Author: waggoner.103

Netherlands: Final Information Report

 

New Media Sources

DutchNews.NL (New Media)

Launched in 2006 and based in Amsterdam, DutchNews.NL is a “provider of quality Dutch news and current affairs in English for an international audience”. This media source reaches nearly 25,000 people daily through their online webpage, digital newsletters and their social media site. DutchNews.NL acts as a kind of online newspaper, free to all, containing articles published daily on a variety of topics, including Politics, Business, Society, Sports. They also included subsections on European and International news. After digging a little deeper, I found that each topic had multiple articles published in the last week, so it seems that it is constantly updated with current news.

I chose this source because it seems to be a comprehensive and complete view on the news in the Netherlands. It covers a multiple array of subjects and is frequently updated. I will use this source to maintain a daily account on happenings in my country. It can be accessed through the web URL www.dutchnews.nl as well as on twitter @DutchNewsNL.

NL Times (New Media)

Another Amsterdam-based websource, NL Times is an online platform that offers English-language news and information about happenings in the Netherlands. Founded as recently as 2013, NL Times provides a modern, almost off-beat source of news, categories entitled “Food” and “Weird” at the top of their homepage. Similar to DutchNews, this source is aimed at American Expats living within the Netherlands, or those who living outside of the country looking for an inside view. A limitation of both of these sources is that insight may be lost in translation. I’m a firm believer that it’s hard to get a truly authentic view of a country when everything is being translated out of the native language, yet these sources are helpful for me when I look to monitor daily happenings in the Netherlands.

This source can be viewed on line at https://nltimes.nl or on twitter @NLtimes. Similar to how I’ve used DutchNews.NL I plan on monitoring this cite once a week, in order to help with global news posts and to stay informed.

BBC News Netherlands (New Media)

I initially planned to stay away from BBC coverage of my country as I wasn’t sure if the source would provide a consistent and heavy enough output of news. Yet when I went to the BBC Netherlands website page I found multiple articles published weekly. Written in English, BBC Netherlands stories include a wide range of topics, from Parliamentary decisions to profile pieces on famous Dutch citizens to sports reports on the Dutch National Soccer Team; I found this source to be quite comprehensive. While each BBC Netherlands news article does not have an author, I assume that these pieces are written from the perspective of a British reporter looking in on Dutch happenings, rather than a writer from the Netherlands.

This source can be viewed at http://www.bbc.com/news/topics/cvenzmgywd2t/netherlands.

IamExpat (New Media)

Founded in 2009, IamExpat is an online media platform created and run by expats currently living in the Netherlands. The site gives “up-to-date information, news, job listings, housing services and lifestyle tips for internationals in the Netherlands”. This source has such a bevy of information I would consider it invaluable for anyone who has decided to live in the Netherlands, coming from another country. Exploring through the webpage I found information on housing in each of Netherland’s major cities, information on how to find education options, upcoming Dutch events and festivals and links to services that are provided to expats. The is also a fairly comprehensive news section of the webpage keeping expats up to date on stories progressing in their country.

This source can be found at https://www.iamexpat.nl/ yet surprisingly do not have a social media presence which I feel would be beneficial to their goal of reaching out to and aiding expats.

Traditional Media Sources

Elsevier Weekblad (Traditional Media)

Elsevier is a weekly news magazine published in the Netherlands and it is the most popular news magazine in the country with a circulation of 86,000 copies as of 2015. Primarily focusing on politics, this magazine has an online component as well with topical subjects as well as opinion pieces. They also try to comment on the most recent happenings around the world, as they have recently devoted entire sections of their website and magazine to Bitcoin and the American Dreamers. This magazine publication also seems to lean right-wing and be very pro-American and tout conservative ideals, manifesting in multiple positive pieces on President Trump. I found it interesting that they also devote large pieces of their publications to a section entitled “Living in America” about how Dutch citizens can earn a living in the States. In fact, more than 88,000 Dutch expats now live in the United States.

I chose this source to get an idea of the political landscape of the Netherlands and to gain an insight on to just one side of the Dutch spectrum. This source can be accessed through the website URL www.elsevierweekblad.nl and on twitter @Else4Weekblad.

De Groene Amsterdammer (Traditional Media)

De Groene Amsterdammer is another weekly periodical published in the Netherlands, based in Amsterdam. This source states that “In a time of intellectual impoverishment, De Groene offers refreshing ideas, new facts and unexpected insights”. De Groene also frequently attempts to uphold the image that they have no commercial interest and limit themselves to the things that “really matter in the world”. It seems that De Groene is the left-wing alternative to Elsevier so I am eager to take articles on similar topics from both sources and to compare the differing viewpoints. The majority of articles seem to be under the subheadings, Arts & Culture, In The World, and Identity Policy.

This is accessible online as well as at www.groene.nl as well as on twitter @DeGroene.

De Telegraaf (Traditional Media)

In contrast to both De Groene Amsterdammer and Elsevier Weekblad, De Telegraaf is a Dutch newspaper published daily rather than weekly. Founded in 1893, it is the largest Dutch daily morning newspaper with a daily circulation of 430,686, though like many traditional media sources, circulation has dropped drastically over the last 15 years, with circulation in 2001 being over 807,000. De Telegraaf is known for having a populist alignment, actively campaigns in political issues and, is often criticized for publishing sensationalized news.

Being a traditional daily newspaper, my way of monitoring is through its website, https://www.telegraaf.nl/, rather than its print publications. De Telegraaf also publishes its major stories on twitter @telegraaf.

Social Media Sources

@NRC Twitter (Social Media)

The Netherlands ranks 4th in the world in use of social networks so it is safe to say social media is a vital source of news for the average Dutch person. After researching the most viewed twitter accounts in the Netherlands in reference to daily news, I found @NRC, the social network proponent of NRC Media. They have over 550,000 followers and tweet daily on national news. They cover a variety of topics including technology, education and business. The account tweets out news constantly as there are normally 4 articles posted hourly. As social media is one of the main ways I as a student receive news, I wanted to use this source to show how the social aspect of media is being used in my country. The NRC twitter is accessible throughhttps://twitter.com/nrc.

@AT5 (Social Media)

While searching for a new social media source to add to my network, I came across the tool “social baker”. This is website that allows you to place in a variety of stipulations including industry and country, and it will find social media accounts that match that. I searched daily news in the Netherlands and found @AT5, the local news twitter account for Amsterdam. Social Baker stated how many followers it had, 548,257, as well as how fast it was growing. @AT5 is the fastest growing twitter account in the Netherlands, gaining nearly 200 followers daily. Similarly to news accounts in the US, @AT5’s tweets give a brief sentence headline for  a news story and provide a link to an article with more detail.

This source is purely in the Dutch language, so would not be the most helpful for me to monitor, so when it comes to social media, I have chosen to follow the @DutchNews.NL account which tweets in English.

Audio/Visual Sources

NOS Journaal (Audio/Visual)

NOS Journaal is a television program aired in the Netherlands that informs viewers of the latest news from 6:30 am to midnight. The program is aired on NPO 1, the Netherlands first national television station. NOS Journaal’s goal is to provide the most complete picture of the news of the day. I chose this source as I wanted to find the equivalent of a CNN or Fox News station that broadcasts news continuously throughout the day.

BNR Newsradio (Audio/Visual)

BNR Newsradio, first aired in 1998, is the only all-news radio station in Netherlands. The station provides domestic, regional and international news and live news every half-hour. I was really interested in finding the Dutch equivalent to a 700 WLW here in the states. What are the Dutch listening to in the morning on their way to work? BNR has many different programs with varying hosts, these programs include, Better, discussing healthcare, Show Watch, discussing stock exchange and investing, The World, an analyzation of international politics, and many more.

The BNR website, www.bnr.nl, also allows you to stream the station live.

Data Sources

CIA World Factbook – Netherlands (Data Source)

I chose the Netherlands CIA World Factbook page for my Data source because I believe it provides the most comprehensive data on the economy, population, history and politics of the Netherlands. The Factbook is a credible source that will allow me to quickly access quantitative date over time, examples include GDP across varying years, or percentages of population that use the internet. Unfortunately, CIA World Factbook, while objective, offers a very limited and basic set of data values. For my next data source I plan on finding a source that offers a variety of different surveys and information sets on the Netherlands Society.

The CIA World Factbook is easily accessed by web at https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/nl.html.

 Survey Data Netherlands (Data Source)

Survey Data Netherlands is an archive website containing surveys in which enormous amounts of data are collected. It consists of multiple sources that conduct surveys on the Dutch population on several topics including society, culture, medicine, work and leisure. I was shocked at the amount of data provided; I could type in a keyword and find surveys on so many various talking points. This source provides a much more personal touch to the Netherlands in comparison to just the CIA Factbook profile.

This data is available at www.surveydata.nl.

Global News Post #6 – Netherlands

https://nltimes.nl/2018/03/30/passwords-33-million-dutch-online-search-engine

PASSWORDS OF SOME 3.3 MILLION DUTCH ON ONLINE SEARCH ENGINE

This article by Janene Pieters of the NL Times reports on the existence of a search engine where users can look up sensitive information, like emails and account passwords, that have been exposed via hacking. The victims of the hack are mostly employees of large Dutch companies and organizations, and include government workers as well. Dangerously, numerous emails from the Minister of Defense and Foreign Affairs can be accessed through the search engine.

This hack comes at an interesting time in Dutch political environment as a referendum on allowing security services more access to civilian information, mostly in the form of phone taps was just posed. The referendum was voted down by the Dutch public but will still probably be enacted as legislation after minimal changes by parliament. I’d be interested to see if government workers, including parliamentarians, having been involved in this recent search engine hack will change their opinion on giving security services more access to civilian information that could be considered private.

Hacker_-_Hacking_-_Symbol

Cybercrime file image. (Rendering: elbpresse/Wikimedia Commons)

Source:

Pieters, Janene. “Passwords of Some 3.3 Million Dutch on Online Search Engine.” NL Times, 30 Mar. 2018, nltimes.nl/2018/03/30/passwords-33-million-dutch-online-search-engine.

Global News Post #5 – Netherlands

https://nltimes.nl/2018/03/22/dutch-govt-listen-voters-big-data-referendum-amnesty

Data theft

“Cyber Data”. https://goo.gl/images/sjwKHk.

Human rights watchdog Amnesty International recently encouraged the Dutch Government should heed to the wishes of the naysayers on a referendum relating to public data surveillance. Dubbed the “Big Data” law, a positive vote would give the Netherlands two larges intelligences services more power, including the ability to tap phone and internet traffic on a large scale. Amnesty suggests changes to this law, including the notion that people that have never posed a threat to national security should not be analyzed and surveilled. The article uses little evidence, but does provide interim voting records to show a slim margin in opinion on the referendum, as well as quotes taken from the director of Amnesty International Netherlands. This article from the NLTimes.nl shares largely only the anti-referendum perspective of Amnesty International and would benefit from opinions from those in favor of the law change.

Global News Post #4 – Netherlands

Record numbers of foreign students at Dutch universities of technology

The article I am sharing for my fourth post is entitled Record numbers of foreign students at Dutch universities of technology by Senay Boztas of DutchNews. Boztas comments on the increasing number of students from outside of the Netherlands that are enrolling at Dutch universities and the concern that they are taking spots from students native to the Netherlands. Many Dutch people account the rise of foreign students to the high number of classes offered in English at Netherlands universities, and Peter Duisenberg, chairman of the Dutch Universities Association suggested maybe universities should consider lessening the number of courses taught in English if this trend continues. Some universities have taken further steps in order to ensure Dutch-born students are getting the best education opportunities when it comes to in-country schools. Delft University of Technology has said that from February 1st, 2018 on, no non-european students will be considered for its bachelors of computer sciences program. A representative from Delft stated that while intercultural experiences is important, “we want to ensure the quality our education”. Whether other universities will follow suit is yet to be seen, but it is obvious higher education will continue to be molded by the increasingly globalized world we are experiencing.

This article used quotes from knowledgeable individuals within the higher education field in the Netherlands which provided a sense of credibility. These sources included: Nuffic, an international education body; Peter Duisenberg, chairman to the Dutch Universities Association; as well as representatives from various Dutch universities. They also contacted representatives from both sides of the argument when formulating their account on the situation.

Image result for delft university of technology

Citations

Boztas, Senay. “Record Numbers of Foreign Students at Dutch Universities of Technology.”DutchNews.nl, 16 Feb. 2018, www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2018/02/record-numbers-of-foreign-students-at-dutch-technical-universities/.

TU Delft 2. Digital Image. University of Rochester Study Abroad. Web. 3/04/2018.

 

Global News Post #3 – Netherlands

Turkey angered by Dutch decision to recognise Armenian genocide

https://www.rferl.org/a/turkey-summon-dutch-envoy-armenia-genocide-vote/29058574.html

The news article I am choosing to write about is from DutchNews.NL and comments on Dutch and Turkish political relations, and this post is supplemented by an article from RadioFreeLiberty.  While recently tensions have been rising between the two nations, this article claims that the latest bump in the diplomatic road stems from an event that happened over a century ago. On February 22nd, Dutch parliament voted to acknowledge the killing of over a million Armenians in 1915 as an act of genocide. Angered by this vote, Turkey has summoned the Netherlands senior diplomat to give an account for the decision, as Turkey to this day claims insists that the number of Armenians killed was much fewer and due to civil strife rather than systematic ethnic murder. The Netherlands now join at least 23 other countries who recognize the killings as an act of genocide. The evidence this article uses are mostly quotes from members of Dutch Parliament, and in order to find more information I used an article from RadioFreeLiberty to supplement my primary article. I found that this site, RFL, may be a helpful addition to my information network as it reports on news and provides media from nations where free press is banned. While the Netherlands is not one of the countries under a press ban, it may be beneficial to get media from a country that has international relations with the Netherlands who does in fact have their freedom of press limited.

File:Tweede kamer.jpg

Image: Interior of the House of Representatives of the Netherlands (Sisyfus)

Global News Post #2 – Netherlands

http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2018/02/direct-amsterdam-to-london-train-delayed-until-2020-says-dutch-minister/

This article taken from DutchNews.NL reports on a second delay on the opening of a direct train line running from Amsterdam to London. Previously expected to open to passengers this past December, Eurostar, the high-speed European rail service, now predicts that this opening won’t take place until 2020. This delay stems from terrorism and migration worries between the Netherlands, France, Belgium and the UK. The four nations are currently in negotiations, and provided that these talks result in a suitable solution, passengers will be able to quickly travel from the Dutch capital to London in an affordable fashion, with stops throughout Europe. This new catalyst for inter-European travel is a good sign for those hoping for a more globally connected continent after the recent nationalistic sentiments which have sprouted up in much of Western Europe.

Netherlands Information Network Report #1

The Netherlands Country Report: Information Network

DutchNews.NL (New Media)

DutchNews.NL is a “provider of quality Dutch news and current affairs in English for an international audience”. This media source reaches nearly 25,000 people daily through their online webpage, digital newsletters and their social media site. DutchNews.NL acts as a kind of online newspaper, free to all, containing articles published daily on a variety of topics, including Politics, Business, Society, Sports. They also included subsections on European and International news. After digging a little deeper, I found that each topic had multiple articles published in the last week, so it seems that it is constantly updated with current news.

I chose this source because it seems to be a comprehensive and complete view on the news in the Netherlands. It covers a multiple array of subjects and is frequently updated. I will use this source to maintain a daily account on happenings in my country. It can be accessed through the web URL www.dutchnews.nl as well as on twitter @DutchNewsNL.

Elsevier Weekblad (Traditional Media)

Elsevier is a weekly news magazine published in the Netherlands and it is the most popular news magazine in the country with a circulation of 86,000 copies as of 2015. Primarily focusing on politics, this magazine has an online component as well with topical subjects as well as opinion pieces. They also try to comment on the most recent happenings around the world, as they have recently devoted entire sections of their website and magazine to Bitcoin and the American Dreamers. This magazine publication also seems to lean right-wing and be very pro-American and tout conservative ideals, manifesting in multiple positive pieces on President Trump. I found it interesting that they also devote large pieces of their publications to a section entitled “Living in America” about how Dutch citizens can earn a living in the States.

I chose this source to get an idea of the political landscape of the Netherlands and to gain an insight on to just one side of the Dutch spectrum. This source can be accessed through the website URL www.elsevierweekblad.nl and on twitter @Else4Weekblad.

De Groene Amsterdammer (Traditional Media)

De Groene Amsterdammer is another weekly periodical published in the Netherlands, based in Amsterdam. This source states that “In a time of intellectual impoverishment, De Groene offers refreshing ideas, new facts and unexpected insights”. De Groene also frequently attempts to uphold the image that they have no commercial interest and limit themselves to the things that “really matter in the world”. It seems that De Groene is the left-wing alternative to Elsevier so I am eager to take articles on similar topics from both sources and to compare the differing viewpoints. The majority of articles seem to be under the subheadings, Arts & Culture, In The World, and Identity Policy.

This is accessible in print as well as at www.groene.nl as well as on twitter @DeGroene.

@NRC Twitter (Social Media)

The Netherlands ranks 4th in the world in use of social networks so it is safe to say social media is a vital source of news for the average Dutch person. After researching the most viewed twitter accounts in the Netherlands in reference to daily news, I found @NRC, the social network proponent of NRC Media. They have over 550,000 followers and tweet daily on national news. They cover a variety of topics including technology, education and business. The account tweets out news constantly as there are normally 4 articles posted hourly. As social media is one of the main ways I as a student receive news, I wanted to use this source to show how the social aspect of media is being used in my country. The NRC twitter is accessible through https://twitter.com/nrc.

NOS Journaal (Audio/Visual)

NOS Journaal is a television program aired in the Netherlands that informs viewers of the latest news from 6:30 am to midnight. The program is aired on NPO 1, the Netherlands first national television station. NOS Journaal’s goal is to provide the most complete picture of the news of the day. I chose this source as I wanted to find the equivalent of a CNN or Fox News station that broadcasts news continuously throughout the day.

CIA World Factbook – Netherlands (Data Source)

I chose the Netherlands CIA World Factbook page for my Data source because I believe it provides the most comprehensive data on the economy, population, history and politics of the Netherlands. The Factbook is a credible source that will allow me to quickly access quantitative date over time, examples include GDP across varying years, or percentages of population that use the internet.

The CIA World Factbook is easily accessed by web at https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/nl.html.

 

Reflection

At first I started using OSU library’s database and navigated to search through the Access World News Bank. As my search continued, I really wanted to research what the average Dutch person is picking up from a newsstand or grocery market in Amsterdam, so I looked up what were the most read periodicals were and came across the online sites for De Groene and Elsevier magazines. These both serve as my traditional sources and I think their good choices as they reflect multiple sides of the Netherlands political spectrum. While conducting my search, I learned how useful the translation tool is on web browsers as most of my sources were originally in Dutch. As for looking forward to my upcoming additions to my information network, I’d like to pursue more academic, scholarly sources in the Netherlands rather than media that seems to be made for the masses, which include most of the sources I have currently.

Global News Post #1 – Netherlands

 

Enterprising Refugees Invited to Show Off Their Business Acumen in Europe

An organization in Amsterdam, Netherlands is making a concerted effort to combat the stigma that the increase of immigrating refugees over the past few years is taking a burden on European countries. After reflecting on how they could help with the refugee crisis, bidx set up an online platform with the intended purpose of connecting entrepreneurial refugees with investors and mentors in their new countries. Refugee members of bidx can present a business plan and then investors and business owners within the country will provide tips, mentorship and maybe even funding for their plan. The site (previously used primarily by European patrons) is being translated into Arabic, and while some refugees may not have computers, according to bidx, a large amount have smartphones, and the platform is being worked to be accessible for mobile users.

Although asylum laws in the Netherlands do not permit refugees to work for the first 6 months of their time in-country, bidx does not discriminate based on immigration status. Hopefully, opportunities like bidx provides will sprout up in other countries in Europe and affect the perception that many people currently hold about refugees. Bidx sheds light on the multiple stories of refugees and contributes to ending a single story viewpoint.