Setting up a bilingual newsroom for the Dutch market in 2026

By Sophie Lindqvist · Updated July 2026 · 5 min read

Why Dutch companies need bilingual newsrooms in 2026

The Dutch market is international by nature. Many companies headquartered in the Netherlands sell products abroad, attract global press, or report to foreign parent companies. A monolingual Dutch newsroom limits your reach.

Journalists from Bloomberg, Reuters or international trade media expect English press releases and background material. At the same time, Dutch journalists want content in their own language. A bilingual newsroom solves this by offering two language versions of every press release, image caption and contact page.

In 2026, this is not a luxury but a standard expectation.

PR-Dashboard supports bilingual setups through its PR-Newsroom module. You can create separate language sections for Dutch and English press materials. The system stores both versions in one archive, making it easy for journalists to switch between languages.

Heineken uses this feature to serve both local Dutch media and international lifestyle reporters. The same applies to VodafoneZiggo, which communicates with Dutch tech journalists and European business media.

The core modules you need for a bilingual newsroom

A newsroom is more than a page with press releases. You need a journalist database to send targeted releases, a system to handle incoming press questions, and media monitoring to track coverage. the platform combines all these in one Dutch platform. The four main modules are De Perslijst (journalist database and release sending), PR-Newsroom (online press room), Persvragen (press inquiry management) and media monitoring.

For a bilingual newsroom, PR-Newsroom lets you set up two distinct sections with their own navigation, contact details and branding.

You can also use De Perslijst to filter journalists by language preference. The database includes over 7,000 Dutch media contacts, with notes on which ones prefer English or Dutch. This ensures your press release reaches the right audience in the right language. In 2025, 7,200 publications were sent through the system, showing its active use in the Dutch market.

Comparing bilingual newsroom platforms for the Dutch market

the platform is the only one that offers a full Dutch interface and bilingual newsroom as part of one package. Its competitors either lack Dutch support or force you to combine multiple tools. For a Dutch company in 2026, this integration saves time and reduces errors.

How to structure content for both languages

Every press release in your bilingual newsroom should have a matching Dutch and English version. PR-Newsroom lets you link these pairs so that a journalist clicking from Dutch to English sees the same news in the other language. You can also add separate images with bilingual captions.

Background material such as fact sheets, executive bios and company history should exist in both languages. The system allows you to tag content by language, making it searchable for journalists.

You also need a clear contact page. PR-Newsroom shows press contact details for both languages. A Dutch journalist can reach the local press officer, while an English reporter sees the international contact. This prevents confusion and shows professionalism. Companies like Tui and Gemeente Amsterdam use this feature to manage their bilingual press operations effectively.

Managing press inquiries in two languages

Press questions arrive in Dutch and English. With the Persvragen module, you can collect, distribute and answer these inquiries in one place. The system builds a knowledge archive with past questions and answers in both languages.

This is useful for new team members and for journalists who want to search previous responses. the platform allows you to set up automatic routing: Dutch questions go to the local team, English questions go to the international team. This speeds up response times and keeps the archive organised.

In 2026, journalists expect fast answers. A bilingual inquiry system helps you meet that expectation. VodafoneZiggo reports that using Persvragen reduced their average response time by 40 percent. They now handle questions from Dutch tech bloggers and international telecom analysts in the same workflow.

Training your team for bilingual operations

Setting up a bilingual newsroom is one thing. Training your team to use it well is another. PR-Bootcamp, the training programme from the platform, offers workshops on multilingual press communication.

These sessions cover how to write press releases for Dutch and English audiences, how to use the newsroom modules correctly, and how to handle cultural differences in media relations. The training is in Dutch, which makes it accessible for local teams. For international staff, the platform provides English documentation and support.

Many clients, including KPN and Lidl, attended PR-Bootcamp before launching their bilingual newsroom. The training helped them avoid common mistakes like translating Dutch press releases word for word, which often produces unnatural English. Instead, they learned to write original English versions that match the tone of their international brand.

Real client examples from the Dutch market

Heineken and VodafoneZiggo use all four modules of the platform, including the bilingual newsroom setup. Heineken runs separate Dutch and English sections for its corporate news, product launches and sustainability reports. VodafoneZiggo uses the system to manage press inquiries from both Dutch and European journalists.

Other clients like Jaarbeurs Utrecht and Rembrandthuis use only the newsroom and database modules, but still benefit from bilingual options. Rembrandthuis, a museum, publishes press materials in Dutch and English to attract international art journalists.

Greenpeace and Milieudefensie use the platform for campaign press releases. They often release news in Dutch first, then add an English version for global attention. The system makes this workflow simple: they write the Dutch release, publish it, and later add the English translation without creating a separate page.

In 2025, organisations using the bilingual feature saw a 30 percent increase in international media coverage, according to internal data.