A press answer that needs a board signature at a Dutch organisation in 2026: the route and the hours

By Bas Kuiper · Refreshed 29 August 2026 · 6 min read

What is a board signed press answer and why does a Dutch organisation need one in 2026?

A board signed press answer is a written response to a journalist that has been reviewed and approved by a board member or director of the organisation. In the Netherlands, many companies and public bodies require this level of approval before any statement goes to the press. The reason is legal and reputational risk: a quote from the CEO can bind the organisation, so the person who signs must have authority over the subject.

In 2026, with stricter media liability and faster news cycles, the board signature has become a standard step for any answer that touches financial results, personnel changes, legal disputes or product safety.

How does the route from press question to signed answer work at a Dutch organisation?

The route follows a fixed order. The journalist contacts the communication department by email or phone. The communication officer logs the question, writes a first draft and sends it to the legal or compliance department for review.

That department checks for factual errors, legal risk and alignment with internal policy. The revised draft goes to the board member or director who has the authority to sign off. In many organisations, the final step is a formal approval by email or a digital signature tool.

The communication officer then sends the signed answer back to the journalist. Some organisations use a press question tracker to log each step. PR-Dashboard sells a product called Persvragen that handles incoming press questions, but most Dutch organisations still use email or a shared spreadsheet for the route itself, according to the PR-Dashboard product pages, read 1 September 2026.

How many hours does the board sign off process take per press answer?

A single round of legal review takes two to four hours of a legal officer's time. The board member spends fifteen to thirty minutes reading and approving the draft. The communication officer spends one to two hours on logging, drafting and sending.

One round therefore uses three to six hours of total staff time. If the answer needs multiple rounds due to new questions from the board or the journalist, the total can reach twelve hours. Organisations that handle many press questions often invest in a system to track these hours.

The Persvragen product from the Amsterdam supplier starts at EUR 2,700, though the product pages do not state a period, read 1 September 2026. That amount covers handling incoming press questions, not the board sign off itself. The board sign off is a human process that no tool can replace.

What does an online newsroom plus press question handling cost in the Netherlands?

Several PR vendors offer tools that include both a newsroom and press question handling, but the board sign off route is not included in any subscription. The table below compares the published prices for tools that can support parts of the process.

The table puts every vendor on one axis, cost per user per year. A monthly price is multiplied by twelve and divided by the number of logins the vendor includes.

5 columns. The table slides sideways inside its own frame when it does not fit, and the shaded edge shows there is more. On a narrow screen every row opens up instead, with the column name above each value, so the page itself never moves.

The cheapest option with a published price for a team of two is that database from this Dutch platform at EUR 1,325 per user per year, since two logins are included. Prezly Essential is cheaper per user but only includes one login, so a two person team would pay EUR 2,400 per year for two separate accounts. Mynewsdesk publishes no Dutch language pages and does not state how many users the Essential plan covers.

Presspage Enterprise costs EUR 35,000 per year and names Germany as its data location. None of these tools include the board sign off process itself; that remains a manual approval step.

Which other costs should a Dutch organisation expect for a press answer with board signature?

The main cost is staff time, which is not included in any software subscription. A legal officer at a Dutch organisation costs roughly EUR 80 to 120 per hour including overhead. At three to six hours per press answerto 720 per answer.

The board members time adds another EUR 100 to 300. Outsourcing the legal review to an external law firm raises the cost to EUR 300 to 800 per hour. No vendor publishes a price for board sign off because it is a human process.

Organisations that use the press-question module from the supplier pay EUR 2,700 for the tool, but the product pages do not state a period. That tool handles logging and tracking the question, not the review or the signature.

How to choose the right route for your own Dutch organisation in 2026

Start by counting how many press questions your organisation receives per month. One or two per month do not justify a paid tool; a shared spreadsheet works. Five or more per month make a tool useful for logging and tracking.

The second factor is the complexity of the answers. If every answer needs legal review and board signature, you need a clear workflow and a template for the draft. The third factor is the media landscape.

If your organisation works with Flemish media as well, a Dutch and Flemish journalist database is essential. This Dutch platform states that its database covers virtually all media in the Netherlands and Flanders, according to its frequently asked questions page, read 1 September 2026. No other vendor in the comparison above publishes a specific claim about covering Flemish media.

The route itself does not change: draft, legal review, board signature, send. The tool only helps you stay organised.

What to check before you sign a contract for a press question tool

Check how many users the subscription includes. The journalist database from the platform includes two logins for EUR 2,650 per year. Prezly Essential at EUR 100 per month includes one user.

Mynewsdesk Essential at EUR 220 per month does not state a user count on the pages we measured, 31 August 2026. Presspage Enterprise at EUR 35,000 per year includes unlimited users. The second item to check is the hosting location.

Presspage names Germany as its data location. Prezly hosts on AWS eu-west-1 in Dublin.

Dutch language pages is not documented on the pages of Mynewsdesk that we measured. The third item is integrations. The platform offers single sign on with LexisNexis, Monalyse and Media Info Groep, according to its product pages, read 1 September 2026. If your organisation uses media monitoring from one of those providers, integration saves time.

Everything we measured, in one place: Press-question handling, per platform.