As a newcomer to politics, State Secretary Gunay Uslu (Culture and Media, D66) was immediately confronted with the sex scandal at The Voice of Holland: the popular talent show disappeared from television, several employees are being prosecuted. She jumped on it, with a series of round table discussions with Talpa boss John de Mol and others involved. She is also so intensively involved in measures against increasing aggression against journalists, as a result of which the Netherlands recently dropped no less than 22 places on the international press freedom list. She talks to journalists, editors-in-chief – what’s the problem, what do they need.
She does not want to comment on the content of public broadcasting programmes. She believes it is not up to her to openly distance herself from racist theories (population) or disinformation (corona) at Ongehoord Nederland (ON). She also talks to NRC with restraint: as a liberal politician she does not comment on the content of programmes. Next week, Uslu will send her first Media letter to the House of Representatives, in which she explains her policy plans.
How are the #MeToo conversations going?
„My baptism of fire was The Voice – I was suddenly engaged in transgressive behaviour. I immediately thought: I have to take that responsibility. This is really serious, we need to do something about this. As a management or supervisor, I also think that you should say out loud: ‘This is not good.’ That’s where it starts. This is a tough, encrusted pattern. At John de Mol I saw a desire to really change.”
Why is this typically a problem with media and culture?
“That is not true. My initial idea was also: this is common in the media and culture sector, because you are vulnerable there. Irregular working hours, drinks until late, people with a passion who are willing to give a lot for what they do. But this happens everywhere. In sports, on the Zuidas, within political parties…”
Gunay Uslu (1972) grew up in Haarlem, where her father owned a number of coffee houses and guest houses. At primary school she received an LBO recommendation (the current VMBO basis), because her teacher believed that practical training would help her better if she ‘returned’ to Turkey – even though she was born in the Netherlands. Ultimately, Uslu would obtain a PhD in cultural studies from the University of Amsterdam, after which she held management and directorship positions at Corendon, the travel organization of her brother Atilay Uslu, and was project manager at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.
Why the low school advice?
“I went to a strict, reformed school, they didn’t really know what to do with me. My sister Meral, who was ten years older than she later became a documentary filmmaker, was very activist. When she heard about the primary school advice, she thought, ‘Why? Gunay is a smart girl!’ So he arranged a kind of job interview at the Montessori Lyceum Amsterdam. There I seem to have told you that I wanted to become the first female prime minister of the Netherlands. I was surprised it wasn’t there yet. I was accepted and went to live with my sister in the Jordaan. He took me to movies I was much too young for, Polanski, for example, because she didn’t have a babysitter. I thrived on Montessori.”
You wanted to be Prime Minister, why did you enter politics only now?
“As a student, I did an internship at the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, I really had political ambitions at the time. That was around the note ‘Let’s make room for cultural diversity’, a policy plan by State Secretary Rick van der Ploeg (Culture and Media, PvdA) for a more diverse cultural sector, in terms of offer and audience. At first I thought: that’s what I’m going for. But then: wait a minute, I am of Turkish descent, female and young. I myself was the problem we had to solve, but I didn’t experience it that way at all. Then I received an offer from the University of Amsterdam to give lectures and I chose science.”
Do you think it is important to promote diversity in public broadcasting?
“Yes, I have invited the chairman to spar about that. But I shouldn’t get too involved in that sort of thing.”
Why not? You are the Secretary of State.
“I often forget it myself, but in the eyes of others I am now ‘the power’. Media should be free to control me. I am also asked to speak out about Ongehoord Nederland, but I must keep my distance.”
You want to stand up for the safety of journalists. When ON says that the ‘mainstream media’ sell lies, they create an unsafe situation for journalists. Why don’t you speak out about that?
“The media are very good at organizing and controlling themselves. Ungehoord Nederland has entered the broadcasting system according to the rules, I do not want to interfere with the content of news media. Speaking out against hardening, against discrimination – that’s possible. But specifically about a TV program, I think that is too much of an intervention from the government.”
You find news media indispensable for democracy. Now there is a broadcaster attacking democratic values. What’s stopping you from saying, ‘This can’t be’?
“That is up to the ombudsman, the NPO board, the Media Authority, the judge – democratic institutions that I do not want to circumvent. Then, as the ruler, I would influence the control mechanisms that we have set up for this ourselves.”
You want to respect the separation of powers, but you do consult with journalists. What’s up with that?
“I want to know how I can ensure that journalists can do their job as well as possible, I am responsible for that. And I can’t find that out if I only talk to my civil servants and trade associations. But on the other hand, I also have to ensure a healthy distance between politics and the press. I therefore strive for a healthy media sector, strong, safe and free. But the content – that’s not what I’m going to talk about.”
A version of this article also appeared in the newspaper of June 4, 2022
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