Both director Ricus Jansegers and network manager Lotte Vermeir must resign from VRT

Content director Ricus Jansegers must leave Reyerslaan. The board of directors decided this on Friday based on a report on welfare at VRT. Network manager Lotte Vermeir must also resign. This has The Standard learned from sources within the VRT.

Just before the start of a busy autumn at the VRT, the board of directors has taken some far-reaching decisions at the top of the public broadcaster, as is learned from sources within the VRT. Both content director Ricus Jansegers and network manager Lotte Vermeir must resign. This was decided by a board of directors after a critical report, which was drawn up on the basis of discussions between the VRT staff and the prevention advisor. The deputy network manager, who forms a tandem with Vermeir, is temporarily suspended.

It is an open secret within the VRT that there has been a clash with the network management since Jansegers was appointed. As head of the content department, Jansegers is responsible for everything that is made on the TV and radio channels, but he is not on the same page as Vermeir, who is in charge of VRT 1 and VRT Canvas and reports to him. Jansegers’ long track record with the commercial channels raised fears early on that the VRT would lose sight of its public mission under his leadership. His first achievements – the much-discussed transfer of Niels Destadsbader and the flopped format The greatest dancer – only served to fuel that fear.

Jansegers’ position came under further pressure after the heavily criticized postponement of the documentary series The Process No One Wanted about the De Pauw case. The day before the planned broadcast, he had removed the program from the broadcast schedule in consultation with CEO Frederik Delaplace. This was very much against the wishes of Vermeir and her deputy network manager. It then also came to light that the VRT management had cancelled the planned broadcast of God Forgotten initially wanted to postpone.

The dream factory

A long-running conflict at the VRT Jong editorial team, which does not fall under Jansegers’ responsibility, subsequently gave the final push to appoint a mediator at the VRT. This mediator had to restore trust between the staff and the management. The external mediator had instructed the prevention service to draw up an independent report on well-being on the work floor. To this end, confidential conversations were held in private with the internal prevention advisor.

Jansegers was brought in by CEO Delaplace in early 2021. As program director at VTM and DPG Media, he had transformed the commercial channel into a family channel thanks to shows such as K2 is looking for K3 in The masked singerHe got it at Reyerslaan The dream factory from under the dust and gave Niels Destadsbader his own musical show with I ask it to. But he also invested heavily in the glitter floor of The greatest dancerwho was put away after just one season. He was also previously in charge of the then VT4 and Vijftv, now Play4 and Play5.

Vermeir, on the other hand, is considered a VRT insider. She has been working at Reyerslaan since 2008 and led the research department, among other things. In 2015, she became the right-hand woman of then network manager Olivier Gooris. After his departure in 2021, Vermeir took over the management together with deputy network manager Lin Delcour, who has a past as a programme maker.