Strong reactions to WNL because it defends director after criticism of fear culture | Media

#Strong #reactions #WNL #defends #director #criticism #fear #culture #Media
By our entertainment editors

Feb 29, 2024 at 9:42 AM Update: 11 minutes ago

Mariëtte Hamer is “very surprised” by the fact that the supervisory board of broadcaster WNL supports director Bert Huisjes. The NPO also condemns the response to the stories of (former) employees about Huisjes’ behavior.

The supervisory board said on Wednesday evening that it supported WNL director Huisjes. The council also said it was “lucky” to have him.

The supervisory board thus responded to statements made by a group of former employees AD about the culture of fear that would prevail at the broadcaster. The employees, including Eva Jinek and Leonie ter Braak, point to Huisjes as the cause of this culture of fear.

Tackling misconduct “starts with taking the reports seriously,” Hamer said on Thursday NOS Radio 1 News. She is the government commissioner for sexual misconduct.

“That did not happen in the case of WNL. Moreover, the stories of (former) WNL employees who worked in the AD were also mentioned in the report of the Van Rijn committee,” Hamer said. “If the WNL management now says that nothing is wrong, they should read the report again.”

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‘WNL response is a bad example of how to deal with these reports’

The Van Rijn committee concluded in its report that misconduct in Hilversum is widely spread, both at public broadcasters and at commercial channels. The committee investigated after reports of misconduct The world goes on in NOS Sport.

Hamer wants the broadcasters to discuss how they deal with reports of undesirable behavior. She calls the Huisjes case and WNL’s response “a very bad example of how to deal with these types of reports. Apparently the broadcasters must make clear agreements about this and an action plan must also be drawn up for this.”

Frederieke Leeflang, chairman of the NPO board of directors, has “entered into discussions” with the broadcaster and the supervisory board. The NPO accuses the supervisory board of “no effective management and supervision”.

Leeflang agrees with Hamer’s fierce condemnations. The chairman shares the opinion that the signals and complaints are not taken seriously.

“I agree with the government commissioner that that is not what we are now seeing in the response of WNL and the supervisory board of broadcaster WNL,” says Leeflang. “Recognition and taking complaints seriously are the basic conditions for the overarching plan of action that we are now working on together with the broadcasters to be effective.”

Supervisory Board does not revise response after Hamer’s criticism

The supervisory board announced on Thursday morning that it does not recognize Hamer’s criticism. “We responded very seriously,” says Fons van Westerloo, member of the supervisory board.

“We conducted a satisfaction survey immediately after Van Rijn’s report. We proposed expanding the editorial office and we conducted a survey into the working atmosphere at good morning Netherlands. What else should we have done?”

Van Westerloo reiterates that Huisjes’ position is “not up for discussion”. He says it AD “has mainly written down stories of people who left the broadcaster disappointed. Big names such as Sven Kockelmann and Rick Nieman have been working for the broadcaster for years and they have not had any problems.”

College of Broadcasters calls for change in Hilversum

Arjan Lock, the chairman of the College of Broadcasters, the umbrella organization within which Hilversum broadcasters consult, says that WNL’s response “does not do justice to the experiences of the employees”. “If a broadcaster or the NPO does not take these types of reports seriously, especially after the report of the Van Rijn committee, then we are not worth a wink.”

The College of Broadcasters believes that it is “about time” that broadcasters consider the people as important as the content. “Something has to change in that area.” Lock, who responds on behalf of the broadcasters, states that the responsibility for these changes lies with the broadcasters themselves.

Outgoing State Secretary Fleur Gräper (Culture and Media) announced that she had already ADpublication had agreed to discuss the approach to transgressive behavior with the NPO next week. Gräper says he has “great respect for the courage of the WNL employees who made themselves known.” Thanks to these reports, according to the minister, “problems can be tackled so that there is no longer room for such behavior”.

It spoke before publication AD with 25 people involved. The article talked about a “culture of fear.” Huisjes is also said to have been guilty of manipulative behavior and pregnancy discrimination.

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