KRALENDIJK/THE HAGUE- Strengthening independent media in the Caribbean Netherlands is crucial for promoting administrative integrity, according to the researchers from the DSP bureau who conducted a study on integrity and potential corruption in the islands. 

They emphasize that media can play a crucial role by timely identifying possible signals and reporting on them. However, this is often easier said than done. “Despite the relatively large number of media outlets, especially in Bonaire, these are often not well-equipped for independent news coverage”, is one of the conclusions of the research team. 

DSP also concludes that local press frequently lacks financial resources, resulting in many news articles being nothing more than (verbatim) reproduced press releases. 

Commercial interests

The research also notes dependency issues due to commercial interests, and sometimes media outlets are directly dependent on the government for advertising space, potentially influencing their inclination for critical investigations. Therefore, it is emphasized that strengthening local media is essential.