Matthijs van Nieuwkerk receives support from media celebrities after the revelations about his alleged ‘monstrous’ behaviour. “I recognize something of the drive you have to deliver something good.”
It is clear who De Telegraaf means with the revelation about ‘monstrous behaviour’ by a well-known presenter: Matthijs van Nieuwkerk at ‘DWDD’. In a response, BNNVARA said that ‘the working climate within our editorial teams has been a constant point of attention for us for some time now’. There is no denial from either side.
No effort
Victor Vlam, one of the experts at Shownieuws, has no problem with Matthijs’ alleged misconduct. “Matthijs van Nieuwkerk was not only a technical interviewer, he was also someone who knew how to ask the questions and invite guests who were appealing. He sensed that much better than other talk show hosts.”
He continues in The Communicados: “Really from all talk show presenters, because no one has been able to follow in his footsteps. But that taste that is so unique… You just want that to be the guiding principle in the organization and that everyone conforms to it. You don’t want too many people to think in different ways and in their own ways.”
high bar
Matthijs had to set the tone for De Wereld Draait Door, explains Victor. “This also simply makes the program more successful. If you say: ‘You shouldn’t be so demanding on your staff’, I think that person gets demotivated. He then thinks: if I’m the only one who has such a high bar here, then we won’t get anything done.”
That just doesn’t work, says Victor. “People need to be able to be a dick every now and then,” he explains. “I think there is a function in the fact that there is a very clear hierarchy. Bosses who are very dominant, who are very powerful. (…) Then you think: what does the big boss want? How can we please him or her as best as possible?”
‘Little whining’
Format developer Kirsten Jan van Nieuwenhuijzen does not understand the fuss either. “I think it’s a bit nagging actually. I do believe that these people aren’t always the easiest, but I think that’s because if you’re at the top of your craft, you have to be a very perfectionist. Then you also have to be on top of everything,” he says in Content Wars†
He continues: “It may well be that when mistakes are made by people around you, which make you look like an asshole as a presenter, you get angry. I think almost anyone who performs at a very high level can be not too nice once in a while. In addition, making TV is very expensive. There is a lot of pressure and stress on the makers.”
‘I recognize that drift’
AD diva Angela de Jong also defends Matthijs. “It didn’t make him the easiest man to work with at De Wereld Draait Door, to put it mildly† But his perfectionism and drive did mean that we will still remember DWDD in fifty years, while we have already forgotten M and Khalid & Sophie,” she writes in the AD†
Angela points into her podcast in her time as AD chief: “I do recognize something of the drive you have to deliver something that is completely good and which is completely perfect and what just doesn’t always work out. (…) When I look back on my own leadership, I do see things that I could have done better.”
But: “I didn’t shout very much.”