A year after approved acquisition, DPG media foundations join forces: ‘We protect what is not for sale: journalistic independence’
One year after the approved acquisition of RTL Nederland by DPG Media Nederland, two brand-new media foundations are firmly established: Stichting NU.nl and Stichting RTL Nieuws. With six mission-driven media foundations as shareholders, the protection of our media landscape is exceptionally strong and forward-looking. “We protect what cannot be bought: journalistic independence,” the media foundations write on their new website. A new era began for SDM, as it was assigned a more prominent role.
In late June 2025, the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets (ACM) approved the proposed acquisition of the Luxembourg-based company RTL Nederland by DPG Media Nederland. To protect media pluralism and access to diverse news sources, strict conditions were attached to the deal. For example, news from RTL Nieuws and NU.nl must remain freely accessible, and their editorial teams must operate independently of one another.
The editorial charters for all DPG publications have been updated. The editorial charter is a unique measure on an international scale that legally enshrines editorial independence. The media foundations internally monitor compliance with the editorial charters.
Two new media foundations were also established, each with the word “priority” in its name: the RTL Nieuws Foundation and the NU.nl Foundation. They have the right to veto any decision by NU.nl or RTL Nieuws to close, sell, or radically change the identity of the company.
Impressive means of power
The news outlets *De Volkskrant*, *Het Parool*, and *Trouw* each already had a foundation of this kind that safeguards their respective publications. At the umbrella level, there is the Democracy and Media Foundation (SDM), which staunchly supports journalistic pluralism. With the approved acquisition, SDM gained control over the sale or closure of all national news outlets owned by DPG Media Nederland. Furthermore, the foundation can block the company’s initial public offering and sale. “We are like an extra lock on the door,” the media foundations state on their website.
The media foundations are led by independent board members they appoint themselves. Arendo Joustra, who recently became chairman of the RTL Nieuws Foundation, points to the “impressive resources” available to the foundations behind DPG’s publications.
Editor-in-Chief Ilse Openneer looks forward to “shaping the future of RTL Nieuws” together with the foundation. Lindsay Mossink, editor-in-chief of NU.nl, is also pleased with the new foundations. “With the NU.nl Foundation, we have gained a partner who can always provide us with advice and support and who stands firm when it comes to values such as autonomy, independence, and identity.”
The playing field has gone global
The media foundations are not commercial investors, but ideologically driven shareholders of DPG Media Nederland. “Because of our history, we realize how important a pluralistic media landscape is,” says Nienke Venema, director of SDM, which grew out of the underground newspaper *Het Parool*. “The playing field is no longer national, but global. The media are no longer separate from the technologies of the tech giants,” says Venema. Thanks to the media foundations, the Dutch media landscape is uniquely protected from political and commercial influences.
On the website mediastichtingen.nl provides information on topics such as the rights of the media foundations, who serves on their boards, and how the foundations collaborate with one another. You can also read interviews with board members from all the foundations.
