Flemish Radio and Television Broadcasting Organisation (Vlaamse Radio- en Televisieomroeporganisatie, VRT) is the public broadcaster serving the Flemish community in Belgium. The broadcaster operated under different names before (NIR between 1930 and 1960, BRT between 1960 and 1991, and BRTN between 1991 and 1998). VRT runs four television channels and five radio channels. In 2018, VRT and the private equity firm Vlaanderen (PMV) joined forces to create a fund, Media-Invest Vlaanderen, that finances promising companies in the media sector. Each partner owns half of the newly created fund.
Media assets
Television: VRT1, Canvas, Ketnet, Sporza
Radio: Radio 1, Radio 2, Klara, Studio Brussel, MNM
State Media Matrix Typology: Independent State-Funded and State-Managed (ISFM)
Ownership and governance
The renaming to VRT in 1998 was part of a legal change that also transformed the station’s legal status from a semi-governmental entity to a publicly owned corporation in its own right (in Dutch, “NV van publiek recht”).
The highest governing body at VRT is the Board of Directors whose 12 members are appointed by the Flemish Government in Belgium, mostly in line with the representation of the political groups in the Flemish Parliament. The Board of Directors has three sub-committees that assist the board in its supervisory function in areas such as finance management, strategy and remuneration policies.
Source of funding and budget
VRT is funded through a combination of government financing (accounting for over 60%of its budget) and self-generated income. In 2021, VRT operated with a total budget of €447m, of which over €270m were represented by a subsidy from the state budget, and the rest was generated by the broadcaster through its own activities, according to a company annual report. In 2022, VRT had a total budget of €456m, nearly €271m coming through a state subsidy, according to data from the company.
In recent years, VRT has been slashing its budget by laying off part of its staff as part of an ongoing reform of the broadcaster. The company aims at a cut of some €25m as part of this strategy.
Editorial independence
There are no restrictive obligations imposed by the government on VRT that would force the broadcaster to follow a pro-government editorial line. VRT has a reputation of editorial independence, which can be seen in its editorial coverage, according to an ad hoc content analysis carried out for this project. There is no evidence to date that any state authority has control over the editorial agenda of VRT.
As part of numerous rulebooks and statutes, VRT has a code of ethics (including one for online information) and an editorial statute, which together guarantee the broadcaster’s editorial independence.
The VRT news service is affiliated with the Journalism Council. The members of the Council pledge to respect the code of the Journalism Council. The VRT news service is also affiliated with the Journalism Council, a self-regulatory body in Belgium, committing to respect the council’s ethical norms.
VRT has mechanisms in place aimed at ensuring the oversight of its editorial performance. One of them is the ethical advisory council, consisting of 11 members who are elected by the station’s staff, that can provide both solicited and unsolicited ethical advice to the editorial management of the broadcaster.
Moreover, VRT has an Ombudsman for News (Tim Pauwels since April 2017) whose mission is to handle comments and complaints from the public regarding the compliance of the broadcaster with its internal rules aimed at ensuring editorial independence.
August 2023