Dutch Newspaper Editor Battles Cynicism About 'Christian Journalism'
by Chad Groening
February 4, 2005
(AgapePress) - The editor of a Christian newspaper in the Netherlands says in his highly secularized country, there is a great deal of skepticism about a Christian paper's credibility among the nation's media elites.Wim Kranendonk is editor of the Reformatorisch Dagblad (Reformed Daily), one of two daily Christian newspapers in the Netherlands. The paper, he says, was created in 1971 to stem the tide of spiritual decay which threatens Holland. Even though Reformatorisch Dagblad has been around that long, Kranendonk says there are still many detractors.
"People ... are laughing a little bit about you and saying 'You are a Christian newspaper, you are not objective, you are not honest and [you] try to interpret the facts' -- and then there a lot of difficulties," the editor says.
Regardless, says Kranendonk, the Reformatorisch Dagblad has gained respect among the Dutch journalistic community. "In a certain sense, yes, [we have gained respect] because they must admit that we have a high quality of journalism," he says. "[But] on the other side, when you are at press conferences and meetings, then you can feel a certain sense of enmity."
And while his newspaper has a dedicated following, the editor says it has a long way yet to go. "We have a great mission to the society," he says. "My newspaper has 60,000 subscribers -- it should be 600,000."
Kranendonk recently visited the United States to meet with Christian news services about publishing some of their material for his Dutch readers.
Chad Groening, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
