“Television is a tyrant that can kill the mind!” For example, State Secretary Jo Cals (Arts) warned on 2 October 1951 during the very first Dutch television broadcast. A documentary about the making of church bells was indeed broadcast that evening: The song of the clock.
This weekend, the public broadcaster on all channels celebrated the 70th anniversary of Dutch television exuberantly and for a long time, with a separate retrospective for each genre: philosophy of life, satire, consumer sections, current affairs, politics, culture, children’s TV, sports, music. Television likes to watch itself, so Hilversum undoubtedly had a great weekend. And a party pooper like Jo Cals was not present this time: not a bad word about the medium itself. Not even a contemplative thought, such as: ‘will we still matter, now that the viewers are the same age as the medium?’
From humble to rude
The broadcast about the relationship between television and politics was potentially exciting. It ranged from the humble reporting of the early days (“Did you have a good trip, Your Excellency?”) to the rude heist techniques of this century (“Have we fucked yet?”). In the past, a politician could choose not to appear on TV, but since the arrival of The Hague Today (1970-2010) they are chased daily through the corridors of the Binnenhof. Television has now become essential for politics. Former VVD leader Hans Wiegel came to tell us how deeply he and the TV camera loved each other. He also said that in 2001, at the fiftieth anniversary. And in five years, at the 75th anniversary, he will undoubtedly tell it again.
Former politician Ton Elias and parliamentary reporter Frits Wester explained how you can give a politician media training. Wiegel thought that was all nonsense, but he is a natural talent. Former Labor Party leader Job Cohen was shown as a hopeless case. Just before that, we had already seen former PvdA leader Joop den Uyl grinning uncomfortably next to André van Duin. You saw him think: “what did I let myself be fucked in again?”
Whoops, done, next topic. The usefulness and problem of media training thus remained undisclosed. Such training can help politicians to better connect with citizens. The downside is that only mediagenic politicians survive, and they aren’t necessarily the best. Added to the growing army of information officers, media training has also made many politicians slippery and therefore unusable for television.
Excellency Mark Rutte
For a brief moment, the growing distrust of both the press and politics was addressed. Elias argues that citizens see journalists and politicians as “part of the same clique, the elite”. Here the hand could have been in their own bosom, but the interviewed men could only shrug their shoulders, not understanding.
“Parliamentary journalism has evolved from accommodating to very critical,” the program summed up. Does that also apply to politics on television? At election time, a talk show like On 1 it’s no problem to donate an entire broadcast to excellence Mark Rutte. Because fuss and fun are paramount, and the fear of being partisan runs deep, television first made the radical right-wing leader Thierry Baudet great, and is now doing the same with agricultural lobbyist Caroline van der Plas. On 1 also finds it no problem to have Baudet interviewed by his holiday friend Jort Kelder, who has helped him in the past with his propaganda films.
Of course, that’s all a thing of the past. But in honor of the seventieth anniversary, we can look back one more time.