Dutch presenter Matthijs van Nieuwkerk has created a culture of fear in his program editors for years The world goes on. Dozens of former employees testify to this The Volkskrant.
Van Nieuwkerk was the king of Dutch talk shows for many years. Presents since 2008 The world goes on, abbreviated DWDD. Because of his style, the program became a gun viewing figure and became the highest paid presenter in the Netherlands. In 2015 he would have received a gross salary of 580,000 euros. After his farewell in 2020, he presented Popquiz on VTM with us.
Two years after the last episode, the Dutch newspaper resumes The Volkskrant out with a damning file on the presenter. He allegedly created a culture of fear in his newsroom for years. Dozens of former NPO talk show employees testify The Volkskrant about his style. According to them, they were scolded, humiliated and intimidated inches away. It would lead to burnouts and other complaints. Repeated complaints were reportedly repeatedly filed with Dutch public broadcaster BNNVARA, but no action was taken.
Of the seventy employees the newspaper spoke to, fifty said there was structurally transgressive behavior. There are dozens of accidents. “It was as if the devil had entered him,” describes one editor.
Van Nieuwkerk has since responded to the allegations. “I am very sorry that we have not been able to give everyone a safe and pleasant feeling and that it has even made colleagues ill,” he says. “Now we have a number of uncomfortable things to do. Unfortunately, they are not time consuming, but they make you think. This mirror will hang in my room.’
Van Nieuwkerk has previously been in the news negatively. It arrived in June The Telegraph all with a story of an employee who spoke of “monstrous behavior”. The public broadcaster then said that the work of the editorial staff was a constant point of attention.
