The great NPO boss Frederieke Leeflang appears to have two faces: strict with Matthijs van Nieuwkerk on stage, chatting backstage about a new contract. “50K fine!”
It’s happening insiders seen as an absolute game changer: the extremely strict statements that the great NPO boss Frederieke Leeflang made in the Volkskrant at the beginning of October. She sat there talking very inflexibly about a possible comeback by Matthijs van Nieuwkerk. She explained all the conditions in that interview.
Sex offender
Matthijs was only allowed to return if he had jumped through three hoops: first the report had to be submitted, furthermore, his comeback must ‘not lead to insecurity on the work floor’ and ‘there must be a certain reflective capacity’. How painful: one day you are an A-star, the next day your boss talks about you in the newspaper as if you were some kind of sex offender.
That day everything changed for Matthijs, broadcasting insider Rutger Castricum now says at the table Today Inside. They, as it were, drove him into the arms of RTL and Talpa – he has now signed with RTL, a Talpa deal failed due to John de Mol’s attitude. But eh, the NPO wasn’t an option anyway because of evil lady Frederieke? Or is this different?
Hypocritical
Yes, this is different. Last night the AD published a very damning piece about public broadcasting: ‘Matthijs van Nieuwkerk, Op1 and hundreds of complaints: it is chaos at the NPO‘. We read all kinds of craziness in this, but also that the NPO was secretly chatting with Matthijs. With that report still far from view.
Frederieke is therefore being very strict in front of the stage, but backstage is just not conducting contract negotiations. What kind of sham is this? This is very normal in Hilversum, because Bridget Maasland believes that RTL should also have done this, but for people outside the bubble this seems very hypocritical. And that is it.
50,000 euros
That mischievous Frederieke was apparently so embarrassed by that chat with Matthijs that those involved had to sign a confidentiality contract under penalty of 50,000 euros. Jan Slagter, who with his Omroep MAX was ready as a kind of shelter for Matthijs, confirms this in the AD: “Yes, I can say that now.”
So Jan also signed. Fortunately he kept his lips tight, otherwise he could have stuck with another year of MAX Memory Trainer. “I was the one who insisted on talking to Matthijs. If you wait, you will be too late, because everyone knew that several parties wanted Matthijs.”
All secret
All juicy all. And who will get Jan’s knife in the back? Frederieke of course. “Frederieke had it all remain secret, because she always said that discussions with Matthijs were only allowed after the outcome of Van Rijn’s report. If it came out, she would lose face.”
Ah, so Frederieke is now suffering prematurely. Embarrassing and intolerable. And now she also has Johan Derksen on her roof: “I don’t know her, but from the media I think she is a very annoying woman. Oh, that’s right, she has an annoying face too. It’s hypocritical, hypocritical. You always feel like an idiot if it comes out to keep a secret.”
As good as settled
Critics agree that it would have been stronger if Matthijs had made his comeback at the NPO and not at RTL. The ultimate reconciliation. No image as if he has fled to the commercial outlets. And according to Rutger Castricum, that was also the intention. “I think it was as good as settled with Matthijs van Nieuwkerk.”
Yes? “I did have that impression, yes. So I think because of Leeflang’s statements in the newspaper: ‘We have to wait for that investigation’, Matthijs said: ‘I’m not going to wait for that.’”
And so NPO’s secret Matthijs mission came to nothing. A losing battle between image and desire.