The new editor-in-chief was adamant that the entire editorial team be on board with his vision, not just the trailblazers. “I believe that happy people deliver the best results. Of course, not every day’s a party and we can definitely be tough on each other, but the starting point is that you believe in someone’s abilities. Making a newspaper is a team effort, and everyone’s equally important: from the reporters to the copy editors and designers. That also goes for our stories, which range from nitty-gritty political pieces to articles about complex climate issues and deep dives into human emotions. They’re all equally valuable, as long as they manage to strike the right note.”

To kickstart the transition, Remy took a very practical measure: all meetings without a digital purpose – about the layout of the print edition’s front page, for instance – were scrapped. “The compromise was that people had to contribute to the digital transformation and spend less time in meetings. Instead of wasting an hour arguing about what should be on the front page of the paper, we now move a lot faster.”

To go digital, you need data. This also holds true for De Morgen . “We’re learning a lot from the data. It tells us when our readers need what kind of stories, for example. But our work is data-informed, not data-driven,” Remy clarifies. “We start from our journalistic gut instincts and then test those against the data. Our work is also informed by our core themes. For example, we believe in investigative journalism, which requires investment and can often take several months to yield a story.”

Remy quickly realised that this ‘digital first’ mindset had consequences: “We don’t invest time or energy in things that don’t benefit digital. Last year’s revamp of our weekend magazine is a great example of that: more journalism, less classic lifestyle. By changing our print activities, we can produce more articles that drive our digital growth.”

This creates space for other sections, like Cooking with De Morgen, a veritable cornucopia for readers looking for recipes and restaurant reviews. There’s also more room for events with musicians and authors like Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer, where readers can experience the newspaper live. “Those literally bring us closer to our readers.”