UPDATEFrederik Delaplace, managing director of the VRT, consulted with Bart De Pauw for two months without involving the victims. This is evident from information that media minister Benjamin Dalle (CD&V) gave in parliament on Thursday after questions from Meyrem Almaci (Green) and Katia Segers (Vooruit).
Dalle read a timeline provided to him by the public broadcaster. This showed that there was an initial conversation with De Pauw and his wife on January 11, at the couple’s request. The television maker had heard that VRT had purchased the rights for the linear broadcast of the documentary ‘The trial that nobody wanted’.
During that meeting, De Pauw stated that he was prepared to apologize. In the subsequent conversations, the television maker proposed to shoot an extra episode in which he would apologize. He also wanted to make adjustments to the first three episodes. That route was tested at production house Woestijnvis, but encountered a problem there.
The VRT then went back to business as usual and decided to schedule the broadcast of the three parts. Because De Pauw subsequently indicated that he wanted to talk to the victims before the broadcast, it was decided to postpone. Only in the days before March 20, the initial date in the broadcast schedule, were the victims involved.
“There has clearly been too little attention for the victims,” Minister Dalle concluded. “There were discussions between the VRT and Bart De Pauw for more than two months without those affected being heard.”
According to the minister, that was a big mistake. “In all cases of transgressive behavior, it is essential that the wishes of the people involved are listened to.”
LOOK. Delaplace apologized earlier this week, calling it an “error in judgment”:
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Tags: VRT spoke maker Bart Pauw months involving victims Domestic
