Could I just explain why I was there? “You’ve been hanging around here all morning,” said the police officer last Thursday morning, 2 April. After showing him my press card from the Nederlandse Vereniging van Journalisten (the Dutch Association of Journalists) and the announcement that university newspaper Observant was reporting on the occupation of Oxfordlaan 55 by pro-Palestinian protesters, I was dismissed with a brief nod. It all stuck in my craw a little. Of course, I understand his position, someone who is not immediately identifiable as a journalist, who has been observing an ‘unsafe’ area for three hours, occasionally pulling out a notebook, typing on their phone, making calls and taking pictures, is suspicious.
In the course of the morning, De Limburger showed up with a camera with a logo. Fellow journalists from Orange Media wore special jackets or body warmers, also with a logo. And who was I with? That wasn’t clear to anyone.
I was in a nice spot on the other side of the road and I had a clear view of all the goings-on at Oxfordlaan 55: blocking off the street, more police vehicles arriving, a command vehicle from the fire brigade, brief discussions between various members of the emergency services, attempts at mediation, and the arrival of (presumably) a police negotiator. He parked his brand new Mercedes behind the police cordon, opened the back of the car and put on something presumably related to the next phase of police action (read: a bullet-proof vest).
One employee from the hospital started talking to me out of nowhere, nothing that needed writing down, but it felt strange that in that moment, my job as a journalist was not clear to him. That happens occasionally, even when you’re clearly clutching a notebook. We attend lectures, debates, protests and meetings, and then write an article about them. And of course, if we want to ask people questions or quote them, we always, always introduce ourselves as journalists, that makes complete sense to me. Often we’ve notified the organisation of our attendance. And yet, despite the fact that we adhere to the journalistic codes, I think that even more transparency could increase the trustworthiness of our work. So bring on those PRESS caps, special pens, branded phone cases and notebooks, maybe even a bodywarmer with a logo? Or should we stick to a simple lanyard with our homemade ‘PRESS/Observant’ card? We’ll think about it. My NVJ press card is due for renewal soon, it’s on my calendar in big letters. If I hadn’t been able to show it last Thursday, things might have ended up very differently for this editor.
The editor-in-chief gives a look behind the scenes at the editorial office