DIT IS DE DAGThis is the day the Lord has given us

Background of the programme.

• Dit is de dag is a Dutch word, in English it means this is the day.

• It is a verse from the Bible to say this is the day the Lord has given us.

• It is three years old. The programme is broadcasted from Monday to Thursday( 2:00 to 3:30 pm)

• Although the radio organization making the programme is called Evangelic Omroep or Evangelic national wide, it does not only deal with religious matters.

• According to the programme editor, they try to bring stories behind the story. The programme manager believes the daily news do not offer enough information to the audience, that is why that programme was developped to go deeper.

Media platforms

• They use radio and internet. At the time the live discussion goes on, it is also relayed on internet, so that someone can listen or view the programme.

Making the programme

• They invite guests to their studio to discuss thoroughly the topical issues related to politics, religion, immigration, and other issues of public interest.

• For example, a 1 hour live talk show attended by our group on Monday afternoon was about a terror suspect in jail, who last Saturday wrote a letter published in one of the news papers denouncing terrorism. The question put to the discussion, can we believe in that man or is just a trick to be freed from jail.

• The author of the letter, Jessen WV, a Morrocon origin was involved four years ago in a murder of a Dutch film producer.

• Three people participated to Monday’s show, two guests were live in studio and one on phone, with two hosts. All the three guests are in one way or another specialised in Islamic issues.

• The main purpose of the show was to know the perception of Islam in Netherlands particularly, and in Europe in general.

• Preparation: They take the whole morning to come up with the live show, and about the 10 minutes documentary, it takes a minimum of three days.

• Role and responsibility: The chief editor monitors, the two presenters lead and moderate the discussion, and the producer records and reminds time respect.

The target audience

• The target audience here was the political decision makers, educated people, the elderly ( aged 40 years and above), believers and non believers

Types of formats

• The format used in the programme is a magazine: it started with news on the top of the hour(2:00 pm), then the discussin begun five minutes after up to 2:30 for news headlines(1 min), then the discussion goes on to 3:00(news update, 2 min), then a 10 min documentary on traffic rules in big cities of Holland.

• After, two guests were in the studio to talk about teenagers’ behaviour on road while biking( 8 min dicussion). The programme ended at 3:30 with commercial breaks.

Roles and responsibilities

• The chief editor monitors.

• The two presenters lead and moderate the discussion.

• And the technician records and reminds time respect.

Preparation

• They take the whole morning to come up with the live show, and about the 10 minutes documentary, it takes a minimum of three days.

Observations

• We like their choice of their guests or credible source.

• In the talkshow on Islam, there was a professor on islamic issues, experienced journalists of different experiences. For instance, one(a lady) worked for years in Afghanistan and wrote a book about the Talibans. The other guest is a journalist dealing with foreign affairs.

•• The presenters have defined responsibilities in the studio, everyone

knows when to intervene and put his/her questions.

• We were also impressed by the jingle (Dit is de dag) which comes after the news headlines to remind the listeners that the show is still going on.

• We also like the sound effects that precedes the next item, it was a serene of the ambulance. We assume it was appropriate because the second topic was on the danger of not respecting the traffic rules.

Dislike things:

• It was difficult for us to find from the programme chief editor the formats used and why so. They just told us it was debate.

• Despite the different roles of the presenters, one of them spent a long time asking questions, and his colleague was absent in the discussion.

• We also feel that there is one key format( i.e testimony) which was omitted in the second topic. It could be interesting if they had a teenager in the studio telling about his or her experience in road accident due to reckless riding.

• Another thing, the time chosen for that particular issue was not appropriate, we fear that young people were not there to listen the programme.

• About the target audience, we think they should have specific audience.

Keep the Faith

Pat in for discoveries

Stephen Joins