It is delightful when big newspapers clumsily overwrite small media, and that they do it for free? Oh well, they struggle too. For instance, the small niche weblog Jazzenzo has been rehabilitated after more than a year thanks to an article that the arts chief of the Volkskrant had last year acquired from this site. What was it about? The reviewer and columnist of the weblog Jazzenzo, which stems from the old Stichting Jazz Utrecht fan club, had written a rather on-the-woman complaint published on the anniversary of Amsterdam's BIM House. Not neat, a bit distasteful, but to stop handing out free tickets to the gentlemen's club of Jazzenzo at the same time as 7 leading jazz venues? That goes a long way.
Too far, I thought, and with me (a week later) the arts chief of the Volkskrant, who is now, a year on, being flown in by the programmer of TivoliVredenburg as the one who spoke the redeeming word. Big names among themselves, shall we say.
'Privilege' cancelled
How does TivoliVredenburg formulate the U-turn?"The cancellation of the privilege of getting free tickets to our concerts happened in response to several publications that, in my opinion, were not above the minimum expected level even for amateur journalism. Then April 2024, a number of venues and festivals collectively decided to stop accrediting Jazzenzo. That action was compared to the cancel culture, and press freedom would be curbed here too. Nothing was further from the truth, we just did not want to contribute to such write-ups by simply giving away tickets."
The gentlemen of Jazzenzo were simply allowed to buy tickets and write. This defence in hindsight is a bit unfortunate, but it just goes to show how difficult it is to do journalism in times of Trump, Musk and - especially - influencers. Buying tickets in a frequency where you can be taken seriously as a medium costs hundreds, maybe even thousands of euros. Per month, if you go out three or four times a week, public transport included.
Self-criticism
With a free ticket freeze, you deny a journalistic medium its right to exist. that the seven jazz venues thought the level of writing was too low is a poor reason: it wasn't even that bad, and that they had written once that a leading jazz musician had been on stage with a hangover, was not amateurism, but keen observation skills. And that is something we should ask of journalists. That the musician in question then called hell and damnation on the journalists would have been unnecessary.
TivoliVredenburg continues: "I e-mailed several times in recent months with the chief editors, who do it great credit to be self-critical as well. So let us make a point of giving Jazzenzo and its writers - who were not welcome for a day - free tickets again as well. Who knows, it may have brought something to everyone after all. That's what I hold on to: that even in today's Netherlands, despite major differences of opinion and a different view of the 'truth', we still continue to build and believe in a better world together."
Ten months
Indeed, you don't make a peace in 24 hours, as some heads of state claim. That months of tough negotiations preceded this, I am willing to believe. Such a piece in de Volkskrant also needs to be allowed to mature properly. About ten months.
That this is mainly about saving reputations and avoiding loss of face, I also believe. The joint action by the seven major venues in April last year, was unprecedented. It was indeed an attack on press freedom. It might have been permissible only if Jazzenzo had illegal behaviour, was violent, or urinated in public, or nicked free beer.
None of that happened.
Jazzenzo had been around for a long time, and if you find that too long, as a stage, you go and have a coffee with them. That you hesitate with every new blogger who applies for your press list is logical, but these were no beginners.
Let this U-turn be a one-off, and never needed again. Journalism has it hard enough, and cultural journalism especially so.
