Most news media organisations enjoy a culture of openness with room for discussion on internal pluralism, although this is still a matter of individual interests of journalists. No formal rules are in place.
Audience participation happens by posting comments in some online newspaper editions or via Facebook pages, and by e-mails to the editor-in-chief or the ombudsperson.
The Press Council, which examines complaints about media coverage, is a self-regulatory organisation. Self-regulation can also be found in the open debate culture on fairness, balance, and impartiality in the newsrooms.
Most media organisations comply with the guidelines of the Press Council and the Code of the Association of Editors-in-Chief or observe a code of conduct of their own.
The Dutch Media Authority publishes the Media Monitor, an annual report that analyses ownership relations and markets, with a specific focus on pluralism in news media. The Dutch Journalism Fund strongly focuses on research and monitoring news media, including those related to local and regional news.
News media have moderate sales prices compared to the average income of Dutch households.
The public broadcaster aims at inclusive broadcasting. Minority groups, among them ethnic minorities, can make their voices heard. In this regard, some forms of media are doing better than others. Cultural diversity and diversity of opinion remain thorny issues.
Dutch news media range across a wide array of different news formats, from headline news online to long-form reads in newspapers and discussion programmes on radio and television.
The same two large players dominate both the national and regional newspaper markets. By contrast, concentration in the regional radio and television market is considerably lower.
Ownership concentration on a national level is remarkably high, with only five large media companies sharing the market among them.
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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