Bas Mesters appointed new Editor-in-Chief for DUB

A journalist and writer, Bas Mesters has worked for several media outlets in the Netherlands, including the national newspapers De Volkskrant and NRC, as well as the weekly magazine De Groene Amsterdammer. His first experience with journalism happened back when he was a student of Cultural History at UU and wrote a series of articles for UBlad, DUB's predecessor in print. He was also a member of DUB's editorial board from 2015 to 2021.

Democracy is the common thread that runs through Mesters' work. Over the past year, he has worked on a series for De Groene Amsterdammer, in which he visited other European countries during the national elections and talked to people committed to democracy. In addition, since 2018 Mesters has worked as a programme maker and discussion leader at De Tussenruimte, a dialogue platform that collaborates with Utrecht University, the University of Humanistic Studies, Utrecht University of Applied Sciences and ROC Midden Nederland, among others. At De Tussenruimte, students present research they have conducted in the neighbourhood on issues relevant to the area. Then, they discuss these issues with residents and professionals.

Local journalism
Over the years, Mesters has become increasingly convinced of the importance of local journalism for a healthy democracy. ‘It is crucial for leaders to be involved in the medium they use,’ says Mesters. ‘Journalism must exercise control over power to ensure that it is not abused. However, this system does not work if there is too little contact with the community. Therefore, it is also the task of journalism to shed light on the ideas and feelings that exist in a community.’

'Journalism must serve the community by taking an independent look at issues and showing what those in power are putting on the agenda. The university offers that space, which is a great asset. Universities are important places that seek direction for the future. It is wonderful to practise journalism within this community, which is both critical and independent, yet engages in constructive dialogue to facilitate the involvement of the university community. This could be done by starting long-term projects in which readers can set the agenda for what needs to be discussed."

Mesters praises a recent project in which DUB's readers were asked to choose the current issues the editorial team should investigate further. This was followed by a dialogue session involving members of the UU community, after which DUB's questions were submitted to three academics.

Selection committee
The DUB editorial board has nominated Mesters for the role. Now, the Executive Board must officially approve the appointment. Kees van den Bos, chair of the editorial board and the selection committee, justifies the choice: 'We were looking for an editor-in-chief with a clear journalistic vision and connecting leadership. We found that in Mesters. His extensive experience and strong conviction that constructive-critical journalism plays a central role within the university make him ideally suited for this position. He knows how to motivate people in a pleasant way and he stands for good university journalism. I think we as a university community will benefit greatly from this."

The current editor-in-chief, Ries Agterberg (1960), has opted for early retirement. In this article, he looks back on 15 years at DUB and the changes he has witnessed in the relationship between DUB and the university community.

CV
Bas Mesters (1965) lives in Utrecht. He studied Cultural History at Utrecht University and has remained involved with the university throughout his career. Mesters was a member of DUB's editorial board between 2015 and 2021, and for the past five years, he has been the chair of the editorial board of Univers, the university magazine of Tilburg University.

Mesters is a seasoned journalist. From 2002 to 2012, he served as the Italy correspondent in Rome for NOS, NRC Handelsblad, and VRT. This experience led him to write the book Italiaanse Streken (2015) about Italy's struggles. Between 2014 and 2017, Mesters was the director of the Journalism programme at Windesheim University of Applied Sciences. He also directed the Journalism Expertise Centre at the University of Amsterdam from 2012 to 2019.  Lastly, he served as an ombudsman at the daily newspaper De Volkskrant for six months. At the height of the coronavirus pandemic, Mesters wrote the book Het herstel van Nederland (The Recovery of the Netherlands), in which he spoke to twelve people without political power about the crises facing the country.