The Press Council is a self-regulatory organisation that examines complaints lodged by citizens or other media outlets about reports and articles in the media. The primary aim is to find a compromise between two parties so that a lawsuit can be avoided. To this end, the Council has written down a code of conduct or guidelines in a guidebook that serves as the basis for high-quality and objective journalistic practice that will not harm anyone’s rights.
A second instrument intended to promote journalistic quality was the Nederlandse Nieuwsmonitor [Dutch News Monitor], launched in 2005. It had three types of reports: a continuous monitor, an event monitor, and an issue monitor. The latest study published on nieuwsmonitor.org about the future of the ANP (Dutch press agency) in the rapidly changing media landscape dates back to December 2018.
The Media Ombudsman Foundation (MON) is the other organisation dedicated to journalistic ethics and self-regulation in the Dutch language area. The MON chairman has also published his views about national and international news trends on the organisation’s website. MON’s overarching mission is to make a relevant and substantive contribution to the recalibration of basic journalistic principles such as reliability, diligence, independence, objectification of the facts, hearing both sides, (self-) critical analysis, ethical justification, and willingness to rectify. MON also tests news media (both printed, audiovisual, and online) against moral and ethical standards.
All journalists interviewed referred to an oral-debate newsroom culture revolving around fairness, balance, and impartiality of news reporting. They indicated that most of these discussions usually take place on an ad hoc basis during editorial meetings.
