Death duties: Kelly, Fortuyn and their challenge to media governance

The suicide of David Kelly in the UK, following revelations by the BBC of questionable treatment by the government with regard to information on Iraq, and the killing of Pim Fortuyn in the Netherlands, after intensive TV election coverage was criticized for ‘demonizing’ the populist politician, have resulted in comparable public outcries and political indignation. Both cases led to a crisis in trust and in similar demands for new arrangements vis-a-vis the responsibility and accountability of public broadcasting. The actual outcomes, however, differ considerably: a strong (self) regulatory reaction in the UK and a limited government response in the Netherlands.