‘EUR should offer students a free newspaper subscription’

Media consumption

News on TV: Yesterday evening (a few evenings a week)

Paper: ‘When someone physically hands me one.’

News sources: The apps of de Volkskrant, NOS, De Telegraaf and RTL Nieuws

Subscriptions: Law journals

Pay for news: ‘Later, when I have a job’

“The university should offer students free newspaper subscriptions, the same way it does with the Microsoft Office Suite. It would enrich students’ lives. Because the newspapers produce high-quality coverage, but getting behind that paywall is too expensive. I stick to reading the free updates on news apps. I only read a paper newspaper when someone physically hands me one at the station. Or I grab a copy of Metro in the train.”

“I come from a family of lawyers. My sisters all studied Law and now I’m a law student too. The law journals that we subscribe to at home are the only paper media that I read on a regular basis. And if I don’t have to do basketball practice in the evening, I watch the news on TV. In my view, ‘NOS Journaal’ makes a good selection of news and its coverage is based on solid research.”

“I have a number of news apps on my phone. This way, I try to look at news from a variety of perspectives. For example, I regularly see differences between the papers De Telegraaf and de Volkskrant. In court cases, de Volkskrant is more reluctant to state a defendant’s ethnicity than De Telegraaf. I’m generally satisfied with the channels I’ve chosen. When it comes to the media, the Netherlands is a solid country with independent and objective journalists.”

Media consumption

News on TV: ‘A month ago at my mother’s place’

Paper: ‘Not my thing’

News sources: NU.nl / CNN / BBC

Subscriptions: Used to have one, to The Economist

“I used to have a subscription to The Economist in secondary school. I was interested in economics and business administration and wanted to explore those subjects in greater depth. But with a new one coming in every week, that magazine turned reading into a chore that I didn’t come around to enough. I didn’t feel like it.”

“I mostly check out news on my computer – I usually look for what interests me. I mainly look on the free websites offered by CNN for US news and BBC for general developments worldwide. And on my phone, I follow the updates offered via the Dutch Nu.nl app, particularly on economic developments. The last time I watched the news on TV was a month ago, at my mother’s. She still watches three daily news programmes back to back.”

“I just as easily read long-reads online as on paper. A few weeks ago, during the Kevin Spacey scandal, Nu.nl posted a short update. At which point I went in search of a background story. CNN had one on their website.”

“Whether I can imagine paying for journalism? As a student, I simply can’t afford it. Maybe later, when I have a proper job.”

Media consumption

News on TV: ‘Two months ago’

Paper: ‘No. It’s impractical and unnecessary.’

News sources:  NOS / Google

Subscriptions: No

Pay for news: No

“Facebook is my primary source of information. Scrolling through, you come across the main news of the day. That’s usually enough for me. It’s so quick and easy that you really don’t need much else. That’s why I don’t require many other sources. It’s only when I want to know more about a subject that I Google for more information.”

“The fact that it’s a lot easier to source news nowadays has both advantages and disadvantages. I think that nowadays, young people are a lot more up to date on news events than they used to be, but the downside is that everything in the media has to be speeded up. Short articles, more lightweight subjects and misleading headlines so that people will click the link. You even see it going on in the broadcasts of the Dutch news channels NOS and RTL. I’m not too happy with this, because I expect quality from them.”

“Paying for news is simply outdated. None of my friends has a paid subscription anymore. News is so easy to find on the internet. I don’t read from paper either. Every once in a while, I’ll leaf through a newspaper at my parents’, but paper is more impractical than anything.”

“I would definitely like to watch the news on TV more often, but I simply don’t have the time. I even set an alarm in my phone for ‘Holland’s Next Top Model’ – one of my favourite programmes – otherwise I’d forget to watch. Apart from that, I never watch TV anymore. It’s all Netflix and YouTube.”