We already knew that things were very wrong at the NPO thanks to the major investigation into inappropriate behavior. This showed that there was a culture of fear at De Wereld Draait Door, among others, but apparently not only at DWDD. This has also been the case at WNL for years and continues to this day, the AD reports. Broadcasting boss Bert Huisjes is now accused of misconduct, including by former presenters Eva Jinek, Merel Westrik, Leonie ter Braak and Roos Moggré.
WNL boss Bert Huisjes accused of misconduct
The investigation into transgressive behavior at the NPO has already shown that something is also seriously wrong at WNL. For example, 29 percent of WNL employees gave their job satisfaction a rating of 5 or lower. Ouch… The AD now knows more about this thanks to its own survey among former employees. They held discussions with 25 people involved, including four well-known former presenters of WNL: Eva Jinek, Merel Westrik, Roos Moggré and Leonie ter Braak. What seems? Since broadcaster Bert Huisjes took office in 2011, a culture of fear has existed for years. And: that is still the case to this day.
Years of culture of fear
According to the former employees, Bert has regularly been guilty of intimidation, bullying, manipulative behavior and pregnancy discrimination since he started working for broadcaster WNL. He was also known among employees as ‘Bertlusconi’ and ‘Angry Bert’. The ex-employees also speak of a “poisoned nest”. The employees also had nowhere to tell their stories, “because Bert, as editor-in-chief and director, wore all hats,” says Leonie. She was one of the presenters of Goedemorgen Nederland between 2012 and 2017.
In addition, Bert had quite erratic behavior. For example, Merel says that one moment he could “praise you to the heavens” and the next moment your job was at stake. This also involved so-called pregnancy discrimination. Then a pregnant employee temporarily left employment and was then kept on the line about the extension of her contract.
Interfering with TV programs
In addition to Bert’s misconduct in the workplace, he also interfered a lot with TV programs. He may be editor-in-chief, but there are many complaints about this from former employees. His way was quite ‘coercive’ and in a manipulative way. This often led to discussions about the content of programs, after which he would then say to, for example, a former editor-in-chief: “May I remind you that you have a temporary contract here?”
He mainly concerns himself with the content when it concerns political matters. As a right-wing TV broadcaster, it is important that they “follow the right-wing mission” and keep right-wing politicians friendly. That is why it was “consciously made easy” for the CDA and VVD in particular in interviews, says former political editor Joost Bekendam.
Response from Bert
Bert himself finds it “bad” that former employees have talked about these unpleasant experiences with the AD. “Some recent issues have been discussed,” he explains. “I would also have liked to discuss other complaints earlier. My door was and still is open for that.” In addition, he believes that substantive involvement in TV programs is necessary, especially the morning show where they work with many young journalists “who do not naturally follow the more right-wing mission”. “It is the job of an editor-in-chief to monitor the editorial direction.”
