Talpa bobo Frans Klein, who was recruited by John de Mol while he was inactive at the NPO due to the DWDD scandal, is getting the wind from the front. “Cheeky bastard!”
Frans Klein was on top of things when things went horribly wrong at De Wereld Draait Door, but fortunately for him, actions do not always have consequences in Hilversum. He laughingly accepted a lucrative job at Talpa and now complains about the ‘carelessness’ with which the investigation into NPO misconduct was allegedly conducted.
Cheeky bastard
Does Frans want something to actually change in the media world? Or does he mainly want to save his own skin? In any case, he hired the lawyer couple Knoops and, according to the AD media editors, this trio ensured that the investigation into the abuses at the public broadcaster was properly trained.
Now that the report is available, Frans closes legal action not because of that ‘carelessness’. Columnist Jan Dijkgraaf thinks it is unprecedented. “Cheeky monkey,” he writes X. And investigative journalist Kim van Keken: “No Frans, you did not carefully handle very serious complaints from your employees. Not as VARA boss and not as NPO boss.”
‘Be quiet for a moment’
Telegraaf journalist Wilson Boldewijn believes that Frans currently has no right to speak. “Oh oh oh. Fransie just needs to be quiet for a moment.”
Journalist Ton F. van Dijk, also former broadcaster boss of the then Nederland 1, finds it incredible. “Who advises this man on media and perception?”
And former Telegraaf boss Sjuul Paradijs: “Hilarious how broadcasters react to the NPO report. They do not realize that bullying behavior has been condoned under their responsibility. And that they are trying to save their skin.”
Looking away
Angela de Jong is convinced by figures such as Frans Klein that something is really going to change in the TV world. “Matthijs van Nieuwkerk has another nice contract with RTL, his dismissive director Frans Klein is a bigwig at Talpa,” she writes in her AD column.
She thinks it says enough that Frans has hired the lawyer couple Knoops. “What do you think: does that show that someone realizes that things have gone wrong, that he is remorseful and wants to do better from now on? Well, no, the streets urgently need to be cleaned.”
Tip from Jan
How did Frans actually come up with the idea of hiring Mr and Mrs Knoops? Ah, how could it be otherwise: a free tip from Jan Slagter. “Yes, rightly so. He was presented with a piece about him and that would become the final text. Well, then I advised: bring a lawyer,” says the MAX boss Sophie & Jeroen.
Why? “To look carefully to see whether what it says is correct. Whether it is correct. Whether the wording is correct. Whether it was not a person-oriented study. They took that out.”
‘What is Jan doing everywhere?’
Like Johan Derksen, Jan is known for downplaying inappropriate behavior. “Slagter and Derksen are really Frans Klein’s puppets,” concludes Kim van Keken.
She finds it incomprehensible that Jan is allowed to have his say everywhere. “Why is Jan Slagter allowed to talk empty words everywhere and utter nonsense to keep his friend Frans Klein out of the wind?”
Jaap Friso, editor at KRO-NCRV: “It’s really bizarre, these types of men are a big part of the problem.”