The documentary series was already on VRT's broadcast schedule at the time and was removed last week. “It wasn't until late in the process that we became certain that Mr. DePauw was serious about his apology,” DeLaplace says.
“At a certain point we thought it was necessary to remove the series from the broadcast schedule for a period of time to give the start of talks every opportunity. That was our assessment at the time. We pointed out that this was an error in judgment and a mistake.” “We should have contacted the victims much earlier,” DeLaplace adds, erroneously.
Ultimately, the CEO actually reversed the decision to postpone the docuseries this week. However, much criticism arose over this postponement, within the VRT itself, in the wider cultural sector (with a harsh open letter) and in politics.
DeLaplace's position has been questioned. But he is not thinking of resigning: “In recent days, it has become clear that the Flemish government and the VRT Board of Directors retain confidence in me. Not because we made an error in judgement, for which I personally apologized.” “This must mean the end of a very valuable project. It would be a shame if this project collapses because of one mistake,” the CEO concludes.
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