That investigation will focus on the ‘working conditions’ at the television program, the public broadcaster said. Reported last weekend de Volkskrant in an extensive reconstruction of years of transgressive behavior at The world goes on. The pivot in this was presenter Matthijs van Nieuwkerk, who verbally humiliated editors and other employees, which created a culture of fear in the editorial office. The editors and management of the broadcaster were aware of this, but did not intervene.
In recent months, the current leadership of BNNVara has been in the run-up to the publication of de Volkskrant sat down with Van Nieuwkerk several times. This gave the broadcaster the impression that the presenter regretted his behavior. However, that impression changed when Van Nieuwkerk responded to the revelations in a statement last Friday. According to BNNVara, he lashed out at colleagues and there were no apologies.
Fifteen minutes later, Van Nieuwkerk sent another statement to de Volkskrant, in which he did express regret, after BNNVara had informed him that the first explanation was not sufficient. Nevertheless, the damage had already been done: “We have to question the sincerity of this second statement since it came about after we informed Matthijs van Nieuwkerk that we were disappointed with the first statement,” said BNNVara. de Volkskrant.
That reaction stings Van Nieuwkerk, he tells the ANP news agency: ‘The fact that my employer openly doubts my sincerity makes further cooperation impossible.’ Van Nieuwkerk currently presents three programs at BNNVara: Matthijs Continues, The Connection and Chansons.
The presenter is not employed by the broadcaster and also works on programs at the NTR. On Saturday, recordings of the Top 2000 Quiz shut down. The NTR has previously indicated that the program Top 2000 à Go-Go will take place, but now the broadcaster says it will consult with the NPO and Van Nieuwkerk. Van Nieuwkerk himself says that he wants to ‘come to his senses’ in the near future: ‘After that I hope to be heard from again.’