Three-quarters of workers at Dutch public broadcaster experienced inappropriate behavior

Transgressive behavior is a widespread issue within the national public broadcasters - three in four employees have experienced inappropriate behavior. The broadcasters and the Dutch Public Broadcasting (NPO) fail to handle signals about this sufficiently professionally and decisively. That emerged from a report by the Investigative Committee on Conduct and Culture of Broadcasters (OGCO) by Martin van Rijn.

According to the committee, over 1,484 employees have indicated that they experienced inappropriate behavior “as a target or witness” in the past year. “The committee is very shocked by the severity of the behavior and the number of people who came into contact with it.”

The committee received responses to a questionnaire from approximately 2,500 respondents and spoke to over 200 people. Three out of four indicated in the questionnaire that they had experienced inappropriate behavior, said chairman Van Rijn during the press conference.

The committee also investigated how broadcasters fulfilled the role of employer and spoke to dozens of officials “at all levels of broadcasters.” Patterns of behavior emerged from these sources, the report said. The respondents work or worked at the NPO, various broadcasters, and programs. The committee called it striking that “the vast majority of people shared their stories to make things better for a new generation in the future.”

The findings are in the report titled ‘Nothing seen, nothing heard, and nothing done/The lost Responsibility,’ presented in Hilversum. The investigation came after the Volkskrant published an article in 2022 about alleged transgressive behavior by Matthijs van Nieuwkerk and the work culture at the television program De Wereld Draait Door.

The Van Rijn Committee wants stricter supervision of public broadcasters. Presenters must receive guidance “also to protect themselves.” The committee recommends “that people do not look away, that managers set a good example and hold each other accountable, and that supervision is strengthened.”

The committee also called for “explicit recognition of all forms of transgressive behavior, as well as aftercare and taking responsibility for all those involved.” Tackling inappropriate behavior starts with the “quality of leadership,” the committee said. “This makes the most difference, according to the research,” it said.

“The last recommendation, ‘act normally towards each other,’ is not that difficult,” Van Rijn said during the press conference.