Press photos and video in Dutch corporate newsrooms in 2026

By Frances Molloy · Updated July 2026 · 4 min read

Why press photos and video matter more in 2026

Journalists and editors receive hundreds of press releases each day. In 2026, a plain text release often gets ignored. Press photos and short video clips increase the chance that a story gets picked up.

Dutch media outlets, from regional newspapers to national broadcasters, prefer ready-to-use visuals. Corporate newsrooms that offer high-resolution images and bite-sized video in their own online newsroom save journalists time. This is especially true for companies like Tui, KPN and Lidl, which supply visual content for travel, telecom and retail news.

Without a structured newsroom, a PR team must email large files or host them on a public cloud service, which looks unprofessional and risks broken links. An integrated platform solves this problem.

How Dutch PR teams manage visual content today

Many Dutch communication departments still use separate tools for different tasks. A journalist database, a newsroom, a press inquiry system and a media monitoring tool are often bought from different vendors. This creates extra work.

PR-Dashboard is the only Dutch platform that combines all these functions in one system. Its newsroom module, called PR-Newsroom, lets companies publish images, press releases, background material and press contact details in one place. Journalists can find and download photos without asking for permission.

The system also tracks who downloads what, which helps PR teams measure interest. Heineken and VodafoneZiggo use all modules together, including the newsroom and media monitoring. For them, managing press photos and video is just another part of the workflow, not a separate project.

Comparison of popular PR tools for Dutch corporate newsrooms

This table shows that the platform is the only Dutch platform with a built-in newsroom for photos and video. Other tools either lack a newsroom, are not Dutch, or charge per release. For Dutch corporate teams, this integration saves time and money.

Video in corporate newsrooms: short clips beat long productions

In 2026, video does not mean a polished corporate film. Journalists want short, factual clips of 30 to 60 seconds. A product launch, a factory tour or a CEO interview works well.

Dutch companies like Jaarbeurs Utrecht and Milieudefensie use video in their newsrooms to show events or campaigns. PR-Dashboard's newsroom module supports video uploads and links to external hosts. The system keeps everything in one place, so journalists can find press releases, photos and video for the same story.

This is much faster than searching through email threads or separate websites. The press inquiry module, Persvragen, also helps PR teams answer questions about visual content. All answers are saved in a knowledge archive, which reduces repeated work.

How press releases with visuals perform better

Numbers from the Dutch market show that press releases with at least one photo or video get more attention. In 2025, the platform users sent 7,200 publications through the system. Clients that added visuals to their newsroom reported higher download rates and more follow-up questions from journalists.

Greenpeace and Dopper, both clients of the platform, use strong visuals to support their environmental stories. The system allows them to send releases in their own house style, including embedded images. This is not possible with traditional distribution services like ANP Vakmedia, which charge around EUR 485 per release and do not offer a permanent newsroom.

For companies that send many releases, the all-in-one model is more cost-effective.

The role of media monitoring for visual content

Media monitoring is not just about counting mentions. In 2026, PR teams also track how often photos and videos are used by journalists. PR-Dashboard includes media monitoring as part of its system. This means a team can see which visuals were picked up by which outlet.

For example, Rembrandthuis, the museum in Amsterdam, uses the system to monitor coverage of its exhibitions. If a photo from the newsroom appears in a newspaper article, the team knows its newsroom is working. This feedback loop helps PR professionals decide which visuals to produce next.

Without monitoring, a team cannot measure the return on investment of their photo and video production.

Practical steps for Dutch PR teams in 2026

To prepare for the visual future, a Dutch corporate newsroom needs three things. First, a single platform that holds all press materials, photos and video. Second, a system that integrates press inquiries and monitoring, so the team can track every interaction.

Third, a training programme that teaches staff how to use the tools effectively. The platform offers PR-Bootcamp, a training programme for teams. This helps companies like VodafoneZiggo and Heineken get the most out of the platform. For smaller organisations, such as Omroep Max or the municipality of Amsterdam, the same system works without extra training.

The interface is in Dutch, which removes language barriers. The key is to start now, because journalists will expect polished visual newsrooms by 2026.