Hans Laroes, editor-in-chief NOS News
NOS: part of Dutch Broadcasting Organization NPO
NOS: news, sports end events
NOS News:
• All news bulletins on radio, TV and the internet, and current affairs
programming.
• Teletext.
• Websites, blog, etc; mobile news sites.
• Digital channels: Politics24 and News24.
• Streaming video on mobile phones, esp. I-Phone.
• Website and programming on TV for kids (9-12: “NOSJeugdjournaal”).
• Website and programming for younger people: NOS-Headlines
and “Journaal-op-3” (news on the third network), Radio 3FM.
• NOS-News on Tour: Education, workshops, debates on
schools and universities.
NOS News:
• Budget NOS-News: 47 million euro’s
• Budget NPO: about 750 million euro’s
• Financing:


2/3 public funding
1/3 commercials.
But: “the money from commercials goes to the government”
(no relationship between results [number of viewers] and income)
NOS News:
• NOS: The number 1 broadcaster/ news organization.

Main bulletin 2 million viewers every night.

Competition, RTL: 1.1 million viewers.
• No real competition on radio.
• Website: breaking news, elections, big stories:

1 million unique viewers a day.
“Reliable, Quality and Innovative”
NOS News:
• Strategic goals:

Being everywhere.

Being there any time.

Being liked and respected.

Being close.
NOS News:
Recent history:
• 2006:

integration of radio, TV, teletext and internet departments
completely digitalized.

Together with: cut backs on the budget: 52 – 47 million

First year: TROUBLE!
• Then: The “avant garde” gets is.
• Everyone is beginning to like the possibilities of the digital age.
• Experiment! Experiment! Experiment!
(Everything is possible, failure is impossible!)
New outings, new workflow, new successes, new praise
(check the bulletins on your playstation!).
NOS News:
Important new developments.
• Leave the Olympus.
• Relationships are horizontal, not vertical.
Individuals are your partners!
• Connect with each individual.
(through all these wonderful digital possibilities).
• NOS Net: Tell us what you know.
• Be transparent (Blogs).
Explain your choices, discuss your mistakes
NOS News:
• Be independent!
Your bosses: The audiences, the taxpayers.
NOT: Politicians, board of Directors. NO WAY
• They have to grant you the opportunity to criticize them, to publish
uneasy stories, to bring governments down.
• They have to guarantee you independence, your budget, for a
long term.
• And:
An editor-in-chief is not a politician, but a journalist. She/he ought
to be appointed on the base of her/his journalistic/managerial
potential.
• Your job: Perform excellent journalism (contracts!); connect; be a
partner that deserves trust; be transparent; be innovative; help
bring the digital age to your country.
• AND………
…….
HAVE FUN!!
“Journalism is a wonderful,
important, 24/7 kind-of-a-job”