As part of the changes at Radio Netherlands Worldwide, Rober Zaal will take over as director of RNW 3.0.
Zaal will take his post as of Nov. 1. Until then RNW’s current director, Jan Hoek, remains responsible for activities related to the winding down of the old organization, which, reports say, including the closure of the relay stations.
According to the broadcaster, Zaal will lead the implementation of RNW’s new direction, focusing on free speech. As of 2013, RNW will operate primarily in Africa and the Arab world, but also in countries such as China, Cuba, Venezuela and Mexico.
The chairman of the board, Bernard Bot said he was pleased with the appointment. “After the most turbulent and painful period in RNW’s history, the organization is now almost ready to embark on its new future,” he said. “Robert Zaal has extensive experience in the areas of free speech, media and management. He’s the right person in the right place.”
Zaal began his career as secretary of the Dutch Journalists’ Association, and later became the director of the regional broadcasters’ association, ROOS. For the past nine years, Zaal has been director of RTV North Holland, which recently acquired the Amsterdam television channel AT5, together with the AVRO broadcasting organization and the Amsterdam newspaper Het Parool.
