‘I have been able to do everything here: newspaper, television, online, podcast’.

Jonas Muylaert has done just about everything that is possible in journalism. From the morning programme at Radio 1, to political journalism at Terzake. He started his career at DPG Media as political editor with De Morgen newspaper. For a good year now, he has been working for the News City research unit. "A formula that I believe is the future of journalism."

The idea of the research cell came about when Jonas was working as editor-in-chief of Telefacts NU. The season was over, and there was still a whole dossier full of material about a political matter. A long report was out of the question, so they came up with a formula

in which the dossier was featured for a week in VTM NEWS, Het Laatste Nieuws and online at hln.be. "This proved to be so strong and impactful, so we thought: we should do this more often." Jonas took the idea to the editor-in-chief, and the research unit was born. 

Today, the small research team researches current topics for News City, but not focused on one specific brand or platform. "We work out dossiers for News City, and anyone who is interested can hitch their wagon to it. I really believe this is the future of journalism."

On trust

So Jonas took the initiative to create his job himself. "I had put the idea forward before, but at that time there was little enthusiasm. Now, of course, we had the advantage of a case that worked so well." And because of that, Jonas got all the confidence of DPG Media. "I get the most trust here that I have ever had. I report directly to the director of News City, and I also have a lot of autonomy. He knows that we deliver.”

A taste for everything

Jonas also knows the advantage of a large company like DPG Media is of course that there is so much versatility. "Here you are not only allowed to look outside your field, you are also allowed to do all those different things yourself. I have done a little bit of everything: newspaper, television, online, podcasts... I certainly do not excel at everything, but that is not necessary either. It is a great feeling that I can do it myself, and that you also get the chance here. That is really enriching and I recommend it to everyone."