Page - 102 - in Media – Migration – Integration - European and North American Perspectives

Leen d’Haenens | Whither Cultural Diversity on the Dutch TV Screen? 102 and dynamic system allowing new organizations to join, is illustrated by MAX, focusing at senior citizens, and Llink, representing new social movements, which entered the public system in September 2005. Those organizations wishing to join the public system must show at least 50,000 signatures of members and demonstrate that they add something new to the existing range of programs, thus increasing the diversity of the public broadcasting service. In light of this traditional concern for (re)presenting all social and ideological fractions in society, we ask ourselves to what extent provisions are made in order to (re)present the more recent multicultural aspect of society in the Dutch public broadcasters’ supply. 3. What About Provisions for Cultural Diversity? In accordance with the Concession Act1 (2000), in recent years cultural diversity has been given considerable encouragement on radio and television. This cultural diversity is expressed in the program provision as well as in the composition of the staff behind the scenes. The Concession Act (2000) encourages public broadcasting organizations to make more programs for ethnic minorities as target groups. This is the first time that the social and cultural role of the public broadcasting service has been laid down by law. In its task of serving as a model, the Netherlands Program Foundation (NPS) has to devote no less than 20 per cent of its television broadcasting time and 25 per cent of its radio broadcasting time to multicultural subjects. The idea behind this is that ethnic minorities should no longer have to resort to satellite channels from their country of origin for a media menu that appeals to them, but that they are able to find something to suit their taste in the Dutch public broadcasters’ supply. As far as media content is concerned, this has resulted, for example, in public broadcasting services developing a broader program supply aimed at ethnic minorities. The Memorandum “Media and Minorities Policy” of the then-State Secretary of Media and Culture, Van der Ploeg, presented in 1999 (Bink, 2006), paved the way for the minorities passage in the Concession Act. However, these stipulations had yet to convince the policy- and media producers at the public broadcasting corporation. To support this, the public broadcaster launched a bureau for representation and diversity “Meer van Anders” (More of Something Else) in 2002. That same year three other organizations involved with media in a culturally diverse society came into 1 The Concession Act is part of the Media Act and states that the public broadcasting foundation holds the concession to produce public radio and television programs from 2000 to 2010.