‘The board of the Circle of Editors-in-chief and all the editors-in-chief affiliated with our organization are shocked by the removal from his post of Cursor’s editor-in-chief, and the pressure beforehand on the editorial staff not to publish articles.

Eindhoven University of Technology doesn’t take independent news supply within its own ranks seriously, whereas we believe that it is essential for Dutch higher education institutions to have an independent news outlet. That is why we support the demands published by Cursor’s editorial staff last Tuesday on its (black) website.

For almost two years now, we’ve been receiving disturbing signals relating to the way in which TU/e’s executive board puts pressure on Cursor’s editor-in-chief and interferes with the editorial staff’s work when it comes to critical articles.

In a response published by TU/e on its site, the university states that it welcomes critical reporting and that it appreciates Cursor. The editorial board too says that it recognizes the importance of a careful and independent journalistic approach. It’s great that you agree on this importance. However, this doesn’t seem to be the case in practice, or else we would have been able to read the article in question online.

For TU/e to have an independent news outlet again with editors who are free to carry out their work successfully, we believe that the university should meet the demands of the editorial staff.

Give the editorial staff the confidence they need to carry out their journalistic work in a careful manner, and judge the result afterwards based on journalistic arguments instead of vague arguments that articles are biased or that the university community isn’t interested in this kind of reporting.

In addition, involve the editorial staff in decisions pertaining to Cursor’s future and the appointment of a new editor-in-chief.

Look into the possibilities of continuing the former editor-in-chief’s term until the summer of 2024 (as was agreed earlier) in a constructive manner. We strongly disapprove of the way in which the university dealt with a respected colleague who carried out his work with great devotion and expertise for over twenty years.

Ensure that the editorial statute allows the editorial staff to carry out their work independently. In the current situation, the executive board has too many opportunities to pass judgement on an article based on reasons other than journalistic criteria.

Carefully select an editorial board in consultation with the editorial staff and the current editorial board. The most recent board was selected by the board itself, and all candidates proposed by the editorial staff were rejected. During that process, journalistic expertise wasn’t sufficiently taken into account.

Sincerely

Ries Agterberg, chair Circle of Editors-in-chief and editor-in-chief of DUB

Maaike Platvoet, board member of Circle of Editors-in-chief and editor-in-chief of U-Today

Tosca Sel, board member of Circle of Editors-in-chief and editor-in-chief of Profielen’

The full letter can also be read on the Circle’s website.