Football players are punished with fines if they misbehave. Shouldn’t something like this also apply to TV stars like Paul de Leeuw? Yes, says Victor Vlam. “Time for sanctions.”
For many presenters, especially older men, fame has gotten so much to their heads that they think they can scream at colleagues on the studio floor. The AD states that Paul de Leeuw has also seriously misbehaved and Erben Wennemars adds fuel to the fire: according to the former skater, the presenter is a transgressive loudmouth.
Paul in danger zone
Media critic Victor Vlam thinks that we should not jump to conclusions. “I then think: it is an incident. I was wondering a bit why this was in the newspaper, to be completely honest. Where people work together, people sometimes argue, so that in itself is not surprising,” he says in the podcast The Communicados.
However, more of these types of experiences should not come to light, he continues. “Yes, if it happens very often… And that is of course what makes it a little bit dangerous for Paul de Leeuw. I think he has entered the danger zone a bit.”
Paper cuts
Will Paul also have to sit on the reserve bench? “To be honest, I don’t think one AD article says much, but if a lot of these kinds of stories suddenly come out, it suddenly becomes a danger for Paul de Leeuw. There is an American saying: ‘death by a thousand paper cuts‘. You could also see that here.”
What does that mean? “That every story causes a tiny bit of damage, but the totality of all those things can cause significant damage to our image. I also think that it is important that BNNVARA intervenes in these types of situations. An apology is nice, but you also have to make sure it doesn’t happen next time.”
Fine
What should BNNVARA do if Paul causes another ear injury to a colleague? You can’t have such a presenter sitting at home for a year every time until an investigation is completed, can you?
No, you just have to give a fine, Victor explains. “This can be done, for example, by taking disciplinary action against Paul de Leeuw. For example, by giving him a fine or taking another sanction, but in any case to deal with this in a good way as an employer.”
More proactive
According to Victor, one thing is certain: they must become more proactive at the NPO. “I think it is especially a bad thing that the NPO always seems to take action after another party has published about it and that does raise questions. Why aren’t they more proactive in identifying these types of problems and taking action?”
He concludes: “What if de Volkskrant had not come up with an article about DWDD and had not come up with an article about NOS Sport? Then Matthijs van Nieuwkerk would probably still be a very celebrated presenter. That’s pretty bizarre. So at the NPO they have to take action without an external party threatening to publish about it.”
So financial sanctions. Scream until the penalty follows.