Nikki Sterkenburg will be appointed endowed professor of investigative journalism at the Faculty of Humanities of VU Amsterdam as of December 1. It is the first chair in the Netherlands dedicated to this theme.
Dean Faculty of Humanities René van Woudenberg: "We are delighted with the appointment of Nikki Sterkenburg, because reflecting on the question of how investigative journalism can strengthen democracy is so hugely important."
Nikki Sterkenburg will supervise four PhD students two days a week, as well as conducting research and teaching herself. The research will focus on the question of how investigative journalism can contribute to the strengthening of democracy, and will mainly concentrate on reflection and research on investigative journalism. An investigative field that Sterkenburg has long been interested in. "There will hardly be anyone who says investigative journalism is not important and yet we know so little about it. We consume its fruits, but a longitudinal analysis of investigative journalism techniques, methods of funding, narrative forms and social impact is lacking. In this new role, I want to show, together with the profession, how socially relevant this field is, and make it clear why, as a democratic constitutional state and as a free and open society, we cannot do without investigative journalism."
Nikki Sterkenburg (1984) studied Dutch and religious studies in Amsterdam and journalism in Groningen. She worked, among others, at Nieuwe Revu and at Elsevier Weekblad. In 2020, Sterkenburg started as a scientific assistant at the Ministry of Justice and Security. Since March 2021, she has been deputy head of National Security Analysis at the National Coordinator for Counterterrorism and Security (NCTV). In 2021, Sterkenburg completed her PhD at Leiden University on From action to self-actualisation: Routes of entry to the radical and extreme right. For this, she spoke to a series of right-wing activists, investigated why they became and remained active in the radical and extreme right, and how this relates to the scientific literature.
The chair is funded by the Foundation for Scientific Investigative Journalism.Funds for it come from the Veronica Foundation, the Democracy and Media Foundation and the Gieskes-Strijbis Fund. The appointment came about through an open selection process, in which candidates could apply and were then assessed by an independent committee based on set criteria. More information on the appointment process of an endowed professor can be found here.