Most news media enjoy a culture of openness: their editors-in-chief are accessible and willing to listen to young journalists with a fresh view of things who make their views known, solicited or not.
Every newspaper has an online version with a facility to post a response. Various social media have intensified the trend of reacting to and participating in news distribution.
The Press Council, examining complaints about media coverage, is an organization for self-regulation. The News Monitor, funded by grants from the Press Promotion Fund, provides empirical material for the evaluation of news coverage.
Most media conform to the Guidelines of the Press Council and the Code of the Association of Editors-in-chief and/or observe a behavioral code of their own. Ethical decisions are usually made ad hoc in discussions among journalists and editorial staff. The advent of Internet journalism is seen as one of the most important causes of the weakening of journalistic standards and values.
The Dutch Media Authority publishes the Media Monitor, an annual report analyzing the ownership relations and markets pertaining to newspapers, television, radio and opinion magazines. In addition, the News Monitor is published periodically.
Pricing is highly flexible: news consumers can choose the subscription that best fits their budget.
The public broadcaster aims at inclusive broadcasting through which the largest possible number of groups in society, among them (ethnic) minorities, can make their voice heard. In spite of quite a number of subsidized actions undertaken to support newspapers for minorities, their future is far from rosy.
Although the chief business of print media remains the production of a paper version, the Internet is increasingly used to offer complementary functions and services. All news bulletins of the public and private broadcasters are available online, offering the latest news.
Three major players dominate the regional newspaper market. By contrast, concentration in the regional radio and television market is considerably lower.
The overall market of national, regional, free and specialist newspapers is dominated by three large groups, as is the overall television market. Although less concentrated, the overall radio market too is dominated by just a handful of players. No figures on market shares are available for the Internet.
The Media for Democracy Monitor (MDM) is a research project from The Euromedia Research Group. This is a network of researchers that collects and exchanges information that help to describe and analyse developments in media structure and policy in Europe.
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