Rules or by-laws provide for the formal separation between editorial and commercial considerations. The majority of the journalists interviewed are on principle opposed to any outside influences. This is also clear from the practical positions taken by several editorial teams: “any interference from advertisers is bound to fail” (De Telegraaf), “we feel very strongly about editorial responsibility” (RTL), “if any doubts arise, ties with the sponsors will immediately be ruptured” (BNR Nieuwsradio), “any commercial interference would do damage to the sound and reliable image of the newspaper” (Het Financieele Dagblad); and see F5 for the position of NRC Handelsblad/nrc.next. Apart from editorial rules and the Media Law, NoS also has an indirect way of separating editorial and commercial interests. The Stichting Ether Reclame (STeR, ‘Foundation Advertising on Radio and Television’) distributes advertising air-time to the various media platforms of NPo and collects the revenue. The revenue is then transferred to the government, which puts it in a fund for newspapers in distress, a fund managed by the Stimuleringsfonds voor de Pers (‘Press Fund’). At the same time, STeR secures the independence of NoS with regard to advertisers and media agencies.
Because the editor-in-chief and the commercial manager are both on the management team, the practice has developed in some news media to accept more non-spot advertising and advertorials or commercial specials for the job, real estate and travel markets. In most cases, it is understood that formal design must differ from that in editorial articles in the paper, for example as to column width and/or letter size. Still, the reliability of the advertisement will be perceived to be greater as the text is placed in the context of a specific newspaper. This is what we find in free papers or on news sites, but also, for example, in the regional paper De Gelderlander. Media historian Huub Wijfjes is of the opinion that it will become more and more difficult to insist on respecting the editorial rules on this particular point. In his view, the only concession that one may realistically hope for is an explicit note that the article in question is an advertorial written in co-operation with commercial parties.
