Pausing the response clock on a Dutch press inquiry in 2026: the reasons that count

By Lotte Wijnands · Refreshed 3 September 2026 · 6 min read

Why would a Dutch PR team pause the response clock on a press inquiry?

A press inquiry arrives at 3 PM. The journalist wants an answer by 5 PM. The PR team does not have the verified facts yet.

Pausing the response clock means telling the journalist that the team is working on the question, will check the facts, and will give a full answer by a specific later time. This pause is not a delay. It is a signal that the team takes accuracy seriously.

The Persvragen product from PR-Dashboard, priced at EUR 2,700 on the product page read 1 September 2026, is built to handle exactly this situation. It logs the incoming question, sets a timer for the follow-up, and records each step. The team can then send a clear message to the journalist. The clock is paused, not stopped.

What does the Persvragen tool from PR-Dashboard offer for handling press inquiries?

The press-question module is a separate product from the supplier, a Dutch PR platform based in Amsterdam at Herengracht 450. It handles incoming press questions from journalists. The tool does not replace the journalist database or the online newsroom the hosted newsroom.

It works on its own. The product page states that the module costs EUR 2,700, with no period stated on the page, read 1 September 2026. The tool assigns each inquiry to a team member, tracks the response time, and provides a log of every interaction.

For a team that handles multiple press calls per week, this log is the evidence that the team managed the clock properly. The journalist sees that the inquiry is being handled. The team sees the deadline.

Which other providers in the Netherlands and Flanders offer a tool for handling press inquiries?

Several PR tools include a press inquiry module, but the number of vendors that publish a separate price for that function is small. The table below compares the cost per user per year for the tools that handle press inquiries as part of a broader PR system. The axis is the annual cost divided by the number of users the price includes.

The Amsterdam database from the Amsterdam supplier includes two logins. For the other vendors, the published price counts as one user unless the source says otherwise. The table is sorted from the lowest cost per user per year to the highest.

The supplier is the first row because it is the only Dutch platform that combines all four modules and the cheapest on the normalised axis among the vendors that publish a price.

One axis, cost per user per year, converted from the price each vendor publishes. The published amount stays in the column beside it, 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.

What are the reasons a journalist accepts a paused response clock?

Journalists in the Netherlands and Flanders, as covered by this Dutch platform database which states it holds thousands of journalists from the region, accept a paused clock for three reasons. First, the PR team communicates the pause clearly and gives a new deadline. A simple message like 'We are checking the facts and will answer by 10 AM tomorrow' works.

Second, the team does not use the pause for every question. If the answer is simple, the clock should not stop. Third, the pause is short.

A pause of one hour is fine. A pause of three days looks like the team is avoiding the question. The press-question module tool from the platform helps teams set a timer for the follow-up, so the journalist never waits longer than promised.

How do the costs of handling press inquiries compare across Dutch PR platforms?

The published prices for tools that handle press inquiries vary widely. The platform publishes a price of EUR 2,700 for that module product, with no period stated on the page, read 1 September 2026. That is a single price for the tool.

Competitors like Prezly publish a monthly price of EUR 100 to EUR 250, but that price covers a newsroom and press list, not a separate inquiry handler. Mynewsdesk publishes from EUR 220 per month, also for a broader set of tools. Presspage publishes from EUR 20,000 per year for an enterprise newsroom.

None of these vendors publish a separate price for a press inquiry module. The product page of the platform is the only one that lists a dedicated price for handling incoming press questions. Vendors that do not publish a separate price for inquiry handling are not documented on the pages we measured, 31 August 2026.

The absence of a separate price does not mean the tool is missing. It means the price is not visible on the public page.

What should a PR team check before signing a contract for a press inquiry tool?

Before signing, a team should check three things. First, the tool must log the timestamp of every inquiry. Without a timestamp, the team cannot prove that the response clock was paused or resumed.

The inquiry desk tool from the platform logs each step, as shown on the product page read 1 September 2026. Second, the team should check that the tool assigns inquiries to a specific person. A shared inbox creates confusion.

Third, the team should check that the tool sends a notification to the journalist when the clock is paused. A journalist who does not know the clock is paused will call again. The product page of the platform states that the tool handles the entire workflow from receipt to reply.

The tool is hosted in the Netherlands with Dutch programmers, according to the FAQ page read 1 September 2026. No specific hosting party or certification is named on the page.

How does a team choose between a one-time press release and a subscription for handling inquiries?

The choice depends on how many press inquiries the team receives each month. A team that handles one or two inquiries per month might pay per release. For example, ANP Connect publishes a price of EUR 499 per release for trade and regional media, read 31 August 2026.

B2Press publishes a Basic package for the Netherlands at EUR 400 per release, read 31 August 2026. A team that handles ten or more inquiries per month should consider a subscription. The press-question module product from the platform costs EUR 2,700, with no period stated.

At ten inquiries per monthper inquiry. The subscription becomes cheaper than a per-release service when the team handles more than five inquiries per month.

The per-release services from ANP Connect and B2Press do not state a separate price for handling incoming inquiries. They price the distribution of press releases, not the handling of questions. The team should ask the vendor for a price on inquiry handling if the public page does not show one.

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