Austria: head of public broadcaster resigns
The director of the Austrian public broadcaster ORF, Roland Weißmann, has stepped down after being accused of sexually harassing a female colleague. Weißmann has denied the accusation but wants to avert damage to the company, according to his lawyer. The national media see another blow for public broadcasting.
State media on the defensive across Europe
Der Kurier provides an international context to the events at ORF:
“Public broadcasters are on the defensive all across Europe. ... Fake news accusations, license fees - all grist to the mill in the tension over public broadcasters triggered by the ongoing political shift. If they then make blunders, as recently happened at the BBC (Trump documentary) and the ZDF (AI images) then a highly dangerous political rift opens up that will be very difficult to close. The case of the ORF is no exception. The resignation and the internal investigation announced by ORF into other cases will be politically weaponised.”
Will a woman take the reins?
Politicians should keep their hands off the ORF, Der Standard demands:
“Media Minister Andreas Babler immediately stepped in to inform ORF's Foundation Council about foreseeable and prudent procedure in the wake of such accusations: he wants a female director general. More importantly, this is now the media minister's only and last chance to restructure broadcasting and its management in a way that's more politically independent than before. Giving the ORF a future means, above all, that politicians and their cronies on the Foundation Council should keep out.”