Strategy ‘26-’30: from funder to catalyst

SDM takes the next step 

We are living in an in-between time. Old certainties can no longer be taken for granted. Institutions are under pressure. The media landscape is shifting at a rapid pace, driven by algorithms designed not to inform, but to retain our attention. What provokes wins over what is accurate. This is not merely a media issue; it is a democratic issue.

The lifeblood of democracy is under pressure. Reliable journalism holds those in power to account, brings social issues into view, and enables citizens to inform themselves. Without this function, democratic opinion-forming is not possible. But the rules of the game have changed. More than eighty per cent of digital advertising revenue in the Netherlands flows to a handful of international tech companies. National media operate on a playing field that is structurally working against them.

 
This is about more than journalism. Media-for-democracy is a broad concept. Documentaries, podcasts, cultural media, local broadcasters: they bring social issues into view and connect with the everyday lives of a wide audience. This is precisely why the mounting pressure on public broadcasting is so concerning. And it is precisely why the entire sector must ask itself the difficult questions about relevance, reliability, and distinctiveness.
 
Democracy itself also requires renewal. Liberal democracy is losing its persuasive power. Not because its principles are flawed, but because it too often defends what was rather than articulating what could be. Meanwhile, undemocratic forces understand the new media reality better than many democrats. They strategically use disinformation to sow division and undermine trust. The answer tot that cannot be a conservative one.
 
Who brings this together? There are various organizations addressing these issues. The question is who will bring them together—independently, without self-interest, and with enough clout to stand firm where others must yield. SDM is in a unique position to fulfill that role. Rooted in the history of the resistance newspaper Het Parool, and equipped with financial independence and a broad network in media, journalism, government, and academia.
 
From funder to catalyst. SDM is making a conscious transition: from shareholder and funder to an organization that initiates, sets the agenda, and facilitates. In the coming years, SDM will focus on three levels: the rules of the game for a solid media infrastructure, a resilient media sector that reinvents itself, and content that feeds public thinking about the future of democracy. This translates into four concrete activities:
  1. Protecting
    Our independent and pluralistic media are a great asset. Just like our democracy and rule of law. But it is not a given that they will remain so. We safeguard a pluralistic media landscape that serves the democratic rule of law. We protect journalistic independence against commercial and political influences. We take action against totalitarian tendencies that undermine democracy. Whatever form they may take.
  2. Research
    In this regard, we focus on the well-informed citizen as a prerequisite for democracy and as the primary target audience for media. We focus on the relationship between citizen and media and between citizen and democracy, and thus also how media and democracy influence each other. We commission independent research on the relationship between media and democracy. SDM is a place where knowledge about media and democracy comes together, feeding policy and public debate with new, fact-based insights.
  3. Innovate

    The current technological era poses new questions not only for the media, but for constitutional democracies themselves. How do we relate to AI, social media, and the power of big tech companies? We take a stand on these issues—as a dialogue partner, as a voice, and as a driver of innovation. Not only in the way the media operate, but also in the way democracy functions. We encourage reflection on the democracy of tomorrow and the day after.
  4. Connecting
    For strong media and a stable democracy, we need each other. We organize meetings, set up programs, and bring networks together. As an independent player, we facilitate necessary conversations and encounters, and we prompt people to think and take action.
Transition periods are uncomfortable, but they are also moments of radical renewal. SDM has chosen to seize that opportunity—not out of alarmism, but out of the conviction that democracy and free media must be both actively protected and actively built. We need new answers, new connections, and new forms of public discourse—so that citizens can exercise their democratic citizenship based on shared facts and a public debate that truly serves them.
 
Because a democratic rule of law and free media can never be taken for granted.