Paaspop bans broadcaster over video saying music festival hasn't sold out

Omroep Brabant has been barred from reporting on this weekend’s Paaspop festival in Schijndel, a festival spokesperson confirmed. The move comes after the regional broadcaster published a video highlighting that the festival has not yet sold out this year, which the organizers found objectionable.

“Omroep Brabant visited multiple times this week for various segments, but following the disappointing video at the center of the current controversy, we’ve decided not to work with OB at Paaspop for the remainder of the year,” the festival spokesperson said to ANP.

In a statement posted on its website Thursday, the festival criticized Omroep Brabant for “deliberately picking short, isolated quotes that were taken out of context.” Paaspop director Peter Sanders added that he “hardly recognizes anything” from the video of the extensive interview he gave yesterday morning.

The festival emphasizes that it values “free journalism, independent reporting, and media plurality” and that this weekend it will host “about 150 media outlets from the Netherlands and abroad” to “guarantee diverse coverage.”

“The broadcaster’s negative approach is completely at odds with our values, and we fully disassociate ourselves from it,” the festival said. The organization added that it had unsuccessfully attempted to contact Omroep Brabant’s editor-in-chief, Renzo Veenstra, who in turn told ANP that he had also made several attempts to reach the festival.

The Dutch Journalists’ Association (NVJ) criticized Paaspop’s decision to revoke accreditation as “both incomprehensible and unwise.” Secretary-General Thomas Bruning emphasized that Paaspop is “a festival with major societal influence, where journalists must have free access, even when their coverage is critical.”