The jury decided in 1999 to issue the Machiavelli Award to the illegal press, in the persons of the editors in chief of Het Parool, Trouw en Vrij Nederland and to ask them to hand over the statue to the chairman of Nieuwspoort as the guardian of a place where the journalistic attitude, for which the illegal press once stood, is still being realized daily and cán be realized. As a press center, Nieuwspoort distinguishes itself positively in the current journalistic climate thanks to its critical, independent and idealistic impact.