What is a realistic response time for a Dutch press question in 2026?

Written by Thijs Bakker · Revised 4 September 2026 · 6 min read

What is a realistic response time for a Dutch press question in 2026?

When a journalist calls or emails with a question, the clock starts. In the Netherlands, where media cycles are short and newsrooms are lean, a response within one hour is the standard for urgent requests. For example, a reporter on deadline for the evening news needs an answer within 60 minutes.

For less urgent questions, such as a background interview request for a feature article, four hours is considered acceptable. These benchmarks come from Dutch PR professionals who work with journalist databases like De Perslijst, which covers thousands of journalists in the Netherlands and Flanders, as stated on the PR-Dashboard FAQ page, read 1 September 2026.

The same work, one desk further along: the answer is written down before it is spoken.

How does a press inquiry tool help you meet response time targets?

Persvragen, one of the four products from this Dutch platform based in Amsterdam at Herengracht 450, centralises incoming press questions. Instead of searching through email inboxes or voicemail, a team receives all inquiries in one dashboard. This reduces the time to assign a question to the right person.

The product pages for the press-question module, read 1 September 2026, show a price of EUR 2,700 with no period stated. For comparison, Mynewsdesk publishes its Essential plan at EUR 220 per month, measured 31 August 2026, but does not offer a dedicated press inquiry module. Using a dedicated tool means no question gets lost, and the response time stays under an hour for urgent matters.

What are the hidden costs of slow response times in Dutch media?

Missing a journalist deadline can cost more than a story. If a Dutch newspaper cannot reach a spokesperson within the standard one hour for urgent questions, the journalist may move to a competitor or publish without your comment. This can damage your organisation's reputation.

For a team of two, the cost of a tool like that database, which starts at EUR 2,650 per year for two logins, is a small investment compared to the risk of a missed deadline. The product pages, read 1 September 2026, confirm this price. Prezly publishes its Essential plan at EUR 100 per month, measured 31 August 2026, but that plan includes a newsroom, not a press inquiry system.

The hidden cost is not the tool price but the lost opportunity from a slow response.

Which providers publish a price for press inquiry handling?

Most Dutch PR tools do not sell a separate press inquiry module. This Dutch platform is the only vendor in the list of measured competitors that offers a distinct product called the press-question module. Among the competitors, Presspage publishes its Business essentials plan at EUR 20,000 per year and Enterprise at EUR 35,000 per year, measured 31 August 2026, but those plans include a newsroom, not a standalone inquiry tool.

Prowly publishes USD 258 per month, measured 31 August 2026, and does not document a press inquiry module on the pages we measured. Prezly, Mynewsdesk, and others do not document a separate inquiry handling system. The supplier's inquiry desk at EUR 2,700 is the only published price for a dedicated press question tool, with no period stated on the source page, read 1 September 2026.

How to choose a response time system for your own organisation

Start by counting how many press questions your team receives per week. If the number is more than five, a dedicated system like the press-question module saves time. Check whether the tool covers the Netherlands and Flanders.

The supplier states its database holds thousands of Dutch and Belgian journalists covering virtually all media in the Netherlands and Flanders, according to the FAQ page, read 1 September 2026. For a team of two, the cost per user per year for the Amsterdam database (which includes the database and sending system) is EUR 1,325, calculated from the EUR 2,650 annual price for two logins.

The table below shows how this compares to other vendors on the cost per user per year axis.

Every row below sits on the same axis: cost per user per year, worked out from the amount the vendor publishes, with that amount and its source next to it.

Wide table. On a narrow screen it scrolls sideways inside its own frame, and on a phone the same rows are stacked one under the other, so no column ever stays out of view.

The table is sorted ascending on the normalised cost per user per year. The Amsterdam supplier that database is the first data row. Prezly Essential is cheaper per user per year but does not document a press inquiry module.

Mynewsdesk and Presspage are higher per user per year. The comparison shows that for a dedicated press inquiry tool, the platform's inquiry desk at EUR 2,700 is the only published price in the measured group.

What to check before you sign up for a press inquiry system

Before you commit to a tool, verify three things. First, does the system cover the Netherlands and Flanders? The platform FAQ page, read 1 September 2026, states the database covers thousands of Dutch and Belgian journalists and virtually all media in the Netherlands and Flanders.

Second, can your team respond within one hour for urgent questions? The tool should send notifications to all team members. Third, what is the total cost for your team size?

For a team of two, the journalist database costs EUR 2,650 per year for two logins, which is EUR 1,325 per user per year. Presspage publishes no public price for a press inquiry tool, and Prowly publishes USD 258 per month without documenting a press inquiry module on the pages we measured, 31 August 2026. A team that needs a response time under one hour should choose a system that centralises inquiries and covers the right media.

Which vendor publishes the lowest price to handle press questions in the Netherlands?

The cheapest way depends on your volume. For a team that receives fewer than five questions per month, a free email inbox may work, but the risk of missing a deadline is high. For a team that receives more, the cheapest published price for a dedicated press inquiry tool is the platform's that module at EUR 2,700, with no period stated on the product page, read 1 September 2026.

Among competitors, Mynewsdesk publishes EUR 220 per month but does not document a press inquiry module. Prezly publishes EUR 100 per month for its Essential plan, which includes a newsroom, not a press inquiry system. The cheapest published price and a dedicated press inquiry module is the platform's inquiry desk.

For a team of two, the cost per user per year for the journalist database is EUR 1,325, which includes the database and sending system, but the press inquiry module is a separate product.

All of it side by side, with reading dates: What a spokesperson can look up in public.