results - De Persgroep

OUR RESULTS
ANNUAL REPORT 2012
CONTENTS
4. The Word - intro Christian Van Thillo
7. Our employees
8. 2012 - An educational year
9. The Word - intro Ludwig Criel
10 Frits Campagne about De Persgroep Nederland
11. Dirk Velghe about Mediafin
12. Peter Bossaert about VMMa
13. Rudy Bertels about De Persgroep Publishing
14. De Persgroep at a glance
16. The Word - intro Piet Vroman
18. Consolidated balance sheet after profit appropriation
19. Evolution of key figures
20. Key figures and P&L accounts
21. Overview of cash flow
22. Consolidated financing table
WHAT BINDS US
What binds us. Media, people, quality.
But above all it is passion that binds
us. We are printers, entrepreneurs, paper boys, media girls. We are innovative
and we cherish tradition. We’re Belgian,
we’re Dutch. We work with our heart.
That’s what binds us. No matter how much
our daily work differs, our attitude is
the same. We all work on our media with
total passion.
2
3
THE WORD
Christian Van Thillo Chief Executive Officer
WELCOME TO
DE PERSGROEP
As we have done every year, we have endeavoured to provide you with
an annual report that gives the clearest insight possible into the
activities and results of our media business. I hope that it will
let you get a sense of the type of business we are, what makes the
staff at De Persgroep loyal and how we see the future.
2012 was by no means an easy year but it was fascinating and very important for our future.
As a business we have tried to establish four major accents that make it immediately clear how we see our future and what we regard as our priorities.
• Make our media better.
• Dedication to digital innovation.
• Continue working on improving efficiency.
• Provide permanent training for our journalists and managers.
More so than in previous years, in 2012 we saw increasing competition in all media segments; digitalisation that is constantly accelerating
and economic conditions that remain difficult.
In such a complex context there are threats but there are also wonderful
opportunities and so we are aiming to arm our company in preparation
for the future. We had the feeling that some of our media could be made
and positioned better in order to retain their leading positions in their
respective markets. In addition, we believed it was essential to consider
digital innovations, both via acquisition and through organic development.
Because our world is changing at high speed, we decided to structurally invest in continuous development so that our staff are given the opportunity
to acquire new knowledge and skills. Finally, we also decided to continue
to focus on efficiency. Creativity and entrepreneurship must continue to
go hand in hand with discipline and cost control – more so now than ever
before.
Preparing the accounts and seeing which of our wonderful plans have
come to fruition has made me feel content.
4
The majority of our media brands have improved substantively. A high
point was seeing the way in which VTM has defended itself against its new
rival. This great family channel of ours has emerged from the battle stronger and that gives us a tremendous amount of confidence for the future.
We have made a very successful start with Campus De Persgroep and
the Persgroep Management Development Programme. We believe these
are essential for the further development of our group.
I would like to reflect on our decision to dedicate ourselves more to innovation and digital development. Media firms are often accused of not
being radical enough in their approach to change because they hold on too
firmly to their existing media when what they should be doing is playing
the digital card. That may perhaps sound logical but in practice things are
different. We believe that ‘old’ and ‘new’ media do not by definition preclude each other. It is a fact that digitalisation is bringing about enormous
changes in our sector. It is true that technology is of major importance
for our future. But that is not the essence. What De Persgroep actually
does is inform, inspire and entertain people. Creativity and expertise are
the basic ingredients of our profession. That has always been the case and
shall remain so in the future. What makes digitalisation so challenging is
not the technology in itself but rather how people use it, how it changes
their approach to media and how advertisers deal with those changes. The
choices made by end-users are guided by the best user experience and the
choices made by advertisers are guided by the best response to their advertising messages. Those two movements correlate but they are not identical.
They have a fundamental impact on the evolution of our business model
but for us this means we don’t have to make a choice between either print
or digital but rather a choice in respect of what information is most suited
to what carrier and how we are able to offer this to our customers in the
best way.
That is a fascinating exercise.
Thanks to all of the innovations, the reach of our titles has never been so
great. However, we still have to take important steps. Over the coming years
we shall develop all of our newspapers into robust news media that are able
to serve their readers in the best possible way via all platforms. The same
challenge applies to our magazines which, over the coming years, shall likewise become digitally enriched. Advertising revenues in print continue to
be under pressure, however, advertisers are accelerating their investments
in our digital activities. If we implement our strategy successfully we will
once more be able to allow our titles to grow in the future. We are firmly
convinced of this. Our financial newspapers have already proven that transformation to successful multimedia brands is perfectly possible.
‘Being able
to lead De
Persgroep
has never
been more
fascinating than
it is now’
The digital development also offers fantastic opportunities for television:
catch-up TV, video-on-demand, previews and watching on mobile devices.
Each and every one of these applications can make watching television
5
THE WORD
Christian Van Thillo Chief Executive Officer
more pleasant and enjoyable. As we have done in all of our other activities,
we aim to determine for ourselves what innovations are brought to the
market and under what conditions. Some of these will be controlled inhouse, others in partnership with firms that distribute our TV stations. So
far the digital revolution has not had much of an effect on radio but this
does not preclude the possibility of future opportunities arising.
All of these changes have a significant impact on our organisation.
Like many other media firms we have developed our digital activities
separately for a long time and to a certain extent that has worked well.
However, we are now seeing greater opportunities if we adopt an integrated approach. We believe that it is the best way of serving our customers – both the end-users and the advertisers.
A fairly recent activity of De Persgroep is digital services, the most significant of which involves recruitment. With Vacature, Regiojobs and VK
Banen we already had a strong position in this market. Thanks to the
acquisition of VNU Media, with brands like Intermediair and De Nationale
Vacaturebank, we can now claim a leading position in Belgium and in
the Netherlands and offer extra assistance and services to employers and
employees. The acquisition of VNU Media also saw us become the owner of
Tweakers, the biggest technology site in the Netherlands. It is therefore our
intention to further strengthen our position in digital services.
2012 was a difficult financial year.
We had hoped to match the strong results of 2011, however, the economic crisis and the investments in our TV stations in order to respond
to the new competition, have impacted decidedly on that. This does not
detract from the fact that we have still managed to achieve a good result. Given the circumstances we could truly not have achieved more,
nor could that have been expected of us. We are working with our sights
set on the long term and our priority is to keep our media brands strong
because we know that if we get that right then the results will always
follow.
We do not expect the economic situation to improve in 2013. However, that
will not prevent us from pushing on forcefully along the path we have set
out for ourselves. When the sun starts shining again we have to be ready to
pluck all of the fruits. I have experienced easier times in my life but they
have never been as fascinating as having the opportunity of leading De
Persgroep.
That is due to all of the staff in the group – to whom I am extremely thankful.
6
‘When the
sun starts
shining again
we have to
be ready to
harvest the
fruits’
OUR EMPLOYEES
WORK FORCE EVOLUTION DE PERSGROEP*
3500
3000
2700
2400
2100
1800
1500
1200
900
600
300
0
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
* The figures shown are consolidated figures
‘In 2012 we welcomed 385 new employees to the De
Persgroep. 648 employees departed, however, the
total number of employees was still higher compared to 2011, in part due to the acquisition of VNU’
7
Velghe Algemeen
directeur Mediafi
n
OUR Dirk
COURSES
AND TRAINING
SESSIONS
02.
2012: AN INSTRUCTIVE YEAR
We make the best media with the best people. The best people
want to stay the best and that’s why De Persgroep offers
employees the opportunity of continuous development, either
in-house or via external providers. In 2012 De Persgroep
employees were once again hard at it.
227
De Persgroep Nederland provided
At the Eco Print Center,
46 employees spent
external courses and training
sessions. 206 employees attended Campus De Persgroep and
7 took part in the Management
Development Programme.
De Persgroep
Publishing
no less than
792 hours
on in-service training.
216 courses
461 participants
11.291 hours
At VMMa, 301 employees spent a total of
3.644 HOURS ON REFRESHER TRAINING.
8
THE WORD
2012
Ludwig Criel Chairman of the Board of Directors
was once again a year characterised by particularly difficult economic conditions. Despite all of the efforts in
Belgium and in Europe to contain the crisis, growth in
Europe continues to lag behind the other major world economies. Continual
cut-backs, rising unemployment and a halt in consumer spending have resulted in a significant drop in advertising investments in the media sector.
This is also reflected in the results of De Persgroep: for example, the consolidated operating revenues dropped by € 19.9 million (-2.1%) and the consolidated operational cash flow by € 16.3 million (-11.4%), which also translates into
a lower net current result (€ 55.1 million compared to € 70.2 million).
The Board of Directors believes that these results demonstrate that the
company has the resilience that is necessary to withstand the many challenges in the media sector. De Persgroep is therefore well positioned to maintain
and strengthen its market positions in Belgium and the Netherlands, not
least in the digital arena.
In the middle of last year we acquired VNU Media, the market leader in the
Netherlands in the field of recruitment communication, with websites such
as NationaleVacaturebank.nl and Intermediair.nl, as well as Tweakers.net –
which is the reference point in the Netherlands when it comes to technology
websites. And at the beginning of this year De Persgroep further developed its
digital activities with the acquisition of Autotrack.nl, the website offering the
largest selection of used cars in the Netherlands.
In 2012 De Persgroep Nederland once again proved itself to be one of the
top-performing media companies in its home market. Less than three years
after the acquisition, the Dutch activities, with a share of 49.2% in turnover
and 40.8% in EBITDA, have significantly contributed to the overall results of
De Persgroep.
The audiovisual activities of De Persgroep in Belgium also deserve special
mention. Despite the radically changed competitive environment, our TV
stations and our flagship VTM in particular, have succeeded in retaining their
market positions amongst viewers. Unfortunately, the TV advertising market
has also been subjected to the effects of the economic climate. Our Belgian
radio stations had another excellent year but in the Netherlands Q-music,
unfortunately, had to continue, until mid-September, dealing with the consequences of the radio tower fire that occurred mid-way through 2011.
The conversion of EBITDA into free operational cash flow grew to a level of
€ 106 million. The buildings and printer’s plant have little need for new investments, working capital has developed positively and the cash tax burden
was lower thanks to the offset of losses in the Netherlands. As a result of this
the group was able to fully finance the VNU acquisition from the operational
cash flow and at the same time close with a net cash position of € 66 million.
These results have been achieved because of the ceaseless efforts of all of
our staff who have also further shaped the development of our group in Belgium and in the Netherlands during these difficult times. The Board of Directors therefore wishes to thank all staff sincerely for their efforts.
‘We have
enough
resilience
to maintain
and
strengthen
our position’
9
01.
Frits Campagne, Managing Director De Persgroep Nederland
On tablets we
are seeing
240,000
downloads of our
papers each week.
In the meantime
quality, production certainty
and delivery quality continued to
STAUNCHLY
hold up.
De Persgroep
Nederland was
able to close
2012 with higher
total turnover.
DE PERSGROEP
NEDERLAND
THE FIGURES ‘2012 was so far the best year ever for de Persgroep Nederland. Of course, that didn’t happen by default and we’ll save the celebrations for after the economic crisis. However, the figures do speak for
themselves: the websites attract a combined 3.7 million unique visitors
– per month – and on tablets we are seeing 240,000 downloads of our
papers each week. In addition, 2.5 million people read the paper copies
of Algemeen Dagblad, de Volkskrant, Trouw and Het Parool per day. At
the weekend that rises to 3 million people. Are you keeping up? On top
of this there are also the smartphones, on which our readers view 14
million of our pages each week, and that’s increasing every minute.’
LOOKING BACK ‘There is therefore no reason for us to complain about
the interest in the news that we bring to people, in all of its diversity.
However, we have been endeavouring to make our operations as functional and as flexible as possible in order to capitalise on the changing
situations. We have successfully managed to combat higher costs particularly at the printer’s and in the distribution organisation. In the meantime quality, production certainty and delivery quality continued to
staunchly hold up. In the summer, as a result of the acquisition of VNU
Media, we were able to welcome colleagues from Intermediair, de Nationale Vacaturebank and Tweakers. All activities in the vacancies market
– including VKbanen – have been placed with what is now known as
VNU Vacature Media.’
LOOKING AHEAD ‘The art is to thoroughly understand when, where
and how people prefer to read the news, and what charge is reasonable for providing that service. In the advertising market the challenge
remains to – specifically on our platforms – get the best out of the
brands and to offer advertisers creative and good solutions. Despite a
lower advertising volume and partly thanks to VNU Vacature Media, de
Persgroep Nederland was able to close 2012 with higher total turnover
and, significantly, the financial result remained on par and that encourages us to achieve more in 2013.’
‘The financial result remained
on par and that encourages us
to achieve more in 2013’
10
02.
Dirk Velghe, Managing Director Mediafin
MEDIAFIN
THE FIGURES ‘The first thing I have to say: in 2012 our EBITDA was 8.7
million, with turnover of 48.9 million against costs of 40.2 million - a
margin of 18%. We therefore achieved a good financial result. Yet I have
mixed feelings about this because the result is largely due to cost efficiency and not through growth in turnover. The advertising market
remains a concern. Turnover is under pressure because our major
investors, the banks, are still encountering difficulties. In the reader
market it was a magnificent year. De Tijd and L’Echo achieved combined
growth of 3% to an average of 56,200 copies per day.’
LOOKING BACK ‘Simultaneous with the Berliner format we launched
a new approach, with attention being paid to the local business world
and local policy. That made a fantastic contribution to the rejuvenation
of our target group. Last March we also launched an updated tablet paper. Mediafin is the leader in the digital reader market. With a growth
of 74% almost a quarter of our readers read De Tijd and L’Echo on a
tablet. Through the acquisition of ContentRepublic we are capitalising
on strategic corporate communication projects, an example of which is
a major cross-media project for Microsoft. A high point was the annual
New Insights for our community of entrepreneurs, bankers, opinion
leaders and business leaders – this time with Nobel Prize winner Paul
Krugman! But the crowning glory came at the end of 2012 when De Tijd
was voted European Newspaper of the Year.’
De Tijd and L’Echo
achieved combined
growth of 3% to
an average of
56,200
copies per day.
Mediafin is the
leader
in the digital
reader market.
Online we
will also be
broadening
to
business, policy,
innovation and
technology, without losing si
sight
of the investors.
investo
LOOKING AHEAD ‘We have two major projects lined up. There will be
a refreshing concept for mobile with a completely new user experience.
We will also be giving the Saturday papers a new weekend feel with a
different ‘beat’: more opinion, fun and enjoyment. In September we will
be implementing the Berliner operation on the website: online we will
also be broadening to business, policy, innovation and technology, without losing sight of the investors. For them there will be an “investor’s
zone” à la MarketWatch. I firmly believe that these developments will
place us in a good position strategically and that’s why we’ve already
made a start on them!’
‘Financially we achieved an
excellent result, though I have
mixed feelings about it’
11
1
03.
Peter Bossaert, CEO Vlaamse Media Maatschappij (VMMa)
The Belgian radio
advertising market
experienced an
outstanding
year,
with record financial results for
Qgroup.
We have been able
to fully retain
our market
position.
Good news,
more TV is being
watched than ever
before.
VMMa AND Q-MUSIC NL
THE FIGURES ‘The financial results of our audiovisual activities in 2012
show an erratic course. Television had a difficult financial year because the
TV advertising market is under pressure. We also faced a particularly challenging year with the arrival of a new, ambitious TV competitor. We reduced our
secondary activities and we invested in brands and content. The Belgian radio
advertising market experienced an outstanding year, with record financial
results for Qgroup. Q-music Nederland also made a substantial financial contribution to the result, despite a difficult advertising market and the problem
with the radio towers that lasted for more than a year. A promising sign was
seeing that our listening public returned immediately after the re-award of
the transmission range in the autumn.’
LOOKING BACK ‘For television we have paid a great deal of attention to the
brand perception of the mother ship VTM. VTM is once again on the threshold of the broad boulevard of well-made and respectful entertainment, with
prestigious fiction series such as Clan and Deadline 14/10, top entertainment
such as The Voice and Belgium’s Got Talent and comedy programmes such as
Tegen De Sterren Op. We have also taken the news fully in hand and we have
therefore been able to fully retain our market position. Radio has had its best
year ever in Belgium. Q-music and JOE fm are rock solid thanks to their complementary profiles. They reach out to their public time and time again with
well-considered programming and stimulating marketing campaigns. The
foundations of Q-music Nederland are also solid and we are ready to grow.’
LOOKING AHEAD ‘Innovation is high on the agenda and we owe this to
ourselves. Digitalisation is also resulting in a rapid change in viewer behaviour and that is good news because more TV is being watched than ever
before. However, the margin of this new viewer behaviour depends entirely
on distribution. It is time to create the economic and legal framework within
which the stations can achieve value. This is necessary for the continuation
of a healthy television landscape in Flanders. We have therefore set up an Innovation and Exploitation department in which, for example, we are testing
Stievie, the TV-app that we have jointly developed with VRT and SBS. This allows programmes to be viewed on tablets and smartphones live and up to 36
hours after broadcast.’
‘VTM has been able to fully maintain
its market position through good and
respectful programming’
12
04.
Rudy Bertels, Managing Director de Persgroep Publishing
DE PERSGROEP
PUBLISHING
THE FIGURES ‘I won’t beat about the bush: 2012 was a difficult year.
The operating result dropped by 17%. Despite this we can still regard the
year as “reasonably OK” if one takes into account the difficult market
conditions. With a slight decrease of 0.3% our reader market remained
fairly stable. The main impact was in the advertising market. Although
advertising revenues grew by 5% for digital, revenue for print declined
by 8%. The TV magazines continue to be difficult: sales of Dag Allemaal
and TV Familie dropped by 6% and 10% respectively. Unfortunately, we
have had to stop DMuze, the second Saturday magazine of De Morgen
due to a lack of advertising revenue, but fortunately, we have not lost
any readers as a result of this.’
LOOKING BACK ‘We are evolving from a publisher into a multimedia
organisation. Our digital publishing activities are therefore no longer
combined in de Persgroep Digital and we have organised all publishing
activities by country because, after all, Belgium and the Netherlands
each have their own characteristics and challenges. We are no longer
focussing on the medium but on the brand in all of its manifestations
– whether it be print, digital or mobile. We are endeavouring to ready
ourselves for an uncertain situation in the TV magazine market by offering more content-related added value. Finally, we once again organised
the excellent Advertiser’s Summit event during which we bring together our advertisers in order to gain inspiration, contacts and ideas.’
With a slight
decrease of
0.3%
our reader market
remained fairly
stable.
We are no longer
focussing on the
medium
but on the brand
in all of its manifestations.
2013: further
strengthen our
multimedia
publishing
and give our subscribers more for
scriber
same money.
the sa
LOOKING AHEAD ‘The most important issue is how we address the
declining advertising market. For 2013 we expect a stagnation but with
growing turnover in digital. We also want to further strengthen our
multimedia publishing and give our subscribers more for the same
money - more information, richer content, opportunities and tickets.
In addition, we are aiming to maintain control of costs and to operate
in the most efficient way. However, we will not be cutting back on our
journalists; on the contrary. We will be investing in their talents and
competencies with lectures, courses and debates from Campus De Persgroep because we believe in the power of good journalism.’
‘Via Campus De Persgroep we
are investing in the professionall
skills of our journalists’
13
DE PERSGROEP AT A GLANCE
- SITUATION AS AT APRIL 2013
BELGIUM
De Persgroep Publishing
100%
Mediafin
Vacature Media
50%
Vlaamse Media Maatschappij
50%
TV Bastards
EPC Printing
DE PERSGROEP
THE NETHERLANDS
De Persgroep Nederland
58,5%
De Persgroep Distributie
|
De Persgroep Printing
|
VNU Vacature Media
|
De Persgroep Automotive B.V.
14
QMusic Nederland
100%
OUR MEDIA BRANDS
PUBLISHING (PRINT AND DIGITAL)
NEWS MEDIA
MAGAZINES
VERKOCHTE TIJDSCHRIFTEN
ONLINE SERVICES
RECRUITMENT
KRANTEN MAGAZINES
AUTOMOTIVE
tijd
L E V E N E N DOE N
letter geest
TECHNOLOGIE
GRATIS STADSMAGAZINES
TELEVISION
RADIO
TELCO
15
THE WORD
Piet Vroman, Chief Financial Officer De Persgroep
THE 2012 FINANCIAL YEAR
‘In 2012 De Persgroep was unable to escape the economic crisis
that has hit the media sector with full force. The financial
crisis that started at the end of 2008 penetrated much deeper
in the real economy during last year. Consequently, 2012 was
also a more difficult year compared to 2011 for De Persgroep.’
FIGURES ‘The year started off fairly well but
although the financial markets flourished from
the summer onwards the same could not be said
for our markets. Our consolidated operational
revenues consequently dropped by 2%, from 929
million to 910 million. On the face of it that is
a modest reduction, however, this resulted in a
drop in EBITDA by more than 11%, which comes
out at 127 million (143 million in 2011). Operating profit has dropped from 107 million in 2011
to 86.7 million in 2012 and the net current profit has reduced from 70 million to 55 million.’
TURNOVER RATIOS ‘The group figures in 2012
look more and more like those of a true binational business. Since 2010 the turnover ratio
has been virtually 50/50 between Belgium and
the Netherlands. The share of the Netherlands
in the EBITDA rose from 35% in 2011 to 41% in
2012. The publishing business represents 80%
of the EBITDA and 20% is generated from the
audiovisual business, which is fairly in keeping
with the turnover ratios.’
BALANCE SHEET ‘Despite the reductions in the
results account, De Persgroep was once again
able to close the year with a healthy balance
sheet. Capital remained at 236 million with a
solvency ratio of 31.6%, and the net cash position rose to 66 million. Our accounts are drawn
up in accordance with Belgian accounting
standards under which, unlike IFRS, consolidation goodwill is depreciated annually. De Persgroep therefore depreciated 34 million last year.’
16
CASH FLOW ‘Eventually, De Persgroep managed
to achieve an excellent operational cash flow in
2012. The net cash flow now amounts to 102 million. In addition to investments in technology,
the acquisition of VNU Media was also financed
from the cash flow for the financial year. This
acquisition was an important step in the expansion and further digitalisation of our recruitment business. Despite the difficult economic
conditions the group has major ambitions.’
TEAMWORK ‘During the last year I was particularly struck by the excellent teamwork within
de Persgroep Nederland in the area of HR. Three
years after the acquisition there is a close Board
team, which became further completed with the
arrival of Erik Roddenhof. VNU Vacature Media
was smoothly integrated into the whole of the
group.’
RADIO AND TELEVISION ‘Our television and
radio activities resulted in some excellent work.
The TV brands maintained excellent viewing
figures in the long-anticipated new environment
with a fair amount of competition. Unfortunately, the TV operations had to deal with falling advertising revenue. Our radio brands once again
did very well in Belgium, while in the Netherlands we still had to deal with the aftermath of
the failure of the radio towers in July 2011.’
‘In addition to
the investments
in technology
the acquisition
of VNU Media
was also financed from the
cash flow’
FINANCIAL MEDIA ‘De Tijd and L’Echo
achieved circulation and readership growth
thanks to a successful further digitalisation of
the offering. Financial media is also leading in
this respect in Belgium.
In the context of declining turnover in a difficult economy it was important that we constantly monitored the costs structure in 2012. The
group continues to endeavour to achieve maximum operational efficiency in all processes.’
17
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET AFTER PROFIT-SHARING (in mio €)
2011
2012
- Intangible fixed assets
8,6
- Goodwill
198,3
- Tangible fixed assets
180,6
- Financial fixed assets
1,7
- Amounts receivable + 1 year 27,4
- Stocks
40,9
- Amounts receivable -1 year 162,7
- Available
115,2
- Deferred charges and
accrued income
12,7
10,9
228,9
163,1
2,9
23,2
38,5
157,4
112,4
ASSETS
Total
748,1
10,8
748,1
EVOLUTION CAPITAL / NET FINANCIAL
DEBT 2008-2012 (IN MIO €)
240
210
150
120
90
60
30
0
-30
-60
2008
2009
Capital
18
- Capital
- Minority interests
- Provisions
- Subordinated debts
- Long-term debt
Financial institutions
Leasing
Other
- Short-term debt
Financial debts
> 1 year payable
within one year
Other debts
> 1 year payable
within one year
Suppliers
Tax & social
Dividend
Other
- Accruals
Total
180
-90
LIABILITIES
2010
2011
2012
Net financial debt
2011
2012
235,3
84,5
38,5
4,0
53,5
45,7
0,2
7,6
233,6
236,1
88,5
40,6
3,0
39,1
32,8
0,1
6,2
236,0
18,7
13,0
3,8
123,1
62,6
25,0
0,3
98,6
3,2
132,2
66,4
20,0
1,3
104,7
748,1
748,1
EVOLUTION KEY FIGURES (in mio €)
150
120
90
60
30
0
2008
2009
ebitda
ebita
2010
2011
2012
Net current profit
Net profit
NET CURRENT PROFIT BREAKDOWN
(IN MIO €)
EBITDA BREAKDOWN
(IN MIO €)
150
150
120
120
90
90
60
60
30
30
0
0
2008
2009
2010
2011
Publishing activities
Total
2012
Audiovisual
2008
2009
2010
2011
Publishing activities
Total
2012
Audiovisual
The publishing business represents 80% of the
EBITDA, 20% comes from the audiovisual business
19
KEY FIGURES AND P&L ACCOUNTS (in mio €)
AUDIOVISUAL
PUBLISHING
ACTIVITIES
TOTAL
DE PERSGROEP
2011
2012
2011
2012
2011
2012
Operating income
- Turnover
- Other operating income
208,2
202,4
5,7
199,9
194,2
5,7
735,5
710,0
25,6
725,8
696,3
29,5
929,5
899,5
30,0
909,6
876,6
33,0
Operating charges
- Handelsgoederen/grondstoffen
- Services /Other goods
- Remunerations
- Depreciation
- Write-downs
- Provisions
- Other operating charges
-181,9
-57,7
-85,6
-33,2
-4,9
-0,2
0,3
-0,7
-180,4
-59,8
-82,5
-31,4
-4,9
-1,3
-0,1
-0,5
-654,5
-125,7
-301,2
-193,9
-29,1
-0,4
-1,9
-2,2
-658,5
-125,3
-297,6
-200,1
-27,4
-0,2
-6,5
-1,5
-822,1
-183,3
-372,7
-227,1
-33,9
-0,6
-1,6
-2,9
-822,8
-184,9
-364,2
-231,5
-32,2
-1,5
-6,6
-1,9
26,3
19,5
81,0
67,3
107,3
86,7
-5,1
-6,3
-32,3
-34,9
-37,4
-41,2
-5,1
-5,1
-25,5
-28,6
-30,6
-33,7
0,0
-0,0
0,5
-0,2
0,5
-0,2
Profit
before taxes
- Actual taxes
- Deferred taxes
21,2
-8,1
-0,7
13,2
-4,6
-0,5
49,2
-9,9
-11,5
32,2
-7,4
-11,6
70,4
-18,0
-12,2
45,4
-12,0
-12,2
Net profit
12,4
8,0
27,7
13,1
40,1
21,2
Equity-accounted
result
0,0
-0,1
0,1
0,0
0,1
-0,1
Share of minority
interests in result
0,0
0,0
-0,1
0,0
-0,1
0,0
12,4
8,0
27,7
13,2
40,1
21,1
Operating profit
Financial results
- including
Amortisation of goodwill
Extraordinary
results
Group share
in result
20
OVERVIEW CASH FLOW (in mio €)
150
120
90
60
30
0
-30
-60
-90
-120
-150
2008
2009
Operational
Investments
2010
2011
2012
Financing
Free cash flow
EVOLUTION OF OPERATING REVENUES (in mio €)
1200
900
600
300
0
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
21
CONSOLIDATED FINANCING TABLE (in mio €)
2011
2012
Operating profit (- loss)
- Depreciation of and amounts written off formation
expenses, intangible and tangible fixed assets
- amounts written down stocks, contracts in
progress & trade debtors
- Provisions for risks and charges
107,3
86,7
33,9
32,2
0,6
1,6
1,5
6,6
Operating cash flow
- Changes in stocks
- Changes in long-term amounts receivable
- Changes in short-term amounts receivable
- Changes in operating debts
- Changes in accruals and deferrals
143,4
3,2
0,3
2,3
11,8
-12,0
127,1
1,7
0,2
6,0
14,3
8,0
5,5
20,1
148,9
2,2
-5,7
147,2
2,2
-6,2
-3,5
-4,0
145,4
18,3
-17,8
143,1
15,5
-15,7
Extraordinary depreciation of and extraordinary amounts
written off formation expenses, and change in provisions
-17,8
-15,5
X. Taxes
XI. Transfer to postponed taxes
-30,3
12,2
-24,2
12,2
Variation in working capital requirement
Cash flow from business operations
of consolidated companies
- Financial income received
- Financial charges paid
Financial results
Operational cash flow for tax
VII. Extraordinary income
VIII. Extraordinary charges
Despite the declines in the P&L accounts
De Persgroep was still able to close the year
with a healthy balance sheet
22
CONSOLIDATED FINANCING TABLE (in mio €)
2011
2012
Extraordinary result and taxes
-35,4
-27,7
Operational cash flow after tax
110,1
115,5
-0,1
-22
-54,9
-16
Cash flow from investment activities
-22,1
-70,9
New loans
Repayments of loans
0
-24,9
0
-22,4
Dividend paid
-20,1
-25,0
Cash flow from financing activities
-45,0
-47,4
Net cash flow
Current investments
Liquid assets
42,9
66,7
48,5
-2,8
32,0
80,4
Cash position at end of period
Cash position at start of period
115,2
72,3
112,4
115,2
Change
42,9
-2,8
Acquisitions/disinvestments
Capex
23
Colophon
Concept & realisation Scripta Media
Published by Christophe
Convent
Editor-in-Chief Bart De Proost
Editorial Jan Bakker, Coos Kouwenhoven,
Tine Pâquet, Mieke van Poll, Jaak Smeets,
Birthe Verbruggen, Rennie Vernooij
Text Joost Bijlsma, Yvonne Dudock,
Lonneke Gillissen, Nicole Gommers,
Willem van Leeuwen, Nienke Oosterbaan,
Daniëlle Ponjé, Wilbert Schreurs, Ruud
Slierings, Fred Spek, Paula Vos, Riejanne
Wolswinkel
Proofreading Evelyn Jongman
Photography Vincent van Gurp,
Menno Kok, Timo Sorber
Lithography Grafimedia Amsterdam
Printing Drukkerij Roelofs
Concept & design
Juliette Carchedi, Naïm Niebuur
OUR MEDIA
CONTENTS
The Picture
Mr Rabbit (page 29),
JIM Mobile (page 33),
Dag Allemaal (page 35),
The best cartoons of 2012
(page 40)
--------The Story
125 years of Het Laatste Nieuws
(page 27), De Persgroep training
(page 28), The supplements of
Trouw and de Volkskrant (page 36),
WerkenbijdePersgroep.be
(page 34), TvBastards (page 39),
Newspaperswork (page 43),
De Persgroep events (page 44)
--------The Winners
Who won what in 2012?
(page 30)
26
125 YEARS OF HET LAATSTE NIEUWS
WE’VE ALWAYS BEEN
A PEOPLE’S PAPER
In honour of the jubilee,
King Albert and Queen
Paola visited Het Laatste
Nieuws in November last
year. Christian Van Thillo
mentioned to the Royal
Wim Verhoeven, Editor in Chief of
Het Laatste Nieuws about the anniversary
year:
‘W
hen you celebrate your
125th anniversary as a
newspaper you take a look
back. When the paper was founded in
1888 there was serious ‘compartmentalisation’. Newspapers were founded in
order to disseminate a specific religion or
political ideology, which is something we
specifically try to avoid these days. There is
however one feature of Het Laatste Nieuws
that we have continued to cherish. We are
and we remain a people’s paper, which is
precisely what our founder - Julius Hoste
- intended. He wanted “a reputable newspaper with a language that the man in
the street understands” – which HLN continues to be today as is demonstrated by
our readership. We have an unprecedented
large reach. Almost one in five Flemish
people encounter our paper every day –
highly and less-highly educated people,
young and old, male and female. And we
couple that he would
always have a job waiting
for them at De Persgroep.
have constantly grown over 15 years by
continuing to invest in our editorial staff,
both financially and as regards knowledge.
The previous Editors in Chief could almost
always be found in the editorial office
and not constantly busy representing the
brand on TV or in other media. Margot
Moeseke and I aim to continue that approach because it is only by constantly
driving for quality and investing in your
people that you are able to create a successful newspaper. What does the future
hold? Even more opportunities for serving
our readers. The online era offers us many
possibilities. A newspaper always has the
same number of pages but the Internet
is infinite and we want to put even more
effort into that in the next couple of years.
We want to ensure that the Internet and
newspaper editors start working more intensively together in order to position the
HLN brand perfectly.’ <<
27
LAUNCH OF CAMPUS DE PERSGROEP AND THE
MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
FIT FOR THE FUTURE
THANKS TO A TRAINING
BOOST
Discovering, developing and
capitalising on talent. That’s
what De Persgroep is about.
In the spring of 2012 that
became even more apparent
with the launch of the internal
Campus De Persgroep training
program and the Management
Development Program. So it’s
a return to school for the staff
at De Persgroep.
T
hese are turbulent times in the media world: the business, society and
technology are changing. ‘In the
training programs we are therefore covering topics that keep De Persgroep Board
awake at night – for example how we can
utilise new technology as a force for innovation’, says Bie de Graeve, Management
Development Program Director.
According to Iris Musschoot, Director of
Campus De Persgroep, the spirit of the
age has also changed. ‘Being rooted in a
single portfolio or function is no longer
appropriate these days. Everyone wants to
keep learning, improve and develop but
because of the high production tempo
there is little time left for catching up
with and refreshing knowledge. De Persgroep is now freeing up that time explicitly.’
TRAINING CONTENT__Campus De
Persgroep has been set up for chiefs, designers, photographers, editors-in-chief,
editors and contracted freelancers – the
chief editors select the participants. The
Campus aims to create smarter and bet-
28
Campus
De Persgroep
-----820 journalists took
part in one of the 33
workshops that took up
a total of 54 days.
There is space for
2,650 participants.
There are already
waiting lists for,
amongst other, the
‘Pitching ideas’ workshop.
Management
Development
Program
-----The pilot group, consisting of 33 experienced managers and
supervisors, will be
running through the
development program
which consists of 5
modules each lasting
2.5 days. Each module
focuses on a single
topic, for example the
future media business
model.
ter journalism via inspiring workshops
like “the personal interview” and ‘blue-sky
thinking’.
The Management Development Program
focuses on senior executives, managers
and supervisors. They learn to think and
decide at future Board level by formulating long-term strategies and by analysing
their position within the organisation.
MEASURABLE PROGRESS__‘A journalist who is sharper-eyed when it comes
to his or her style of writing, who creates
the right atmosphere in an interview and
who can quickly find a good reference
via Twitter - that shows progress’, says
Iris. She is seeing the professionalism
and quality within De Persgroep increasing thanks to the boost from the Campus. And the same applies for Bie: ‘For
example, Q-music Belgium has started
collaborating with its colleagues in the
Netherlands in order to fine tune the Qbrand values. We are seeing professionals
operate and work together more effectively.’ Growth remains the basic principle:
hierarchically, horizontally, personal and
professional. Iris believes that professional reflection is also important because
‘that’s how everyone rediscovers how
wonderful his or her profession is.’ <<
‘We are covering
topics that keep
De Persgroep
Board awake at
night’
SPECTACULAR SOLIDARITY CAMPAIGN BY Q-MUSIC BELGIUM
300.973,25 EURO
FOR THE
KINDERGELUK
CHARITY
P
lease meet Mr Rabbit, a cuddly toy
that belonged to Noa: a premature
baby who died after a two-month
struggle for life. Because Noa was no
longer able to explore the world for
herself Mr Rabbit did that for her. He
accompanied listeners to Lapland to
go ice-fishing, climbed Kilimanjaro
and was even allowed to go on tour
with the Backstreet Boys. The aim: to
raise funds for the charity Kindergeluk
vzw, the charity of De Persgroep. Kindergeluk helps deprived children in
Belgium. Mr Rabbit travelled 308,625
kilometres and air miles, which earned him 6,172 euro. Listeners managed
to raise 151,827 euro through rabbitfriendly events like selling carrot cakes
and the Flemish government donated
a further 50,000 euro. Q-music DJ Sven
Ornelis: ‘It was a fantastic initiative to
which we could contribute along with
all of the Flemish people. We never
expected that it would become so
big. The campaign has created a great
sense of solidarity in Flanders.’ At the
end of 2012 Q-music set up the Meneer
Konijn Steunfonds (Mr Rabbit Support
Fund). To be continued....
29
AWARDS WON BY DE PERSGROEP
AND THE
WINNER
IS...
Individual awards 2012
Who: Barbara Debusschere,
journalist De Morgen
In 2012 De Persgroep scooped a number of wonderful prizes, from Newspaper of the Year – shared
by Trouw and De Tijd – to winning the Homo Integration Prize. The winners about their prize-winning
publications.
who Henk Marseille, Art Director Trouw
what European Newspaper of the Year, the most important European
award in the field of newspaper concept and design.
why ‘Trouw presents in-depth news in a daily supplement. That appealed a great deal to the jury: they called it The Daily Weekly. In
addition, the reader sees what’s what at a single glance. Infographics
have become more image-defining and we present important topics
more extensively. For a year now, we’ve had Tijd and Letter & Geest at
the weekend – two non-glossy magazines with an unrivalled style.
They are dry-printed, as a result of which the quality of the images is
high, and the paper is brilliant white but rough. This package hit the
right note. Of the eleven jury members the majority didn’t speak any
Dutch but apparently it still stuck in their memory. The jury member
from Norway said that he was perhaps unable to read Trouw but wanted to look at it and leaf through it as soon as he saw it.’
who Frederik Delaplace, Editor De Tijd
what European Newspaper of the Year, the most important European
award in the field of newspaper concept and design.
why ‘With the restyling in 2012 we wanted to retain the reputation
of a business paper but break through the dreariness. In addition to
finding it useful, people also have to find it enjoyable to read De Tijd
<<
Won: press prize from the Belgian
Federal Council for Sustainable
Development (FRDO), for the extra
supplement ‘Klimaat Doha 2012’
[Doha Climate Change Conference
2012]
-------Who: Koen Vidal, journalist
De Morgen
Won: prize from the Filip Decock
Foundation for the series of interviews ‘Terug naar Congo’ [Return
to Congo]
-------Who: Tim Dirven, photographer
De Morgen
Won: second photo-journalism
prize during the Days Japan International Awards for a series
of photographs about the consequences of the climate change in
the Sahel
-------Who: Bas Soetenhorst, journalist
Het Parool
Won: M.J. Brusse Prize, for his
book Het wonder van de Noord/
Zuidlijn [The wonder of the North/
South Line]
--------
30
31
Who: Natasja de Groot and Leon
van Heel, journalists
Algemeen Dagblad
so the editorial and the design both have to be exciting. That’s why a
lot of attention is paid to the infographics. In addition, we don’t use
traditional graphs but we summarise the essence of stories visually,
which are more accessible than text and linger in the mind. We have
also changed over to the Berliner format, with which we create different reading rhythms: for readers in a hurry and for readers who
are less hurried. Lifted out quotes and highlights lead them through
the news. This is unique for a business newspaper. De Tijd is therefore
the first business newspaper that has won this prize. The thing I liked
most was that we were aspiring to achieve certain ambitions with the
restyling and that an international jury was able to identify this in
the newspaper spontaneously.’
who Sylvia Van Driessche, Editor-in-Chief of Joepie
what Homo Integration Prize
why ‘We receive a lot of letters from young people who are doubting
their inclination, or who for example have a homosexual brother. ‘In
addition to the Your gay best friend section, Joepie has been devoted
itself to articles about homosexuality for many years already. We recently also ran a feature on the 10 biggest misconceptions. It’s good
that this has now been recognised.’
who Wilbert de Vries, Editor-in-Chief of Tweakers
what Website of the Year
why ‘The internet public has judged on the basis of content, design,
navigation, quality and whether they would recommend us and it’s
wonderful that we came out on top. What is even better again is that
our community was the best this year. We have a loyal visitor group
of 3.9 million unique visitors per month and they are very important
to us.’
who Ilse Beyers, Editor-in-Chief of Dag Allemaal
what Inclusieve Griffel 2012
why ‘Inclusie Vlaanderen – the association for people with learning
disabilities – stated that Dag Allemaal allowed people with a disability
to tell their story with great dignity, which is precisely the aim of our
weekly section on life stories and so we regarded the choice as being
one of great honour. With previous winners such as Renate Dorrestein (who received the prize for her novel Is er hoop) and De Dwarsligger it is also a prestigious prize.’
who Olav Bongarts, Director of dPA Nederland
what De Persgroep Advertising, winner of the Adformatie Christmas Report
why ‘Our firm was voted best in the Daily Newspaper category, with
our staff being judged to be the most professional – a major compliment. Since 2009 we have scored well and each year we are ranked
better. The report represents recognition for our progressive and customer-focussed work and that we are on the right track! <<
Won: the Rotterdam Press Prize
2012, for their articles about the
Odfjell affair and other security
problems in the Port of Rotterdam
-------Who: An-Sofie Kesteleyn,
photographer de Volkskrant
Won: Zilveren Camera, first prize
in the portraits category, for ‘Images from the life of the Flemish
twin sisters Kimberly and Gwendolyn from last couple of years’
-------Who: Carel van der Velden and
Ellen van Gaalen, journalists
Algemeen Dagblad
Won: De Loep 2012, won in the
investigative journalism category
(VVOJ)
-------Who: Natalie Righton, journalist
de Volkskrant
Won: De Tegel, for reporting on
the police training mission in
Kunduz
-------Who: Stefaan Michielsen and Kris
Van Hamme, journalists De Tijd
Won: Persprijs Belfius [Press Prize]
for the article ‘Welkom in de
wereld van het grote geld’
-------Who: Bart Haeck en Lars Bové,
journalists De Tijd
Won: Citibank Persprijs for the
serie of six articles ‘Het geld van
de onderwereld’ [The money of
the underworld]
-------Who: Kris Van Haver, journalist
De Tijd
Won: Karel Van Miert-prijs for the
article ‘Haalt de eurozone paard
van Troje binnen?’ [Is the eurozone letting in the horse of Troy?]
-------Who: Frédéric Rohart, journalist
L’Echo
Won: the Prix E. Davignon for
the article ‘Aide européenne à la
mondialisation: Flandre 19 millions, Wallonie zéro euro’ [Help
given to the European globalization: Flanders 19 million, Wallonia nil euro] zéro euro’
32
--------
JIM MOBILE’S SUCCESSFUL ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN
RECOGNITION
THROUGH FUN
An advertising spot in which a horse pulls teenagers
from a boring lesson in order to go on a road trip.
A digital graffiti wall in phone shops where young
people can design a T-shirt. And a ‘spank the ponyrace’ at student events. All of these were events that
are part of the most successful JIM Mobile campaigns
ever: Born free and De Max. Born free was for Jim
Mobiles PostPaid product and resulted in 18,522 new
subscriptions. De Max, a chimpanzee who can send
unlimited text messages to all of his animal friends
placed the pay-as-you-go products in the spotlight: in
2012 there were 141,838 new customers; 20% more
than in 2011. The reason for this success? Tatjana Vandenplas, Brand & Communication Manager: ‘We
undertook an extensive brand and product exercise
together with KPN which resulted in the JIM Mobile
brand book. That helped us align our products better
with the needs and user experience of young people
because JIM Mobile’s communication has to be clear,
transparent and, above all, fun!’
33
LAUNCH OF THE JOBSITE FOR DE PERSGROEP PUBLISHING
WERKENBIJDEPERSGROEP.BE
Staff are the De Persgroep’s greatest asset and the
same applies to De Persgroep Publishing. Staff are
mainly attracted to this business sector via digital
media. In 2012 we launched the jobsite www.
werkenbijdepersgroep.be for this purpose. The response has been very enthusiastic and the quality
of the candidates is better than ever.
Measurable
success
Director HR Hans de Graef, his HR team and the Internal Communication Unit were in at the launch of
the new jobsite.
What had to change? __‘The generation of staff that are now joining us
are “digital natives”. They regularly use and are deft at using smartphones, they are used to interaction and have a strong focus on images. The new website capitalises on this better via a dynamic layout,
interaction possibilities and video clips.’
De kandidaat
__ Christophe
Vermeeren started
What’s unique about the new jobsite? __‘The dynamic tone of the texts
and the video clips are praised the most’, says Hans. ‘With its layout
and the content, the site emphasised the values of De Persgroep: passion, entrepreneurship, ambition, integrity and editorial independence. This makes the site a showpiece within our “employer branding”
and that is also continued in all other recruitment media such as
advertisements and at job fairs.’
at De Persgroep
on 20 February
2013 as Account
Manager Magazines.
‘I discovered the
jobsite via the ge-
Does the new website attract better candidates? __Hans: ‘We are seeing an
increase in the quantity and quality of the candidates. The jobsite
radiates well what we expect of our people and what it means to work
at De Persgroep. As a result of that we are finding candidates who
have an even better fit with the positions and with the business culture. The site also provides greater clarity about the work placement
options. A recent successful example of that was at De Morgen, where
three students were offered a job following their work placements.’
neral website of De
Persgroep. It’s very
well-organised and
gives a good spatial
feel. It was nice to
watch a number
of videos and that
gave me a better
insight into the
What’s the next step? __‘Although the site is very robust we’ll always
continue to optimise. Where De Persgroep develops further then we’ll
also translate this in the jobsite, both as regards content and technically, for example by deploying new mobile possibilities.’ <<
company and the
application procedure. The passion
and the dynamics
expressed on the
jobsite were an
extra incentive for
me to apply.’
34
-----www.werkenbijdepersgroep.be has been live
since 28 September
2012.
-----The jobsite attracts
an average of 2,750
unique visitors and
achieves 17,000 page
views per month.
-----Previously the jobsite
consisted of a page on
the general website,
which achieved 3,200
page views per month.
-----The jobsite is by far
the most important
channel for recruiting
new staff.
-----In 2012 De Persgroep
took on a total of 40
new staff who had applied via the jobsite.
OUR MEDIA
AD.NL SEES CONSTANT
INCREASE IN VISITOR
NUMBERS
T
his is AD.nl. Not just any old news site. It was the
fastest growing website of De Persgroep in 2012. In
November, AD.nl achieved an average of 564,000
unique visitors per day; 100,000 more than the year before. The news coverage about the European Championships fiasco and Friso’s skiing accident attracted many
visitors. However, peak numbers of visitors were achieved
with articles about lawyer Moszkowicz’ potential striking
off and the fatal shooting of Rishi by the police at a train
station in The Hague. The reason for that was not just
the increase in mobile Internet and tablet use because
in February AD also launched its new website. ‘This site
looks better, can be more easily found by search engines
thanks to updated technology and content and, above
all, because we have started the dialogue with our readers’, explains Joris Timmers, Online Marketing Manager. ‘In addition to being able to share articles via social
media, readers can now also see which of their online
friends have rated which articles. And via the reader’s
poll they can indicate whether they found an article to
be disheartening or heart-warming, for example. That’s
catching.’ <<
THE GREAT LUCKY EDITION OF
DAG ALLEMAAL
A
228-page Dag Allemaal was to be found on the shelves in
November 2012. It was the Big Happy Edition. In the foreword the editorial team explained that the Flemish people
had not had it easy: the plans to close Ford Genk, the release of Michelle Martin, the coach disaster in Switzerland. Through this edition of the paper they were able to escape, briefly, from the harsh
reality. Editor-in-Chief Ilse Beyers: ‘We wanted to create a moment
of relief and to offer hope - to bring an end to lonely times of crisis.
“Together we can make a difference”, was the baseline. So that’s
why we produced an edition in which readers could help each
other, find a job or offer comfort. For example, one reader made a
lamp for a disabled child who needed light therapy. Our readers
empathised with other people’s happiness and adversity. For us,
this edition confirmed that our readers are an active community
who can and want to make a difference for each other. Empathy is
the core business of our paper and that’s why people read it.’
35
NEW SUPPLEMENTS FOR DE VOLKSKRANT AND TROUW
SUPER-SMART
RAWNESS
‘With Vonk we wanted to create a new
section in de Volkskrant with space for
in-depth journalism and interesting essays and opinions. For a long time we
searched for the ideal form and content,
in many variants. Initially Vonk was to
appear in a luxury Berliner format but
later we decided to incorporate it into
the newspaper, as a result of which it has
to become newsier and less stylised.’
Art Director Rigtje Hehenkamp: ‘It’s a sign if the content of a section doesn’t allow itself to be shaped immediately. Good content finds its form immediately.
The turning point was the arrival of the chief, Kustaw
Bessems. He clearly formulated Vonk’s purpose: if you
don’t have time during the weekend to read everything
then you really don’t want to miss this section. The articles have to add something to the daily news flow and
have to reveal the deeper layers. Vonk is a section that’s
allowed to be raw – it doesn’t have to be beautiful. Every
spread has to provoke - in form, illustration and text.
It does not contain articles whereby the reader has to
think what is intended, they are super-smart articles,
presented in a different way - precisely what the chief
editors were looking for. It seems to appeal particularly
to the younger reader.’
What: Vonk
-----Number of pages: 16
-----When: Vonk appears every Saturday with daily
newspaper de Volkskrant.
-----Target group: Readers who want to know more,
who want in-depth and in so doing are not
afraid of something unexpected.
-----Extra: When we have a good idea for something
different then Vonk appears as a special. An
example of this was: the unprecedented
level of interactions via social media.
And coming soon: the three interesting main
players in football competitions.
36
‘Good content
finds its form
immediately’
PAPER PLAYGROUND
‘We already know that a magazine
reads differently than a newspaper. But I
never expected that subscribers to Trouw
would experience Letter & Geest as something completely new’, says Lodewijk
Dros, chief at Letter & Geest. The Tijd
supplement is indeed new, with perception-focussed journalism. Fortunately it
found its own tone immediately: personal
and lively.
‘As regards writers it was experimental. It was like
being in the kitchen, trying out new ingredients. Sometimes you think ‘wonderful’ and other times ‘never
again’. Then a column stops or you choose a different
writer. The magazine format is fantastic but text lengths were more flexible in the old format. Now, if we
change something around, everything has to shift immediately. And what causes me concern are the advertisements. It’s only just enough. It’s inexplicable.
As the producers of Letter & Geest and Tijd we have
gained self-confidence: it’s going well, which is in part
thanks to the response. Even just this morning: “My
husband and I think it’s wonderful. You can stay!” That
is an invitation to think up new genres, new topics.
The magazines are a paper playground and that’s a
compliment to the business: they dare to do what we
only dare to dream of doing.’
‘As regards
writers it was
experimental.
It was like
being in the
kitchen, trying
out new ingredients’
What: Tijd and Letter & Geest
-----Number of pages: 40 pages each
-----When: Tijd and Letter & Geest appear every
Saturday as magazine supplements with the
daily newspaper Trouw.
-----Target group: Tijd has the subtitle: Living
and doing; Letter & Geest: For readers and
thinkers.
-----Extra: The magazines are not glossy magazines: they are printed on newsprint. The image
quality is higher than a normal newspaper
thanks to advanced printing techniques (dry
printing which is environmentally friendly).
37
DE PERSGROEP EVENTS
SEEING FOR
YOURSELF
Working with advertisers and media and advertising agencies is of vital
importance for De Persgroep. In order to maintain good contact with this
group we organise events like the Advertiser’s Summit and the Vlaamse Media Maatschappij (VMMa) presentations.
TWO DAYS FULL OF
INSPIRATION__Last year De Persgroep
Advertiser’s
Summit Nederland
-----Venue: Hilton Hotel,
Antwerp
Participants: 210
Date: 7 & 8 June 2012
Theme: Cool
Competition
Advertiser’s
Summit België
-----Venue: Glasgow,
Scotland
Participants: 145
Date: 6 & 7
September 2012
Theme: (re)invent
or die
VMMa spring and autumn
presentations
-----Venue: VMMa
Vilvoorde
Participants: 800
When: 24 August 2012
Theme: See it here!
38
Nederland organised the third Advertiser’s Summit. Dideke van Lieshout, B2B
Marketing & Communication Manager at
De Persgroep Nederland: ‘We invite the
decision-makers at our largest advertisers,
media and advertising agencies to a twoday summit. Last year we travelled from
the Netherlands to the Hilton Hotel in
Antwerp, where everything was themed
around Cool Competition which referred
to the super summer of sport in 2012. There was also substance to the summit with,
for example, different speakers answering
the question about how to become market
leader in the current market and how you
can change the competition. In Scotland a
number of very well-known speakers shed
light on the theme (re)invent or die from
three sides: the economic, the futuristic
and from our own stable. We aim to inspire
people over two days, to get them thinking
and to convey our passion for media. But
we also pamper our guests a lot. The ultimate aim is to make advertisers and media
agencies enthusiastic about our media and
brands and to enter into long-term relationships with them because advertisers are
vital for our continued existence.’
BIGGEST MEDIA EVENT IN FLANDERS__The VMMa autumn presentation
is one of the biggest media-events in Flanders. Ben Jansen, Commercial Director:
‘We are a major commercial media company in Flanders. During the autumn
presentation we take the opportunity to
show advertisers and media and advertising agencies what we will be broadcasting on TV in the forthcoming season.
But what it’s actually about is the experience. Experience it here is the baseline of
VTM. Last year we dressed various rooms
in our building to reflect the mood of our
stations, there was a full range of entertainment and our guests were surprised
in all kinds of ways. We wanted everyone
to leave the building with the thought:
“We feel good about the VMMa brands
and people. I’m happy to continue our
partnership.” I think we were successful
in achieving that and the responses were
very positive. We kept the spring presentation somewhat more intimate, emphasised the ‘feel’ more and thanked our
commercial partners for their confidence
in us. It’s important to do that – certainly
these days!’ <<
ESTABLISHMENT OF INTERNAL PRODUCTION HOUSE TV-BASTARDS
A BREEDING
GROUND FOR
CREATIVE TALENT
TvBastards - a haven for TV talent – was set up in September 2012.
The aim? To make top-quality programmes for the various VMMa
brands. Guy Goedgezelschap, General Manager, tells us about the role
of this umbrella production house.
WHAT IS TVBASTARDS? __‘We are actually a home
and breeding ground for creative talent. Embracing and
stimulating creativity is at the heart of the policy of TvBastards. For example, we have a number of internal production cells, which we call labels, such as Studio-A, Shelter,
Operatie Koekoek and De Beeldradio, which are responsible for their own ideas and productions. With the growth
in the number of labels there was a need for an umbrella
organisation, certainly when it came to legal, budget and
structural areas. By setting up the TvBastards umbrella
we are better able to manage, support and coach where
necessary. Each of the various labels retains its own approach and specialism – their own DNA. That is the power of
TvBastards.’
WHAT IS YOUR AMBITION?__‘The main reason
for setting this up was to offer TV talent an enjoyable
and secure haven, combined with production expertise. And that works – this environment stimulates
our people and provides the space for further talent
development. A second ambition arises from that
spontaneously, namely the making of top-quality programmes for the various VMMa brands. By “relieving”
the labels as much as possible, they are able to utilise
their artistic talents to the full and focus completely
on their core task: the development and production
of successful programmes. That job may sound simple but it’s not always easy to do.’
AND WHAT ABOUT GROWTH?__‘Growth in
absolute turnover figures is not in itself an ambition
but growth in high-quality productions is. By keeping
the labels small they remain versatile, flexible and
are able to capitalise on trends more quickly. In their
own environment they can develop step-by-step,
within realistic budgetary parameters. The more
concentrated and more focused they can work on
that the higher the quality of the output. And that is
growth in itself.’
WHAT’S YOUR ROLE IN ALL OF THIS?__‘I actually have to ensure that TvBastards is an attractive
umbrella under which creativity and diversity within the labels and their productions can and may be
the most important. On the one occasion I may be a
plumber and on another a care provider. As long as
the labels are able to develop in a creative environment and see added value in our approach and our
“in house” production expertise, then I will have
played my role.’
WHY THE NAME TVBASTARDS?__‘That name
is a wink to our successful TV programme Benidorm
Bastards from the Shelter label. That success, the
unique feel of that programme, is what we hope to
convey to the outside world via our name.’ <<
‘One time I’m a
plumber, the
next time a
carer’
39
Six cartoonists
from De Persgroep stable
about which selfdrawn cartoon
they remember
the most
THE BEST
CARTOONS
OF 2012
Hein de Kort
provides the Piet en Riet cartoon for Het
Parool.
Publication: 10 April 2012
‘I have no idea whatsoever what makes
a good cartoon. I don’t want a formula. I
only have one critic and that’s me. For me
a cartoon is good if it surprises me, if it
makes me laugh. A smile is not enough.
This cartoon represents my fight with
the church. Don’t get me wrong, I think
it’s excellent if people believe but we are
growing up with religion without thinking about it and we automatically assume
the existence of a god. In my opinion
that’s far too easy.’
Peter de Wit
draws the cartoon Sigmund for de Volkskrant.
Publication: 13 July 2012
‘I don’t have a favourite cartoon. I’m always curious about
the cartoon that I’ll be drawing tomorrow. What appeals
to me about this cartoon are the children talking as if they
are adults. My cartoons have to be visually appealing but
they are particularly focussed on text. Humour is leading,
though I do endeavour to express my opinion. Without
an opinion a cartoon is interchangeable. But at the same
time it must not become tiresome. It’s clear that I find the
increase in the pension age a joke and in any case I’ll keep
going until I’m 80!’
40
Erik Meynen
draws daily political cartoons in Het Laatste Nieuws.
Publication: 21 June 2012
‘This cartoon summarises what Belgian politics was all about during
the previous year: politician Bart De Wever and his N-VA party were at
the heart of the debate. I like to satirise politicians by turning them
into cartoon characters but the stories are always about the reality.
Commenting on politics is my trade. I don’t just want to make readers laugh; I also want them to start thinking about how absurd politics can be.’
Kamagurka
daily topical cartoons for
Het Laatste Nieuws.
Publication: 9 February 2012
‘Whereas journalists have to convey the
news objectively, as a cartoonist I have
the freedom to question it. The topical
themes that I select for my drawings are
topics that I personally like to discuss and
think about and for which I am trying to
understand the situation. In a funny but
clear way I endeavour to communicate
those thoughts to the newspaper reader.
You see how simple it can be with the
crisis in Greece.’
41
‘There’s no cartoon that I remember the
most – I draw too many for that every day.
However, the absurd state of mind I was
in when drawing this cartoon is definitely
my favourite. As the years pass I lose more
and more sense of reality. Sometimes my
ideas are far-out, sometime they are a direct distortion of the news. Here too they
are not based on current affairs and are
just crazy ‘Stamgasten’. My work doesn’t
have vision or depth, let alone a message. I draw my cartoons in a mist and
have no idea what I’m up to. Well, what
can I say? It seems to work.’
Toon van Driel
draws the De Stamgasten and FC Knudde
cartoons for the het Algemeen Dagblad.
Publication: 12 August 2012
Marec (Marc De Cloedt)
draws cartoons for Dag Allemaal.
Publication: 23 October 2012
‘Maybe it’s naive to think that everything
was better in the past but I loathe the
world of negativity in which we now live.
In my cartoons I try to warn people: we
are bound by so many rules, there are nicer things in life. One week Emmanuelle
(Sylvia Kristel) died, and Bart De Wever
won the Antwerp local council elections.
The 1970s, a wonderful time of freedom,
humanity and passion ended symbolically and a period of nationalism and coldness was heralded in. Horrendous.’
42
MARKETING ORGANISATION NEWSPAPERSWORK DEDICATED TO THE PAPERS
THE POWER
OF PAPERS
Making the impact of the newspaper more noticeable is a real necessity according to Geert Spapen.
Together with all of the other Belgian publishers, he
was at the launch of Newspaperswork, a marketing
platform that throws itself into the breach to promote newspapers.
The advertiser
T
ogether with Newspaperswork,
Geert Spapen – Commercial Director De Persgroep Advertising – aims
to emphasise the added value of the
newspaper and to restore respect for its
strategic leadership within the marketing
mix of advertisers. ‘Newspapers are unique. They create awareness and response
and they are true conversation starters.
Moreover, the reader does not just discuss
the news of the day but also the commercial messages. In that influential reach
the newspaper is indeed unique: the campaigns are positioned literally between
the news reports!’’
ROOF, DON’T PROMISE__Newspaperswork underpins the power of papers
via presentations, individual contacts and
the website. It publishes correct figures
and applies best practices. Geert: ‘From
this year on our focus is on five sectors:
automotive, banking and insurance, retail, telecoms and energy. For each sector
we present cases, we investigate and we
-----Walter Torfs, Head of Branding, Communications & Quality BNP Paribas-Fortis,
was one of the three marketing professionals in
the limousine. ‘That’s how
I got to know about Newspaperswork from close by.
When I saw the film clip I
was amazed. I was reading
and I didn’t see anything
of what they had been up
to.’ Torfs believes in the
importance of print in the
advertising mix. ‘Newspapers strengthen this mix
and provide credibility.
After all, people trust
the newspapers, they have a
bond with them.’ According
to Torfs, Newspaperswork
is a necessary initiative.
‘There aren’t hundreds of
firms like us with an advertising department but
there are thousands of
small firms that also want
a good mix and can use all
of the help available to
achieve that.’
give practical tips about aspects that really work.’ Every now and again we have
to shout out believes Geert. The stunt
from the New Year reception of the Belgian Advertisers Association was unique
to say the least. ‘People who read a newspaper become fully engrossed and don’t
see what’s going on around them. To
prove this we secretly filmed three of the
people nominated for Marketing Professional of the Year. They were picked up by
a limo and on their way to the reception
they had the opportunity to become engrossed in the papers of that day. Because
of the power of the papers they absolutely
didn’t notice the people on fire, the bear
in a convertible and an Indian on a Harley as they drove on.’ Result: 330,000 hits
on YouTube and an advertising stunt in
the media world. <<
‘Newspapers are
unique. They create
awareness and
response, and are
true conversation
starters’
43
CROSS-MEDIA SOLUTIONS FROM
MEDIALAB AND COMMUNITY
THE RIGHT
MESSAGE IN
THE RIGHT FORM
Advertising revenues are declining, however, advertisers are keen to use the cross-media solutions
offered by Medialab in the Netherlands and Community in Belgium. The secret: stop thinking about
a single medium and start thinking about a single,
integrated approach. Or, stop selling space and
start selling solutions.
I
n addition to print and online,
Medialab is the third cell of the De
Persgroep Advertising in the Netherlands. It does what Community
has been doing in Belgium since
2008: drawing up unique, cross-media
communication ideas, whereby the
brands and media of De Persgroep are
utilised in the most optimum way. ‘We
regard ourselves as a kind of internal advertising agency’, says Olav Bongarts, the
person who carries ultimate responsibility for Medialab. ‘Clients no longer need
to shop at all of our media separately,
like they had to do in the past. They tell
us what they want and we ensure that
the right message is distributed in the
right channels in the right creative form.
Every request from an advertiser results
in a new and unique concept. Everything
is possible - from integrated reader campaigns to branded content. In order to
elaborate our ideas we have a direct line
to all of the other departments. If a concept needs it, they all contribute towards
making it a success.’
OUTSIDE OF THE BOX__Ruth Steven, Business Manager at the five-year-old
Community, who was involved in setting
44
up Medialab: ‘What we are doing is going
a step further than traditional advertising. We always start from an idea and
then look at how best to use the in-house
tools we have at our disposal. We do that
in two ways at Community. We execute
orders from advertisers but we also look
at what the market needs and we develop
products or projects to meet those needs.
The client and our readers have to benefit
from all of that. In Belgium this has resulted in, amongst other things, the national NINA day, the Goed Gevoel fair and
the NINA fashion collections, as well as
a magazine for and by students that was
inserted in De Morgen and distributed on
campuses.’ Medialab hasn’t quite gone
that far outside of the box - yet. Olav:
‘That’s definitely a possibility for the future. We’ve only been going for one and a
half years, but we’re already very popular,
not in the least because the people in the
organisation fully understand the added
value that Medialab can create. After all,
what we are doing is introducing a new
integrated business model into the market - the future of advertising.’ <<
OUR PEOPLE
CONTENTS
The Vision
The positive path of de Volkskrant
(page 47), The strategy of De
Morgen (page 52), The digital
revolution called Media ID (page
53)
--------Long term
VTM back to its roots (page 48),
Teamwork in newspaper distribution (page 50), The reader as
the point of departure (page 54),
VNU Vacature Media (page 60),
Media Futures Forum (page 62)
--------The Female Vision
The 7 female Editors-in-Chiefs at
De Persgroep (page 56)
46
PHILIPPE REMARQUE_Editor-in-Chief
de Volkskrant
AND NOW
ONLINE
FOR REAL
De Volkskrant is going to place all of its content online. This
is the way to maintain the loyalty of existing readers and to
attract new readers, says Editor-in-Chief Philippe Remarque.
‘Those who do business sensibly in the world of papers
have to expand their online presence enormously.’
I
t’s a terrible pity that the work of de Volkskrant editorial team remain largely hidden for people who do
not wish to read a printed newspaper. On the current free news site readers only get to see 5% at the
very most of what the editorial team produces. Philippe: ‘Many existing readers do not wish to receive
a printed newspaper every day but they are still interested in our copy. The site also attracts 250,000 visitors each
day and many of them are not subscribers. For those people
we want to make our quality journalism more easily accessible digitally.’
THE READER CHOOSES__The programme is called
‘Volkskrant Plus’ and combines quality journalism with the
functionalities of the Internet. The whole of the paper will
be going online, and not as a PDF as is currently the case,
but as a site on which the readers themselves can choose
what they do and don’t want to buy. For example, there
will be a culture site with a handy app and ordering service
which readers can visit and decide, on the basis of reviews,
whether a book, film or concert is something for them.
SMALLER FISH__This service is free for subscribers and
non-subscribers will pay for each section purchased. The
precise way in which this will work is partly still under investigation says Philippe: ‘We have to discover how far we
can take it but I think people are willing to pay for information especially if you don’t have to buy the entire copy in
one go. The fact is that we can use this to retain subscribers
who don’t want to pay for the complete newspaper and to
attract new target groups. The New York Times has also succeeded in attracting new readers who initially only obtained
free news from the Internet but who were willing to pay for
it with an online model like this. They are small fish in a big
pond but it’s also important that we focus on them as well.’
If one is successful in getting this digital concept off the
ground then an enormous pool of opportunities presents itself,
which the paper straightjacket is lacking: ‘You can link all of
the qualities of the Internet to your editorial work: personalise
the offering, share information via social media, enrich news
with images and websites and deliver real-time updates. If we
make login and payment easy we can achieve greater loyalty
from our existing and new readers, which is of course in addition to the large group that still prefers a printed paper.’ <<
47
CEO PETER BOSSAERT (LEFT) EN CCO ERWIN DECKERS _Vlaamse
Media Maatschappij
VTM RETURNS TO ITS ROOTS
MAKING GOOD
TELEVISION
In 2012 a substantial investment in brand and content was made in
commercial family station VTM. The new point on the horizon must
ensure that the station retains its own face and secures its role as
commercial market leader.
W
ith the appointment of CEO Peter Bossaert and
CCO Erwin Deckers at the Vlaamse Media Maatschappij (VMMa) at the beginning of 2012, VTM –
with the 2BE, Vitaya, JIM and VTMKzoom channels
in its wake – returned to its roots: making good television.
Peter: ‘With the arrival of SBS in Belgium VTM is faced with
an additional formidable competitor. For us this was a reason
to ask the question: how healthy are our TV brands and in
particular how is it with our mother ship VTM? We noticed
that there as a lack of focus, maybe even a small amount of
desperation. In addition to making TV programmes, all sorts of
secondary activities had been brought into existence, such as
e-commerce and musical projects and we had become involved
in film distribution. The profit from these activities was zero;
we didn’t have the skills to make them profitable. Even worse –
they interfered with our core business: making and marketing
TV and radio content. When that’s the case then it’s not so difficult to say goodbye to it.’
Peter and Erwin, who earned their spurs at, amongst others,
Q-music, immediately targeted the marketing strategy.
Peter: ‘First and foremost, VTM has to be a recognisable
broadcast station, for both the viewer and for the staff. We
want to be a station that focuses on entertainment which oozes
quality. It’s not so much a new profile but a fine tuning of the
DNA that is present in VTM from way back.’
Erwin: ‘If you focus on trying to achieve quick success, which
is what VTM did, then you are choosing to follow a short-term
vision. This involves the risk that you start to confuse the viewer, who no longer knows what to expect. It’s also a given fact
that short-term vision is almost always at the expense of quality. In our brands strategy we have therefore specifically opted
for the long term – for quality and identity, to connect with the
consumer.’
‘IS THIS ENJOYABLE FOR THE VIEWER?’__The duo
defined a number of new core values for VTM, the two most important of which are: entertainment and respect for the viewer.
Erwin: ‘We are delivering honest television that does justice to
48
the viewer who, after a day at work, wants to put his or her feet
up. All of the programme makers at VTM are now doing their
work with in the backs of their minds the thought: what does
the viewer expect? Is this enjoyable for the viewer? We are not
delivering any ridiculing television, however trendy that may
be.’
BALANCED MIX__That new approach of course has consequences for the programmes that VTM presents, but also for
the programming which, in principle, was already agreed.
Peter: ‘A number of programmes were no longer covered
by the new core values and where it was still possible we discontinued them in 2012. Oh oh Cherso is one example. We also
opted for ‘identity’ by adding new programmes to a number of
existing successful formats and in that way creating a balanced
mix of fiction, show and entertainment.’
Erwin: ‘Fiction series like Clan and Deadline 14/10 which were
fortunately ready for broadcasting were a success. In September
we launched Belgium’s Got talent. We took a risk with Manneke
Paul and it’s great that it worked out well. Paul de Leeuw is
often controversial but his programme has been highly appreciated. In the broadcast schedules for 2013 we have applied a
clear alternation in proven successful formats from abroad and
from our own productions. More than 50% is new, home-grown
content and there’s also another new fiction series ready… Zuidflank.
CHALLENGING__With the arrival of SBS, VMMa is engaged
in the battle for advertising revenue.
Peter: ‘That’s correct but in that battle we’ll be working entirely on the basis of our own power and our own direction.
We’re not going to start counter-programming or anything like
that. The arrival of the ambitious SBS has focused us but for me
that was exactly the nice challenge for me to become involved.’
Erwin: ‘Absolutely. The competition is the reason why we are
here. It was predicted that VTM could go under with the arrival
of SBS. That was a very attractive reason for us to fight VTM’s
corner. We’ve never regretted it for a second.’ <<
The ‘old’ and ‘new’ VTM:
three differences
-----Clear focus on
entertainment
-----No more ridiculing
television
-----More variation in
formats and programme
schedules
49
GERDA VAN DER POEL_Director
of De Persgroep Distributie
‘DELIVERING
NEWSPAPERS IS NOT
A COMPETITION
FACTOR, WE
COMPETE ON
EDITORIAL CONTENT’
Why does a separate newspaper roundsman deliver to the
same street for each publisher? Distribution is not a distinct
competition factor and can be achieved more efficiently
through collaboration, but this isn’t a painless process.
I
n 2012 De Persgroep Nederland, Telegraaf Media Groep, Koninklijke Wegener and the Noordelijke Dagblad Combinatie expressed the intention to work together nationally on
newspaper distribution and to set up a single joint Dutch
newspaper distribution business. As Director of De Persgroep
Distributie, Gerda van der Poel has been closely involved in the
implementation of this. ‘In the Netherlands there are still four
active distributors who partly overlap each other. For example, on
occasions two roundsmen deliver to the same street. Newspaper
circulations are declining and the pressure on costs is increasing. If
you combine the distribution the cost savings can be substantial: for
all of the newspapers it results in the lowest delivery costs per copy.
Delivery is not a competition factor - the publishers compete with
each other on editorial content.’
In order to achieve a fast initial gain the existing distribution
networks are being used for the morning papers, explains Gerda.
‘For each district we look at which distributor has the highest circulation volume. The party with the largest volume takes over the
volume from the party with the lower volume and takes care of the
local transport, distribution and delivery. In this way the roundsman receives more newspapers in his bag for delivery to the same
district. In the event of a major increase in volume we reorganise
the district structure so that subscribers continue to receive their
newspapers on time.’
‘The people that we have had to let go as a result of this development are informed a number of months in advance. Some of them
have been working for us for 20 or 30 years now and on occasion
we have received some very distressed responses. That hurts but we
don’t have any choice. This collaboration is necessary in order to be
able to continue home delivery in the years to come.’ <<
Kees den Otter, roundsman in Spijkenisse: ‘I worked as a roundsman for De Telegraaf
and in August 2012 the newspapers of De Persgroep were added. Previously I had the entire district
of Schenkel to myself. That’s now been divided into three areas, one of which is mine. It means
more newspapers but I’m finished quicker. And it’s more enjoyable: in the past it was grab the
papers and off on the round but now there’s time for a cup of coffee and a chat.’
50
51
YVES DESMET & BRECHT DECAESTECKER_Editors-in-Chief
De Morgen
DE MORGEN
Since the end of 2012 De Morgen has been headed up by a new
duo: Yves Desmet, who was also Editor-in-Chief at the daily paper
from 1994 to 2001, and Brecht Decaestecker. A ‘senior’ and a
‘junior’ who are together building the revamped De Morgen.
YVES: ‘Our instruction is to make the paper more original,
to add value and to monitor the quality.’
Brecht: ‘The paper’s content has to be taken to a higher level.
We want to create a young, fresh, quality urban newspaper that
swings - one that is creative and which approaches things from
surprising angles. We can make very clear choices in this because we know precisely who we want to reach.’
Yves: ‘De Morgen is the paper for the young city folk. For people who reside in, work in, love and believe in the city and who,
despite all of the problems in the city, find it nicer to live in the
city than amongst the cows in the countryside.’
Brecht: ‘Actually, we have to go back to the paper’s roots but
adapt it to the modern world. In the past De Morgen was popular because it regularly grasped hold of a number of dossiers
and opened up the social debate, which was in part due to a
number of critical journalists who were able to investigate and
articulate things very well.’
Yves: ‘Another modern-day adaptation is that we are heading
up the paper together. Heading up a newspaper has become so
all-embracing that it is almost no longer possible for one person to do it alone. You have to produce the paper but you also
52
have to maintain contact with marketing, the Board of Directors, legal affairs department and the outside world. Brecht
undertakes the day-to-day production of the paper and I keep
an eye on strategy and represent the paper externally.’
BRECHT: ‘It works very well because we complement,
speak the same language and understand each other without
too many words needing to be exchanged. Yves is more of the
strategist and I’m a go-getter.’
Yves: ‘We certainly complement each other in a number of
areas and so we are able to keep an eye on each other’s blind
spots. We are from different generations, have completely different areas of interest and, as a result of that, we also have different sensitivities. Sometimes that leads to lively discussions but
it also results in a more exciting newspaper.’
Brecht: ‘The fact that the weekend paper was good was already beyond question. The daily newspaper is now also heading in the right direction and we are receiving positive feedback from the market.’
Yves: ‘It’s still too early to draw conclusions but after years of
slow decline we are seeing the number of papers sold stabilise
and we’ve only been involved for three months.’ <<
Media ID
‘MEDIA ID IS
NOTHING LESS
THAN A DIGITAL
REVOLUTION’
Having to keep logging back into
news media websites every time
you want to read more than just
the headlines - that’s the reality in
2013. It’s madness but with Media
ID this is a thing of the past - forever. Readers can login once to
access all Flemish digital media
until the end of times - a media revolution from Belgium. The outside
world is watching with interest.
U
ncontrolled frustration about the userunfriendliness of digital media – and not
excluding the websites of De Persgroep
– inspired Managing Editor Hans Deridder, one of the founding fathers of Media
ID: ‘Which button on the news websites is
the most used? Exactly, it’s the ‘forgotten
password?’ button. The paper media of De Persgroep are exceptionally user-friendly but the same doesn’t apply to the digital
equivalents. On the websites the customer is taken hostage by
the IT specialist who doesn’t regard user-friendliness as being of
paramount importance.’
END TO ONLINE TINKERING__Hans: ‘Media ID is ensuring that De Persgroep is prepared for a future in which digital
consumption keeps increasing. The customer can surf frustration-free. In addition to De Persgroep, other leading publishers
and television groups have also come together in the collaboration project. The fact that so many parties have united in Media
ID is of major importance. Publishers are not protected volleyball pitches – we need each other in the war against declining
advertising revenues and in order to win the goodwill of the
consumer. Media companies have to support each other and
that’s why we have to bring an end to online tinkering.
Media ID is currently in the build-phase but it is expected
that it will be up and running by the end of the year. And believe me, that is being anxiously anticipated. There are already a
lot of countries that have expressed interest. The infrastructure
and payment services can also be rolled out to businesses – even
though that will of course require major investment. Media ID
is nothing less than a digital revolution.’
EVERYTHING HAS TO RUN SMOOTHLY__‘It is time
for a user-friendly system that allows the reader to only login
once to participating websites and stay logged in - permanently.
Media ID makes that possible – a combined online registration
and payment system. I want everything to run smoothly: one
press of a button and the reader has to be able to access content, view his or her transactions, watch a broadcast or make
a purchase, without having to change platform. Media ID also
offers the customer access to more quality journalism than is
currently the case: the possibilities of placing content in what
is known as plus zones are infinite. Those extra services will in
due course generate extra revenues for De Persgroep. Incidentally, not everything has to be paid for – the headlines will continue to be free and subscribers don’t pay in any case.’ <<
53
54
ERIK RODDENHOF_Director
of Marketing at De Persgroep Nederland
IT’S ALL ABOUT
THE READER
The media landscape is changing and so are reader’s wishes. ‘More
than ever before, the reader wants to decide how he or she gets the
news’, says Erik Roddenhof, Director of Marketing at De Persgroep Nederland since 2012. But the reader still expects editorial quality. ‘We’ve
got four solid brands for this in house and we’re going to be emphasising that even more.’
W
hat attracts readers to a newspaper? According
to Erik it is the way in which the editorial staff
present the news. ‘That’s at the heart of our
brands and we can’t make any concessions
whatsoever with regard to this because the reader is counting
on us to deliver quality and to do so in an identifiable way.’
GOED VOLK __In Goed Volk, the new advertising campaign
for de Volkskrant, the reader is central. Goed Volk refers to the
way in which we in the Netherlands traditionally greet each
other. The campaign also shows that de Volkskrant is a newspaper for and about everyone – a newspaper that offers accessible
quality journalism and maintains values that the reader identifies with. Goed Volk is based on the touch, tell, sell principle,
says Erik. ‘We want to touch our existing and potential readers.
The people you see in the campaign on TV and in print are
therefore real readers, not actors. We also tell what the readers
find important and the campaign then has to encourage people
to take action.’
In recent years the emphasis of the advertising campaigns
mainly focussed on acquiring new readers. It’s now time to
steer a different course. ‘We have four solid in-house brands
and we need to highlight these more.’ More attention for the
brands automatically means more attention for the existing
readership. ‘They are our fans and we want to show them that
we value their loyalty.’
OPPORTUNITIES __Thinking from the reader’s perspective
is Erik’s guiding principle in the marketing approach of De
Persgroep. ‘What does the reader want? How does he or she
prefer to experience the news? They are fundamental questions for the future.’ According to Erik it is not relevant whether
the paper and the digital newspapers are competing with each
other. ‘We don’t decide whether someone wants the newspaper
on the doormat every day or only at the weekend. And it’s the
reader’s choice whether he or she prefers to read the newspaper on paper or on a tablet. That’s not up to us.’ As a newspaper
business you have to facilitate your reader with subscriptions
that seamlessly match the daily news rituals, says Erik. ‘On our
websites we are going to be showing even more clearly the possibilities the paper offers because a newspaper website is more
than just a podium for the news. It’s also a shop window.’
Erik sees numerous opportunities for the future newspaper.
‘We can already deliver the news to the reader at any given
moment but in addition to that we can personalise the news offering and make it more interactive and go much further than
we currently do.’ The marketing director gives an example.
‘Imagine that you are mainly interested in culture and art, and
less in sport. In that case we can ensure that you receive a newspaper in which you adapt the news selection to your personal
areas of interest.’
MORE VERSATILE AND MORE PERSONAL __In the media landscape of the future there will be and there will remain
a need for editorial content that is relevant and identifiable,
says Erik. ‘The demand for newspapers will therefore continue
to exist however the form in which they appear is changing.
The newspaper will become even more versatile and even more
personal.’ <<
En route towards a single customer-focussed service organisation__The sales organisation at De Persgroep was
reorganised in 2012. Instead of three different, independent units the sales organisation now has brand teams and channel specialists. The brand teams monitor the values of the title and know everything about the readers. The channel specialists are well-versed in
channels such as online or street sales. That combination creates synergy. If an online campaign has worked for Trouw then the channel specialists can also recommend that for the other titles. Furthermore, it’s not necessary to negotiate the street sales for each title
separately for example. ‘In this way we are able to combine knowledge about the brands – what is and isn’t appropriate for AD or Het
Parool – with the expertise about the channels. That way we get the best of both worlds’, says Erik.
55
7X FUTURE VISIONS
THE FEMALE
VISION
Among the Editors-in-Chief at
De Persgroep there are seven
women. What are they expecting from 2013? In their opinion, what is the most significant market development? And
how do they want to capitalise
on that with their title? In other
words: how will they continue
to keep the reader captivated
in 2013? We asked all seven
of them.
56
57
Ilse Beyers
Editor-in-Chief Dag Allemaal, since 2003
High point of 2012: the revelation that former
TV presenter Walter Capiau abused young boys.
-----Take your time!__‘In this superfast age of
the Internet we are of course a slow medium.
Even compared to the newspapers we are relatively slow. However, that slowness, which is actually a weakness, is something that we turn into
a strong point. In Dag Allemaal we have several
long articles and that demands substantial effort on the part of our readers. But in a world
full of easily available short news clips we stand
out by simply saying: take your time to read us.’
Isabel Albers
Martine Maelschalck
Editor-in-Chief De Tijd, since 2011
High point of 2012: voted European Newspaper
of the Year.
-----Online trust__‘Young people are growing up
with the idea that news is available everywhere
– free of charge. Newspapers are just an icon
away from each other in app stores. In that environment De Tijd is the fastest growing newspaper in Belgium and that’s because we shamelessly keep our standards high and utilise all of
the digital possibilities. In the digital profusion
readers are reaching out for trusted brands like
De Tijd. And what’s more: it is a very enjoyable
read.’
Editor-in-Chief L’Echo, since 2006
High point of 2012: a new format for the newspaper - the Berliner.
-----In-depth__‘We are a specialist newspaper
but our readership is also changing. I find it
very interesting to continue monitoring them
in this development; after all, contact with the
reader is the journalist’s first priority. At L’ Echo
we have made the choice to go in-depth. We
want to tell our readers more, analyse the news
and place it in perspective. But we also want
to remain a quality newspaper, one that offers
quality journalism.’
Famke Robberechts
Barbara van Beukering
Editor-in-Chief Goed Gevoel, since 2006
High point of 2012: Goed Gevoel was the highest
seller and most read monthly magazine in Belgium.
Last year our market share rose from 24 to 30%.
-----Immerse__‘In 2013 we will be giving the success
of Goed Gevoel a 360° dimension. We are a popular health magazine but we are also a community
of women who have more in common with each
other than they differ from each other. It is those
women that we want to immerse in the Goed Gevoel world more often than once per month and so
we are going to be organising secondary activities.
They all have their roots in the magazine but they
make the world around it bigger.’
Editor-in-Chief Het Parool, since 2007
High point of 2012: our even more ‘Amsterdam’
newspaper.
------
58
Amsterdam through and
through__‘Our focus is more and more on
Amsterdam. During the last year we’ve mainly
been busy making the newspaper into more of a
paper for Amsterdam. And that, in all modesty,
is now hunky-dory. Now it’s the turn of the daily
supplements, which will also become more
compelling for all of the residents of Amsterdam. From April we will be changing these into
daily taste guides for the city. Those that don’t
read Het Parool from that point onwards will be
strays in their own city.’
Sylvia Van Driessche
Editor-in-Chief Joepie, since 2009
High point of 2012: the publication of our double-thick summer edition on glossy paper was
an editorial high..
-----The community feel__‘Despite the rise of
the Internet the printed Joepie is far from being
redundant, even if it’s just down to the posters
in our magazine. However, it is becoming more
and more important for us to create our own
community. We therefore want to give readers
the genuine feeling that they are part of the
Joepie club, which is something we are doing
very strongly in the magazine but online there
are many more opportunities for strengthening
that feeling.’
Margot Moeseke
Editor-in-Chief Het Laatste Nieuws, together with
Wim Verhoeven, since 1 October 2012
High point of 2012: The gi-gan-tic gift from the
editorial team, where the best people, with the
best ideas and the best intentions work on the
best newspaper.
------
A people’s paper on multiple
media__‘Whatever happens in 2013 we’ll be
keeping a cool head and a warm heart and we’ll
be making the paper into a people’s paper like
never before: everything that the readership
expects, that touches them, that engages them
and more. There have to be surprises, it has
to be fresh and headstrong so that Het Laatste
Nieuws — in print, on tablet, mobile or website—
is read and enjoyed by more people than ever
before. If the reader is to switch... then it has to
be to another Het Laatste Nieuws media because
there isn’t a stronger brand. And we’ll be proving that day in and day out and, if necessary,
I’ll be out there knocking on doors and telling
everyone.’
59
CHRISTOPHE GLORIEUX (LEFT)_Director
of Vacature
& LENNARD HOOGENRAAD_Director
of VNU Vacature Media
OFFERING 24 MILLION PEOPLE
THE BEST CAREER CHOICE
With the acquisition of VNU Media, De Persgroep has suddenly become the biggest
recruitment specialist in the Netherlands and Belgium but under the current economic
conditions being the market leader is not automatically a guarantee for good financial
results. However, what is guaranteed in our strategy is a close relationship with jobseekers and highly-educated talent.
Dirk Velghe,
Director Vacature Groep:
‘Recruitment has always been one of the passions of De Persgroep. Shortly after its launch in 1996, Vacature became the
market leader in Belgium in both print and online media. In the
Netherlands there was the leading position of de Volkskrant in
the non-profit sector’, says Dirk.
‘The acquisition of VNU Media, in mid-2012, with fantastic
brands like Intermediair and NationaleVacaturebank, was therefore a major step in our endeavour to become a Dutch-Belgian
recruitment pillar for our group. In Belgium we rearranged our
interests in Concentra and RegioJobs was added to the Vacature
portfolio.
Economic climate, changing media behaviour and innovative
technologies have always formed challenges in this market but
at the same time they also offer new opportunities. Our brands
are clearly positioned for the future: Intermediair and Vacature
will serve highly-educated, career-conscious professionals,
while NationaleVacaturebank and RegioJobs focuses completely on
active jobseekers – each with completely revamped initiatives.
Our trump cards? Our strong brands, our international dimension with investment capacity and the scale of our group,
our innovative ideas of which a number are already being implemented, our technological capabilities and the most important: our talented staff.
I am convinced that under the inspiring and motivated leadership of Lennard Hoogenraad in the Netherlands and Christophe Glorieux in Belgium steps will be taken in both countries
in 2013 towards a leading position in this market.’
Lennard Hoogenraad,
Director VNU Vacature Media
‘VNU Media was acquired because De Persgroep believes in the
recruitment market – a market which now, under the influence
of the difficult economic conditions, presents many challenges.
That’s why it’s important to get matters in order now, to develop for the future and to gain market share. With Intermediair
and NationaleVacaturebank we have a leading position in the
Netherlands and we are striving for category leadership: to be
the undisputed first choice with our brands for employees and
for employers.
60
Intermediair is more than a jobsite. By 2030 half of the labour
market will consist of highly-educated people and we want to
stay in contact with them, even if they aren’t actively seeking a
job, so that we will definitely be involved at the moments they
decide to change employer. That is why – in addition to vacancies of course – Intermediair will be offering more and more
tools and tests and people will be able to contact Intermediair
with any questions about work and income. An important
element in this contact is Intermediair Weekblad which, with
approximately 90,000 readers per week, is the largest digital
magazine in the Netherlands. The link with VKbanen.nl also
means that Intermediair can serve the non-profit and socialprofit markets.
NationaleVacaturebank focuses on active jobseekers and has to
be top-of-mind for this group. That is why we are conducting
intensive marketing campaigns in order to get the brand embedded in consciousness and to do this we are utilising the
excellent tools of De Persgroep for reaching out to the readership: de Volkskrant, AD, Trouw, Het Parool and of course Q-Music.
In addition to this, NationaleVacaturebank simply has to be the
best jobsite of all.
Our databases of candidate profiles are the most up to date and
the largest in the Netherlands. Recruiters, HR managers and
recruitment and selection agencies rely on these databases in
order to find the right candidates.’
Christophe Glorieux,
Director Vacature
‘The acquisition of VNU Vacature Media and the merging of RegioJobs with the Vacature organisation both offer new possibilities. On the one hand an international dimension will be added
to Vacature. In collaboration with colleagues at VNU Vacature
Media we can now also offer candidates from the Netherlands
to our clients. For business in Antwerp in particular, the most
active region, extending recruitment solutions to the Dutch
border region is important. On the other hand, we can also
strengthen our regional focus with the arrival of RegioJobs. For
national advertisers the existing collaboration with our French
language colleagues at Références remains the strongest proposition.
We operate in a cyclical market that is sensitive to economic
fluctuations. In 2012 confidence was low amongst businesses and
candidates, which resulted in a difficult recruitment market. We
are also noticing more and more that highly-educated candidates
are approaching their careers differently. To be able to respond
to this, both Vacature and Intermediair are working on a new
proposition that extends much more from the side of the candidate because whoever in the future has the strongest relationship with the highly-educated talent will also be in the strongest
position to capitalise on this on the side of the recruiter. For the
active jobseeker it is also our ambition to create a strong digital
brand for RegioJobs, as we have done with NationaleVacaturebank,
– specifically for everyone who wants to work closer to home.’ <<
June 2012:
_De Persgroep acquires VNU Media and
becomes the largest recruitment specialist in the Netherlands and Belgium.
Summer 2012:
_Staff at De Persgroep and VNU Vacature Media are trained in each other’s
portfolio. Turnover data, target setting
and sales reports are linked.
and advice, partnerships with trai
ning providers.
_Expansion of Intermediair Weekblad.
_Expand and improve Profiles database.
_Disseminate the market leading
position of NationaleVacaturebank
in campaigns.
September 2012:
Eerste helft 2013:
_Launch of VNU Vacature Media: In-
_iPad-app.
termediair (including VKbanen) and
NationaleVacaturebank. Sister com-
_Roll-out of client contact strategies
and lifecycle campaigns.
pany in Belgium: Vacature, Références
and RegioJobs.
Tweakers
Autumn 2012:
De Persgroep has also acquired
_VKbanen integrated into revamped
Tweakers and Computable. Twea-
Intermediair site.
_Intermediair brand linked to the re-
kers is the largest electronics and
technology site in the Netherlands
cruitment pages of de Volkskrant, AD,
and Belgium. The InICT.nl recruit-
Trouw, Het Parool.
ment brand that is affiliated with
_Werkendichtbij.nl merged with Inter-
Tweakers and Computable will be
mediair and NationaleVacaturebank.
replaced in the spring of 2013 by
_Digital magazine Intermediair Week-
the Tweakers & Computable IT-ba-
blad provides enrichment and inspi-
nen jobsite. ICT vacancies on Inter-
ration.
mediair and NationaleVacaturebank
Future:
will then be placed on Tweakers and
_Intermediair: more in-depth tooling
Computable via an upgrade.
61
NEELIE KROES_European
Commissioner
DIGITALISATION IN THE EUROPEAN MEDIA SECTOR
‘UNPRECEDENTED UPHEAVAL
DEMANDS INNOVATIVE
BUSINESS MODELS’
Christian Van Thillo became Chairman of the
EU Media Futures Forum think tank on the request of European Commissioner Neelie Kroes.
In mid-2012 this body issued eight recommendations for new rules applicable to the European media sector, which are seriously needed
due to the rapid rate of digitalisation. From
interviews with Kroes and Van Thillo it appears
that things are moving along but attack still remains the best form of defence.
T
he digital revolution that is taking place right in front of
our eyes is fascinating and bewildering. New players from
the world of the Internet are threatening the traditional
business of newspapers and broadcasters. Media companies have to go on the attack in order to survive. At the same time
they have to defend themselves against unjust violation. Europe
can play a vital role in this, however, the European Commissioner
for the digital agenda, Neelie Kroes, realised that she shouldn’t
do it on her own and so she created the EU Media Futures Forum.
This is a reflection group with representatives from media, journalism and the government, as well as people from the Internet
world. The aim was to formulate a uniform position about the
future of media and this succeeded astonishingly well (read: Media
Futures Forum: act quickly!).
‘I realised that it could be risky to bring all of those people
together’, said Neelie Kroes during an interview for this annual
report. Despite this, the European Commissioner opted for this
approach that involved as many parties as possible because
she believes there is no way back. By protecting what already
exists you won’t succeed. ‘We are dealing with a new reality.
The unprecedented upheaval that is now taking place demands
innovative business models.’ In CEO Christian Van Thillo from
De Persgroep, the European Commissioner saw the ideal Chairman for the Media Futures Forum – specifically because of his
aggressive attitude in a traditional sector. ‘What appealed to
me about him is that he doesn’t wait around but starts working
with new business models, which is what I’ve seen him do with
the Dutch newspapers for example.’
62
URGENT ISSUES__Van Thillo and his forum colleagues
didn’t disappoint the European Commissioner. Indeed, their
reported landed on Kroes’s desk six months earlier than expected. The Commissioner called this ‘fascinating’. ‘I’ve never experienced that before in my long career.’ It wasn’t just the early
appearance of the report that went down well with her. The
same applied to the thrust of the report and the recommendations made by the Forum. She agrees with Van Thillo and his
colleagues that action needs to be taken quickly. ‘If we don’t
do anything then the European media sector will be finished’,
expects Kroes. With ‘we’ she is referring to both politics and
business. ‘European media firms also have to do something,
like develop new business models for example. In this way they
have to prevent themselves from lagging behind the American
competition, which currently holds a favourable and dominant
position.’
Kroes raises two urgent issues which, in her eyes, have to be
resolved quickly. ‘The first is watching TV programmes via different devices and, conversely, surfing the Internet via the TV. I
have launched a consultation to investigate how we will be able
to regulate that.’ According to the European Commissioner, a
second urgent issue is a harmonised, low rate of VAT for the
same content in all European member states (editor: a recommendation of the Media Futures Forum). According to Kroes,
this uniform rate has to be applicable irrespective of the platform on which the product is being offered. ‘That idea appeals
to me a great deal and I believe that it is possible to achieve.
This point is on the agenda for the Council of Ministers at the
beginning of 2015. As far as I’m concerned this should have
happened sooner but, unfortunately, this topic is not part of
my portfolio.’
And that’s before we start talking about the Holy Grail: a new
legal framework for content remuneration. Kroes is convinced
that a new solution has to be found but does not say anything
about the form that it has to take on. She does not wish to influence the discussion on this sensitive point. The European
Commissioner reported that this is on the agenda of the European Commission, which is expected to give the green light
for reform in the summer of 2014. ‘Again, this is moving more
slowly than I would have liked.’
GOOD DIRECTION__Christian Van Thillo trusts that Kroes
will do everything possible to speed up the process and he believes that the report from the Media Futures Forum will be
effective – something he pointed out in March 2013 during a
Forum follow-up meeting. ‘I see a number of indications that
things are moving in the right direction. An example of this is
the discussion surrounding copyright and licensing. It appears
that in the future we’ll be able to issue licences more easily
throughout Europe for music and other media, such as TV
formats. I am also hopeful for a low rate of VAT for newspapers
and magazines that are published digitally. This by way of an
analogy with what we have permitted for printed publications.’
Van Thillo believes that it makes sense to become involved in
the debate about new legislation. ‘Just take a look at the discussions about Google News that makes away with articles, or YouTube that is increasingly broadcasting other people’s TV clips
from which they generate revenue. In that case, as a small European player, you can of course call and say: we have a problem.
But in such cases you really do need a legislator.’ Van Thillo’s
wish list contains an imperative stipulation about ownership of
the TV signal. He wants Europe to oblige providers who distribute TV stations (for example on a smartphone) to have to seek
permission from the TV firms who own the stations. ‘The most
important thing is that piracy on a world scale stops and that
the parties are able to work easily via licensing. In that regard
I’m an optimist.’
De Persgroep may well be defending itself but this does not
mean it is now playing catenaccio. In Van Thillo’s view, attack
remains the best form of defence. ‘Legal developments are, by
nature, slow. Legislation is simply unable to anticipate rapid
developments. The best thing you can do as a business is to try
and keep ahead of others.’
Van Thillo is proud of the De Persgroep initiatives whereby
products are being adapted for mobile Internet. ‘A wonderful
example of an innovation is Stievie, which will allow live TV to
be watched on tablets and smartphones from this autumn.’ He
also makes reference to the initiatives like the new financial
media e-papers, the digitalisation of job advertisements and
collaboration with telecoms firms. ‘However, we are not a firm
that believes in digital innovation only. We also continue to
innovate classic media such as TV, radio and newspapers. Innovation has to be everywhere and it has to be constant. That
has always been important but these days it’s even more important.’ <<
EU MEDIA FUTURES FORUM:
‘ACT QUICKLY!’
and industry players to act’ and
makes eight recommendations:
•Make Europe a single digital
market by 2015 with a single,
low rate of VAT
The EU Media Futures Forum
was created in December 2011
in order to act as a think tank
•Promote new business models,
whereby users retain control of
their data
about the future of media in
•Reward content makers
Europe. On the request of Eu-
•Use a European programme to
ropean Commissioner Neelie
Kroes, the appointed Chairman,
stimulate the creation of audiovisual works
Christian Van Thillo, led the
•Treat everyone as equal
debate between leading repre-
•Avoid new entrance thresholds
sentatives from various organi-
•Give every European equal
sations and companies such as
Facebook, Google, Nokia, British
Telecom, Disney and Bild Group.
access
•Roll out the infrastructure for
the future quickly
The reflection group issued its
report in September 2012, after
The reports from the Media
just four meetings. It found that
Futures Forum and the High
legislation is lagging far behind
Level Group (V e-Freiberga)
the turbulent developments.
form the basis for the decisions
The Futures Forum calls its own
to be made by the European
report ‘a wake-up call on the ur-
Commission and the European
gency for both public authorities
Parliament.
63
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