RTBF journalists intimidated by spokesperson Michel

Embarrassing for our government. It's really not difficult to do press freedom right...

Since there was no follow up, I'm guessing there is some awareness that the spokesperson was completely out of line. That, or they're familiar with the Streisand effect.

Nevertheless, it's completely unprofessional behaviour on account of the spokesperson. I bet he has to do dozens of similar interventions every day, but when you're a government official, your interaction with the press deserves to be held to a higher standard.

• RTBF source (3:00)
• De Redactie excerpt
• reaction (Dutch)

--- UPDATE ---

As one might expect, Charles Michel does damage control by acknowledging the behaviour as unacceptable, and by iterating the importance of freedom of the press. The ego of the spokespeople involved however, seems to keep them from making a genuine apology. Instead, they opt to evade blame and lie about their intentions.

• Le Soir
• De Standaard