The newspaper industry is in turmoil in most countries around the world. But a second country in socialistic Europe is taking action.
The Dutch government is planning to spend 4 million euros (over $5.6 million) to pay the salaries of 60 young journalists to work on otherwise commercially funded regional and national newspapers across the country.
Dutch media minister Ronald Plasterk has outlined a plan to fund two “government journalists” to work on each of the Netherlands’ 30 daily newspapers.
The initial amount is designed to pay for junior positions for two years, with the first journalists due to start at the end of the summer, Dutch media reported.
He said the decision had been reached as young journalists were often the first to be let go when cuts were made.
The Dutch move follows French president Nicolas Sarkozy’s promise to provide 600 million euros ($850m) in emergency aid to France’s failing newspaper industry and supply every 18-year-old with a year’s free subscription to the paper of their choice in an effort to boost reading habits.