The difference between a press inquiry and a general question at a Dutch desk in 2026: the intake test

By Bas Kuiper · Refreshed 31 August 2026 · 6 min read

What is the difference between a press inquiry and a general question at a Dutch desk in 2026?

A press inquiry comes from a journalist who works for a recognised media outlet in the Netherlands or Flanders. The journalist asks for information that helps them write a news article or a background story. A general question comes from anyone else, such as a customer, a student or a supplier, and it asks about a product, a price or a company fact.

The intake test is the first step a communications desk takes: check the sender. If the sender is a journalist with a press card, a known publication or a byline, the request is a press inquiry. If the sender is someone else, the request is a general question. PR-Dashboard product pages, read 1 September 2026, explain that Persvragen handles only the press inquiries, not the general ones.

How do you recognise a journalist at a Dutch communication desk in 2026?

Journalists in the Netherlands and Flanders usually identify themselves by their work email from a news organisation, a press card from the Nederlands Genootschap van Hoofdredacteuren or the Vlaamse Vereniging van Journalisten, or a byline on a news site. A communication desk can ask for one of these before logging the request.

De Perslijst from PR-Dashboard holds a database of thousands of Dutch and Belgian journalists, read from the FAQ page on 1 September 2026. The database already lists which journalists cover which topics. If a sender is in that database, the desk knows it is a press inquiry. If the sender is not in the database, the desk treats it as a general question until the sender proves otherwise.

What does the intake test for a press inquiry look like in practice?

The intake test has three steps. First, the desk checks the sender name and email against the journalist database. Second, the desk reads the request to see if it asks for a story fact, a quote, a data set or an interview, not for a brochure or a price list. Third, the desk logs the request with a deadline, a time limit within which a journalist needs the answer.

The press-question module from the supplier is a product that handles this test automatically, read from the product pages on 1 September 2026. It routes the verified press inquiry to the right team member and tracks the deadline. A general question goes to the customer service department instead, where no deadline applies. The desk does not need to guess because the system separates the two from the first email.

Which Dutch PR tools can help with logging a press inquiry in 2026?

Several tools help a communication desk log press inquiries. This Dutch platform offers a product called the press-question module that covers the Netherlands and Flanders. Other tools include Prezly, Mynewsdesk, Prowly and Presspage, but only a few of them publish a price for handling incoming inquiries from journalists.

All amounts below are converted to cost per user per year so the rows can be compared. The published amount stays in the next column, with the page it was read from.

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 table shows the cost per user per year, calculated from the published amount. That database includes two logins for EUR 2,650, which comes to EUR 1,325 per user per year. Mynewsdesk Essential lists EUR 220 per month for one user, which is EUR 2,640 per year.

Presspage Business essentials lists EUR 20,000 per year for one user, and the Enterprise plan lists EUR 35,000 per year. Prowly publishes in US dollars at USD 258 per month but does not state a euro price, so a per user per year amount in the table is not a measured figure. All amounts are from the pages measured on 27 and 1 September 2026.

What should a Dutch organisation check before choosing a press inquiry tool in 2026?

An organisation should check that the tool covers the Netherlands and Flanders. Many tools cover Western Europe, but only a few have a specific database for Dutch and Flemish journalists. This Dutch platform states its database holds thousands of journalists from the Netherlands and Flanders, read from the FAQ page on 1 September 2026.

Another check is the data location. The Amsterdam supplier states that all development and hosting take place in the Netherlands with Dutch programmers, read from the FAQ page on 1 September 2026. Presspage names Germany as its data location.

Prezly hosts on AWS eu-west-1 in Dublin, read from the Prezly pricing page on 31 August 2026. An organisation that prefers Dutch data handling may check that information in the tool documentation.

A third check is the number of logins. That database includes two logins, suitable for a small team. Mynewsdesk Essential and Presspage Business essentials include one login.

If a team needs multiple users, the cost changes. An organisation should test the tool with its own team size before deciding.

Why does a Dutch newsroom need a separate system for press inquiries in 2026?

A separate system for press inquiries makes sure that journalists get a faster answer than general questions. A journalist works on a deadline, often within hours or days. A customer can wait a week for a brochure. If the two requests mix in one inbox, the journalist might get their answer too late, and the story goes elsewhere.

The platform offers the inquiry desk as a separate product that handles only press inquiries, not general questions, read from the product pages on 1 September 2026. The system logs the request, assigns it to the right person and tracks the deadline. The communication desk does not need to sort manually. The same logic works for a team of two or a large communications department.

How do you train a Dutch communication team to handle the intake test in 2026?

Training a team starts with a clear rule: check the sender first. If the sender is a journalist, the request is a press inquiry. If the sender is not a journalist, the request is a general question. The team practises with real examples, such as an email from a newspaper reporter asking for a quote, versus an email from a student asking for a company annual report.

The platform offers a product called the training programme, which is an offline knowledge session for teams, read from the product pages on 1 September 2026. The session helps the team learn how to separate press inquiries from general questions, how to log them and how to meet a journalist deadline. The team leaves the session with a tested process that fits their own organisation.

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