Defending Black Pete: strategies of justification and the preservation of tradition in Dutch news discourse

Abstract

Dutch icon Black Pete has been scrutinized for using blackface. The construction of a national narrative through journalistic practices is one element in the creating or contesting of this tradition. Through analysis of articles in two major Dutch newspapers—de Telegraaf and NRC handelsblad—this article examines how news discourse can deal with threats to national identity. The positioning of the issue, from mainly editorial to news reports, shines light on the debate as it moves from peripheral to central in the national consciousness. De Telegraaf employs strategies of justification by presenting the holiday as integral to national identity through ahistorical myth building and evocation of childhood. NRC often contests similar narratives for a more socially liberal point of view. As emotional strategies seem to fail over time, more neutral coverage that seems to respond to a need for increased objectivity.