Christian news portal for European continent

CNE.news aims to connect Christians across the European continent. "They share the same values but do not know each other's stories very well," says chief editor Evert van Vlastuin. "Reliable information helps people to get a fuller view of each other." At the same time, CNE.news will sometimes reveal where European Christians differ.

In addition, CNE.news will try to help non-believers in understanding what motivates Christians. In this regard, Evert van Vlastuin cites the friction between eastern and western member states of the European Union. "In Western Europe, there is a tendency towards further secularisation. In the east of the EU, there sometimes seems to be a movement in the opposite direction. This is partly due to the role of Christianity in society. Reliable information can help us understand each other better and thus prevent East and West from growing apart. We'd like to contribute to that cohesion."

For CNE.news, good journalism is the critical tool to provide that contribution. The wide range of topics chosen by CNE.news reflects that conviction; from the LGBT debate in Hungary to the pastoral care in flooded parts of Germany, and from the right to circumcision in Denmark to the role of ethics in the ongoing coalition talks in the Netherlands.

The content on CNE.news includes:

• News and background information from all regions of Europe
• Personal columns from Christians in various countries
• In-depth videos in English or with English subtitles

CNE hopes that the content will support a better understanding of Christian values in European society.

Continent

The new portal deliberately will not be focusing on the English-speaking countries but on continental Europe. "There's an information gap that we are keen to fill," says Van Vlastuin. "If there is something going on in an English-speaking country that is important to Christians, news of that usually travels quickly around the world. Comparable news from other language areas takes much longer to spread. Our task is to bring these developments to the concerned reader as timely as possible. Besides, there are already good comparable news sites for English-speaking countries."

Among other tools, the editors use translation software. That technique helps considerably to break down language barriers, Van Vlastuin says. "Not that a translation machine produces flawless texts in English. But as a technology, it's enough to make the news accessible in other languages."

CNE.news welcomes cooperation with other Christian media in Europe. "Again, we know of each other's existence, but we do little together. It would be excellent if CNE.news could help reinforce contact between us all."

CNE currently has a core editorial team of three; all of them are employed by Erdee Media Groep (EMG), publisher of the Protestant daily Reformatorisch Dagblad (RD). However, CNE.news is editorially independent. "RD is written for the Dutch market," says Van Vlastuin. "For an international audience, the emphasis is different. Of course, we will also be using RD articles and giving them a broader platform in English. But we also have our own newsgathering. So, we are building a network of columnists from various countries who will be writing original material for us in English."

Rare privilege

CNE.news is a joint initiative of Erdee Media Groep and the international software company Talenting Group. "Through their international contacts, people at Talenting saw that Christian journalism in Europe is a rare privilege," says Van Vlastuin. "The new technologies that are available afford opportunities to spread such reporting more widely."