Sven Kockelmann wins Sonja Barend Award
He received the professional award for his interview with departing Prime Minister Dick Schoof.
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Sven Kockelmann won the Sonja Barend Award 2026 on Sunday for his interview with Dick Schoof on Café Kockelmann. The prize is regarded as the professional award for the best television interview of the past season.
The conversation with Schoof was broadcast on 20 February 2026. Kockelmann spoke to the then Prime Minister about his premiership, conflicts within the coalition and whether he had ever considered stepping down.
The jury nominated nine interviews. Those on the list included Eva Jinek, Tijs van den Brink, Maaike Schoon, Janine Abbring and Coen Verbraak. A broad jury of fellow professionals selected the winner from that list.
The Sonja Barend Award is organised by VARAgids and named after interviewer Sonja Barend. She died in April 2026. This year, the prize was presented for the first time without her being present.
The award is not a public vote and says nothing about viewing figures. The jury assesses the interview as a journalistic conversation, considering such factors as the sharpness of the questions, the space given to the interviewee and the way in which a conversation produces new information or reflection.
In the nominated conversation, Kockelmann also asked Schoof to assess himself. According to the jury's description, Schoof gave his premiership a score between six and seven. The prize therefore goes to an interview combining political reflection with personal reflection.
The award ceremony took place on Sunday evening on Pauw & De Wit. The award underlines that television interviews in the Netherlands are still valued as a distinct journalistic genre, alongside daily news and talk-show formats.
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The winner, the nominated interview and the nature of the prize have been confirmed by publicly available sources. The assessment of journalistic quality remains a jury judgement and has not been presented as a factual conclusion.
- confirmed Sven Kockelmann won the Sonja Barend Award 2026. — The event was reported by several news media outlets on 25 October. source
- confirmed The prize was awarded for an interview with Dick Schoof on Café Kockelmann. — BNNVARA lists the interview as a nominated entry. source
- confirmed Sonja Barend died in April 2026. — BNNVARA mentions this in its explanation of the prize. source
Editor's note
The win was reported by several media outlets; BNNVARA confirms the context of the prize and the nomination. At the time of publication, the official jury statement on the result was only partly available.Sources
- Sonja Barend Award 2026 — BNNVARA
- Sonja Barend Award Sven Kockelmann voor interview met Dick Schoof — NL Vandaag
- Over de award — BNNVARA