NEWS MEDIA
Wendelmoet Boersema
(53), EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF trouw
Karel Smouter
(41), EDITOR-IN-CHIEF OF trouw
“WE WANT TO
highlight
THAT OUR PAPER STANDS FOR HOPE”
Trouw got not one, but two new editors-in-chief halfway through 2024: Wendelmoet Boersema and Karel Smouter. How does that work, two captains on one ship? “You don’t have to speak with one mouth, but you do have to decide with one mouth.”
Wendelmoet Boersema and Karel Smouter run a tight ship. They were given six months to get acquainted with each other, during which they drew up an ambitious plan for 2025 and then tackled a problem faced by all Dutch newsrooms: how to turn freelance relationships into permanent positions.
You had your work cut out for you.
WENDELMOET: “It wasn’t exactly an easy start, that’s for sure. It was a huge transition, and things got quite emotional at times. But it was also an opportunity for us to give permanent jobs to freelancers we’d been working with for a long time.”
KAREL: “We didn’t see this coming going in, but I think we’ve already made a fair bit of progress. And fortunately, things haven’t ground to a complete halt in other areas. We’ve put together a very ambitious annual plan for 2025.”
Can you say more about that?
WENDELMOET: “We’re permanently in transition, but at some point you do enter the next phase. That’s where we are at the moment. The reader comes first, as the newspaper is becoming one of several platforms they use – it’s no longer their most important news source. Except on Saturdays, when we provide lots of extra content.”
Who are your readers?
KAREL: “People with ideals, which was also reflected in our last ad campaign. They’re people who have more than just material ambitions in life, who go: this is the news, but how do I relate to it? We see that many of our readers do volunteer work, so they’re people who have an active relationship with the world around them. We want to highlight that our paper stands for hope, that it’s for people who want tools to change the world for the better.”
“People tell us that there’s a new wind blowing, and that the shutters are open”
WENDELMOET: “That group is also much larger than the one we currently serve through our print and hybrid subscriptions. We need to promote our journalism more widely, get our experts out there and reach new audiences – through podcasts, newsletters and events. As long as we’re reaching people who eventually go: that’s a club I want to be part of. Current readers will also feel the effects of these changes.”
As will the editorial team. Is everyone on the same page?
WENDELMOET: “A lot of these ideas actually came from the editorial team.”
KAREL: “Our role is mainly to encourage and facilitate. The annual plan was well received – people tell us that there’s a new wind blowing, and that the shutters are open.”
WENDELMOET: “Yes, there’s no lack of ambition, including in the newsroom.”
How does that work, two captains on one ship?
WENDELMOET: “I see it as a fun journey of discovery. When people asked me in May how things were going, I didn’t have an answer yet, but now I feel confident in saying that things are going well.”
KAREL: “It’s a super intense job. You’ve got so many things coming at you at once, so it’s nice to be able to blow off steam and bounce ideas off someone in the same position. I realise that’s an immense luxury, but I also think it’s something I wouldn’t want to be without anymore.”
WENDELMOET: “There’s of course a risk that people will only run things past one of us, but that’s not something I worry about too much. Sometimes we tell them that we need to discuss an issue with each other first. You don’t have to speak with one mouth, but you do have to decide with one mouth.”
TROUW: EUROPEAN NEWSPAPER OF THE YEAR
For the third time in its existence, Trouw has been voted European Newspaper of the Year. The European Newspaper Award recognises excellence in newspaper design. Trouw was praised by the jury for its reader-friendly layout with explainer boxes, quotes and small infographics. The paper previously won the award in 2001 and 2012.
You say you want there to be more of a dialogue with readers. Can you give an example of that?
KAREL: “Climate change is something we take very seriously, and we want to contribute to a society-wide conversation about it. Maarten van Gessel hitched a ride to the climate summit in Azerbaijan with a Dutch lorry driver, and they had a five-day conversation about climate change, right there in the cabin.”
WENDELMOET: “That resulted in newspaper columns and a podcast series, and Maarten talked about the experience several times on the radio.”
Where do you want to be in five years?
KAREL: “I would like people to think of Trouw first and foremost as a paper for idealists – as a club you want to belong to, with all the benefits of a club. I want our journalists to be accessible so that our readers can interact with them. Our journalists should be more visible as moderators in the public debate, which also means more appearances in other media.”
WENDELMOET: “I want us to be indispensable to more people, and for more people to discover Trouw. So we have to promote ourselves, and one way of doing that is by appointing a ‘chief pot-stirrer’. All to bring our identity, which is crystal clear to us, to the attention of a new audience.”
More about Trouw can be found in the editorial annual report
