All forms of news media are available online, and digital subscriptions for print media have crucially grown in the last five to ten years. This has resulted in a combination of news articles or sections (varying from headline news to one article in 24 hours) that are freely accessible, and other items behind a paywall. The public broadcaster as well as nu.nl, Investico, and VersBeton are the only exceptions, with all their online content being freely accessible. In 2009, there were four free-sheets available. As of 2020, Metro is the only one left, and this too became an online-only publication in the spring.
According to a De Telegraaf reporter, there has been an increase in the diversity of formats, owing to the availability and reach of various platforms. For instance, an article is constrained by a maximum length in the space of a newspaper, but its online platform offers more room for background information. The reporter also mentioned that she uses her personal Twitter account for live reporting and background information. In addition, she stated that she used Twitter to interact frequently with her audience (which includes answering questions). Huub Evers also noted that more background materials, such as full reports, are now accessible via Twitter.
Such a flexibility of online formats can also be illustrated by Investico’s work process. The journalists working for this platform of investigative journalism create content as part of their partnerships (for which they are paid), but in a few days’ time, the original and long versions of their pieces are made available, including full disclosure of their sources.
Two other examples of the increasing diversity of formats include the recent emergence of podcasts focusing on economics, business, and world politics, available on the website of BNR Nieuwsradio, and the live talk shows that VersBeton has been conducting in Rotterdam, three to four times a year since 2018.
