Kralendijk, Yesterday, January 2, 2020, saw the launching of a new online news site under the umbrella of the ABC Online Media group: koninkrijk.nu.

News sites bonaire.nu and curacao.nu, which in the meantime have a significant and still growing group of readers, also form part of the media group based on Bonaire. Another site linked to the company is bes-reporter.com

ABC Online Media director, Sylvia de Leon, thinks the addition of the new site is a logical step. “After the disappearance of the website koninkrijksrelaties.nu from journalist René Zwart, we noticed that it left a gap in the reporting on the six Dutch-Caribbean islands and political The Hague, where the Kingdom Government is seated. The other sites we manage focus primarily on the individual islands, but there are many issues that affect all countries and islands which are part of the Kingdom. That is why we are now starting with Koninkrijk.nu”.

The new site will be served, among others, by journalists Dick Drayer and Harald Linkels. In addition, as is the case at Bonaire.nu, guest writers and columnists will also be presented on the site

Mutual understanding and appreciation

According to De Leon, an important goal of the new site is to bring all those who have an interest in the Kingdom closer together. “There is still a lot of unfamiliarity with the partners on both sides of the ocean. We live and work on beautiful islands with a unique cultural and biological diversity that everyone in the Kingdom can be proud of. On the other hand, decisions are taken at the level of the Kingdom Government on issues that have a significant impact on our six islands. Reason enough to also follow these developments well and to report on them for our local readers.

Better journalism

Journalist Dick Drayer also sees an opportunity to bring “Antillean” news to a higher level. “Dutch news media are sometimes opinionated when it comes to their reporting on what is happening on the islands. On the other hand, the journalistic quality of local media can sometimes be a higher than it currently is. And that is stating it in a friendly way”, said Drayer.

The BES-Reporter, in the meantime, will continue to report in the English language about news of mainly Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba. Harald Linkels, as lead person behind the BES-Reporter, expects that the site will benefit from the new initiative in the form of increased cooperation and synergy with other contributors to the sites.