(Source: Erik Mouthaan)
When America sneezes, the world catches a cold.
When so much of what happens in the United States ripples across the globe in often dramatic ways, it should come as no surprise that all eyes are on America, with people around the world trusting their country’s reporters and journalists to keep them updated on the latest developments.
Of course, these professionals are often on the outside looking in, reporting on the U.S. from afar with hampered context and little intimate knowledge of the country’s nuanced workings. But some journalists have dedicated their careers to living here in the States, engrossing themselves in the culture and enriching their work with a deep familiarity and personal investment in America’s political, economic, and societal landscapes.
One such professional is award-winning Dutch journalist Erik Mouthaan. He’s the U.S. Bureau Chief and Correspondent for RTL Nieuws, one of the most watched and trusted news providers in the Netherlands. For decades, Mouthaan has been boots on the ground for some of America’s most pivotal moments, from capturing the President’s words from the Oval Office to standing on the steps of the Capitol during the January 6 riot.
But in recent years, Mouthaan has noted a dramatic shift in the way stories are told, both in the U.S. and abroad. He’s watched social media and biased news outlets plague the industry with a sea of misinformation and division, all while trust in the media has plummeted to an all-time low.
To guide his peers and the next generation of journalists, Mouthaan has distilled his many years of experience into several lessons that professionals can apply to their work in the hopes of restoring trust and rebuilding transparent relationships with consumers the world over.
Learn more about Mouthaan and his perspective on telling stories in a social media world.
Erik Mouthaan: A Leader Among American Correspondents
(Source: RTL Nieuw)
After graduating from Utrecht’s School for Journalism in 1995, Erik Mouthaan honed his skills on the foreign news desk at RTL Nieuws and was soon promoted to a reporting position. He would edit the news outlet’s year-in-review program for a couple of years before succeeding Max Westerman as the organization’s U.S. correspondent in 2006.
This role has defined Mouthaan’s career ever since. Since 2006, he’s reported from all 50 states on everything from natural disasters to political milestones. He’s covered multiple presidential elections, observed the devastation wreaked by fires in Maui, and chased tornadoes in Nebraska. Aside from being a trusted source of news in the Netherlands, he’s also recognized for his professionalism and excellence in America, having been a guest on The Rachel Maddow Showand the only Dutch journalist to have been granted a 30-minute interview with presidential candidate Hillary Clinton following her loss to Donald Trump in 2016.
Mouthaan’s strong dedication to telling America’s story to his home country has earned him many accolades, including a De Tegel journalism award (Best Reporting of 2021) for his live reporting on January 6, 2021, as supporters of the defeated Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol. Awarded to only a handful of professionals each year, the Tegel is the most prestigious award for journalism in the Netherlands.
His excellence in journalistic practices has been further recognized by the Emmy Awards in Current Affairs and News, which asked Mouthaan to be a juror for their 2024 award season. In this role, Mouthaan would help select the best reporting in the world — a testament to the authority and credibility he’s garnered over decades of transparent, high-quality journalism.
Beyond his reporting, Mouthaan is also a published author. His book New York, New York, de gedroomde stad (New York, the Dreamed-Up City) was a bestseller in the Netherlands, offering readers an up-close and personal look at one of the world’s most glamorized and romanticized cities. Mouthaan’s love for New York is strikingly evident in this treatise of the Empire City — he calls it “the most exciting city in the world, filled with ambitious and strong-willed people.” His other publications include the book Tijd voor verandering (Time for Change), documenting the election of Barack Obama, and the podcast Bestemming Witte Huis (Destination White House), where he discusses American politics every week.
Whether he’s reporting from the Oval Office or standing amid natural disasters, Mouthaan continually aims to inform, inspire, and uphold the highest standards of journalism.
5 Insights from a Career of Excellence in Journalism
(Source: Gallup)
To say that journalism has undergone multiple seismic shifts over the years would be an understatement. A fundamental transformation has permanently changed the landscape of news and its consumption, driven by the rise of social media and the increasing digitization of world industry. And while readers and viewers may have greater access to global news than ever before, this evolution risks sacrificing accuracy, substance, and journalistic integrity for speed, sensationalism, and agendas — a trade-off that can have devastating impacts that are impossible to overstate.
As a result, even when proper journalistic standards are upheld, objective data and reporting are often lambasted as misleading and “fake” — all because these facts conflict with the hearsay and misinformation someone sees on social media. Or, worse, witnessed from a news source that has let integrity and transparency fall by the wayside.
Unsurprisingly so, this means that Americans’ trust in the media is at an all-time low. Like the evolution that caused it, this rift threatens to spread across the globe and permanently shape the way people see journalism.
However, Mouthaan believes that the situation is far from hopeless. Over the years, he’s witnessed this growing divide and mistrust firsthand, but he’s also found that several key principles have proven effective for repairing this rift and restoring trust in journalistic integrity. From emphasizing transparency to reporting without fear or favor, these insights provide both inspiration and a sobering call to action for other professionals.
1. Recognize that Journalism Is the First Draft of History
Journalism may be Mouthaan’s career, but it’s also his mission to ask tough questions, figure out how the world works, and explain it to others. “It’s about more than just being there,” he explains. “It’s about asking the right questions, even when the answers are difficult to hear.”
It’s this solemn conviction that’s compelled him to cover some of the most transformative events in modern American history. And in a time where social media is spreading information faster (and far less reliably), Mouthaan finds that journalism can provide the rigorous fact-finding and context that the public needs.
One of the defining moments in his career was reporting live from the Capitol during the January 6 riot. While social media was rocked with misinformation from both sides, showing parts of the story to back their narrative, Mouthaan provided Dutch audiences with a clear, immediate, and objective account of one of the most significant days in modern American politics as rioters stormed the building behind him and chaos unfolded in real time. Even as he and his team were harassed by protestors, he remained committed to relaying the objective reality on Dutch prime-time television.
Mouthaan sees it as a privilege to be among the first to tell a story as it unfolds. But he cautions that it’s also a responsibility that should not be toyed with. The stories he’s relaying to the world serve as a foundation for what history will remember, and in a world where history is written by the victors, he sees his work as crucial to preserving the full truth.
2. Rebuild Trust by Exercising Transparency
Even as modern media is beleaguered by the skepticism and declining trust of its viewers, Mouthaan sees transparency as a cornerstone of credible journalism, arguing that audiences are far more likely to trust news outlets when they understand how stories are crafted.
“In order to get the public to trust journalism more,” he explains, “we have to be clear about how we find sources, weigh facts, and determine what is newsworthy. If audiences knew that we spend days reading up on an issue, slogging through scientific reports, interviewing experts on all sides of an issue, and only then start formulating a balanced story, readers would see the value in hearing from us over a random person on social media.”
Mouthaan suggests that this demystification of the journalistic practice is crucial if the industry hopes to recapture the public’s trust. Recognizing that misinformation and sensationalism have eroded the modern audience’s confidence, he believes that clarity and accountability are more important than ever.
3. Meet Audiences Where They Are
The pitfalls of social media are many and well-documented. These days, they’re rife with misinformation and unreliable user-generated content, further contributing to the informational divide in the country and effectively bastardizing what was once objective truth.
But at the same time, these platforms should not be ignored. In America alone, over half of U.S. adults get at least some of their news from social media — and this number has been climbing in recent years. If that’s where the modern audience is, news outlets must adapt and embrace these platforms — without shedding values like integrity and transparency.
Mouthaan stresses the need to adapt to modern mediums, saying, “Publishers and journalists have to be on the platforms their audiences use, learning how to make TikToks and craft compelling podcasts. We can’t just assume people will find our product — we have to offer it to them on their terms.”
It’s not easy, distilling a complex breaking story into 140 characters. Yet challenges like these are ones the media must overcome if they hope to remain relevant. For Mouthaan, this means using platforms like X (formerly Twitter), where he not only shares breaking news but also contextualizes events to the best of his ability, complemented by his analysis and insights.
Social media can even serve as a bridge between journalists and the public, allowing for genuine interaction and engagement that can deepen reader trust. But a commitment to factual and trustworthy reporting must remain paramount.
4. Be Where the Story Is
Not every journalist has the flexibility to report live from another nation, but Mouthaan sees this opportunity as a way to enrich his reporting with deep nuance and context. He believes that being on the ground where events actively unfold is crucial to impactful journalism, and his career is defined by a long history of witnessing monumental events firsthand — empowering him to fully capture the urgency and complexity of each story.
It’s this dedication that’s led him across the country, from reporting live on the effect of shifting temperatures in Alaska to riding in a helicopter that landed on an ice floe in Newfoundland. He’s been in the Oval Office office five different times, reporting on four presidents who have received the prime minister of the Netherlands — at one point nearly pushed up against the Resolute Desk by a crowd of reporters.
To explain the world effectively, Mouthaan notes, journalists need to witness it up close whenever possible, capturing events in a way that’s compelling, trustworthy, and timely. Journalism isn’t just about relaying information, after all; it’s about connecting audiences to the reality of a situation they know nothing about. By being where the story is, journalists can provide an immediate and authentic perspective.
5. Report Without Fear or Favor
The informational divide that’s splitting a growing rift between journalists and consumers is accelerated and exacerbated by increasingly biased reporting on both sides of the political spectrum. Although news outlets may report on the same stories, how they report these stories can be wildly different. The root of this bias may come from internal prejudice or preconceived notions, but it may also come from external factors like audience feedback, organizational pressure, or threats of censorship.
However, as bias has continued to infect the newsroom at an alarming pace, Mouthaan believes it to be more important than ever to adhere to strict impartiality and the pursuit of objective truth. After all, the bias that a news outlet enables in the name of audience loyalty is the very same dividing force that damages the credibility of all media outlets, effectively destroying trust in the industry as a whole while tarnishing their own reputation.
Instead, Mouthaan emphasizes that reporting must always be balanced, clear, and rooted in facts — even when the truth is unpopular. This means reporting without fear of retribution or unpopularity and without favor for one side or the other.
His dedication to finding this balance for himself is evident in his approach to polarizing issues like elections and social movements, encouraging informed discussion rather than furthering division. His ability to remain objective is part of what’s propelled him to be one of the most trusted voices in contemporary journalism.
Imbuing the Future of Journalism with Integrity and Vision
Erik Mouthaan’s career should serve as a shining example of what journalism can and should be in an era marked by misinformation and division. With decades of experience reporting on America’s most pivotal moments, he’s demonstrably committed to truth, transparency, and integrity, and his insights offer a blueprint for restoring trust in journalism and reconnecting with audiences worldwide.
Whether he’s reporting live amidst a swarm of rioters on January 6 or providing boots-on-the-ground reporting from all 50 states, Mouthaan challenges journalists to make a much-needed return to form by rising above the noise and upholding their noble calling as the writers of the first draft of history.
“Being able to cover the United States, the most important country in the world,” Mouthaan states, “is a privilege that comes with a sense of duty.”
If this duty is neglected, reporters have the power to feed a rapidly growing division that threatens to spread to every corner of the world.
If it’s honored, Mouthaan believes that journalists can effect positive, lasting change and repair the industry’s broken trust among its audiences.