March 12th 2010Hans Laroes, editor-in-chief NOS News

NOS: part of Dutch Broadcasting Organization NPO

NOS: news, sports end events

NOS News:

• All news bulletins on radio, TV and the internet, and current affairs programming.

• Teletext.

• Websites, blog, etc; mobile news sites.

• Digital channels: Politics24 and News24.

• Streaming video on mobile phones, esp. I-Phone.

• Website and programming on TV for kids (9-12: “NOS-Jeugdjournaal”).

• Website and programming for younger people: NOS-Headlines and “Journaal-op-3” (news on the third network), Radio 3FM.

• NOS-News on Tour: Education, workshops, debates on schools and universities.

NOS News:

• Budget NOS-News: 47 million euro’s

• Budget NPO: about 750 million euro’s

• Financing: 2/3 public funding 1/3 commercials.

But: “the money from commercials goes to the government”(no relationship between results [number of viewers] and income)

NOS News:

• NOS: The number 1 broadcaster/ news organization. Main bulletin 2 million viewers every night. Competition, RTL: 1.1 million viewers.

• No real competition on radio.

• Website: breaking news, elections, big stories: 1 million unique viewers a day.

“Reliable, Quality and Innovative”

NOS News:

• Strategic goals:

Being everywhere.

Being there any time.

Being liked and respected.

Being close.

NOS News:

Recent history:

• 2006: integration of radio, TV, teletext and internet departments

completely digitalized. Together with: cut backs on the budget: 52 – 47 million First year: TROUBLE!

• Then: The “avant garde” gets is.

• Everyone is beginning to like the possibilities of the digital age.

• Experiment! Experiment! Experiment!(Everything is possible, failure is impossible!)

New outings, new workflow, new successes, new praise

(check the bulletins on your playstation!).

NOS News:

Important new developments.

• Leave the Olympus.

• Relationships are horizontal, not vertical. Individuals are your partners!

• Connect with each individual. (through all these wonderful digital possibilities).

• NOS Net: Tell us what you know.

• Be transparent (Blogs). Explain your choices, discuss your mistakes

NOS News:

• Be independent! Your bosses: The audiences, the taxpayers.NOT: Politicians, board of Directors. NO WAY

• They have to grant you the opportunity to criticize them, to publish uneasy stories, to bring governments down.

• They have to guarantee you independence, your budget, for a long term.

• And:An editor-in-chief is not a politician, but a journalist. She/he ought to be appointed on the base of her/his journalistic/managerial potential.

• Your job: Perform excellent journalism (contracts!); connect; be a partner that deserves trust; be transparent; be innovative; help bring the digital age to your country.

• AND………

…….HAVE FUN!!

“Journalism is a wonderful, important, 24/7 kind-of-a-job”