Netherlands

[NL] New Policy on Applications for Broadcasting Time for Religious and Other Spiritual Organisations

IRIS 2004-5:1/21

Stef van Gompel

Institute for Information Law (IViR), University of Amsterdam

The Commissariaat voor de Media (the Dutch Media Authority) has recently published the Beleidslijn zendtijdaanvragen van kerkgenootschappen en genootschappen op geestelijke grondslag (Policy on applications for broadcasting time for religious and other spiritual organisations). This policy is based on Section 39f of the Mediawet (the Dutch Media Act), according to which the Media Authority may allocate national public broadcasting time to religious and other spiritual organisations every five years. On the basis of this recently-published policy, the Media Authority shall evaluate the applications for the allocation of broadcasting time for the period 2005 ­2010.

National public broadcasting time shall be allocated to representative organisations from the seven main religious and spiritual groups in the Netherlands (Buddhism, Catholicism, Hinduism, Humanism, Islam, Judaism, and Protestantism). From each of these groups, only one organisation will be entitled to broadcasting time. It is possible for different organisations to collaborate in one legal person. When there is more than one application from one group, the Media Authority shall allocate the broadcasting time to the organisation that represents or is open to representing the most sub-streams within the group. The applicant organisations are obliged to demonstrate their representativeness of the group.

Each year, the Minister van Onderwijs, Cultuur en Wetenschap (the Minister of Education, Culture and Science) shall establish how much national public broadcasting time is available for the seven organisations that qualify for the allocation. From the available time, 25% is allocated on an equal footing and 75% on a proportionate basis depending on the size of the membership of the group that the organisation represents. This system ensures that the allocation of broadcasting time is in proportion to the size of the different religious groups, and it also ensures that the smaller groups will be traceable and recognizable. The intention is to create diversity in the number of religious and spiritual programmes on public national radio and television, while still ensuring adequate representation of the main religious and spiritual groups in the Netherlands.

The organisations have to submit their applications before September 2004. The broadcasting time will be allocated before 1 January 2005.