Major Dutch broadcaster NOS made international headlines earlier this week after one of its reporters was interrupted mid-broadcast by a Chinese official ahead of the Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony in Beijing. Both the NOS and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) have labelled the altercation as an “unpleasant incident.” 

Dutch reporter removed mid-broadcast by Chinese official

Sjoerd den Haas was broadcasting live for NOS from Beijing on Friday, February 4 when he was interrupted by a Chinese security official and bluntly informed that he had to move himself to a different location. 

Following the incident, NOS made it clear that Den Haas was safe and well and was “fortunately able to finish his story,” but emphasised that similar occurrences were “unfortunately…becoming a daily reality for journalists in China.”

NOS and IOS: An unfortunate and unpleasant incident

Last weekend, a spokesperson from NOS explained to Dutch media that the broadcaster had contacted the IOC about the issue. IOC spokesperson Mark Adams had called the incident “unfortunate,” saying it had been caused by an “overzealous” local official. Meanwhile, NOS editor-in-chief Marcel Gelauff called it a “painful illustration” of press freedoms in China.

On Monday, NOS reported that the case had been settled with the IOC, with both organisations labelling the altercation as an “unpleasant incident," saying the subsequent communication between NOS and the IOC “was the result of a misunderstanding.”