With the new licensing procedure, the municipal council also saw opportunities to cut costs. The budget should be reduced from 715,000 euros to 240,000. The management of RTV Utrecht has indicated that it is not possible for that amount. And a committee of experts also foresees an impoverishment of the news offer in the city. The committee calls the cuts ‘crippling’. She came up with an alternative proposal, in which the municipality will pursue a serious media policy. According to the committee, that is currently lacking. In this proposed policy, investigative journalism will be strengthened, U in de Wijk will be expanded and money will be made available for other initiatives. The committee no longer sees a role for local TV, such as U-Stad, and radio, such as Bingo FM.
City Council of Utrecht: ‘Cutting cuts to local media must be reversed’
