VBM staff “relieved and proud” as CEO is asked to step down

Michel Tubbax, CEO of the non-profit Vlaams-Brusselse Media (VBM), has been asked to step down by the board of directors. Members of the organisation’s staff had demanded Tubbax’s resignation after a decision to close radio station FM Brussel. Staff issued a statement saying they were “relieved and proud” of the result.

The planned changes in Tubbax’s restructuring plan – including the closure of FM Brussel – will now be put on hold until 15 October.

As Flemish media minister Sven Gatz admitted last week, the reaction to the closure came as a surprise. An online petition and a Facebook page were set up, and there was a demonstration outside VBM’s offices on the day it was announced. Staff called for Tubbax to be dropped, saying he was an advertising man with no journalistic background, who lacked media skills and knowledge. He had said Radio Donna was a competitor for FM Brussel, despite it having closed in 2009.

In the immediate aftermath of the announcement, Gatz defended both the CEO and his decision, though he later called, with Brussels minister Pascal Smet, for the closure to be suspended while an alternative solution was sought. Faced with rebellion from staff and management, the board that initially approved the closure has now shown the CEO the door.

Tubbax (pictured) will continue in post until a temporary replacement is found but will not appear on the work floor, the company said. A working group under managing editor Jeroen Roppe will examine the future of the restructuring plan.

No mention has yet been made of the dismissal of Anne Brumagne, editor of the free weekly Brussel Deze Week, whose sacking on the grounds that she was “not managerial enough” was also opposed by staff. Her place has been filled on an interim basis by Steven Van Garsse and the procedure to appoint a permanent replacement will begin soon.

Photo courtesy VRT