ORF General Director Roland Weißmann has the sideline activities of ORF journalists and moderators handled more restrictively. This emerges from an internal communication that is available to the APA. For the time being, those responsible are to refuse secondary employment with chambers, political institutions and interest groups close to parties. All other activities outside of the ORF are currently to be examined “particularly restrictively”.
Weissmann is thus reacting to cases of moderation that have become known in the past few weeks, which “were likely to raise public doubts about a lack of independence,” the letter says. The fact that independence and credibility are of existential importance for the ORF is currently more important than ever, according to the ORF boss.
The provisions are temporarily valid until the findings of an ethics committee are available. This will soon start its work, for example to review the existing regulations such as the code of conduct of the ORF and, if necessary, to suggest further sharpening.
Robert Ziegler, for example, caused a stir when he resigned his position as ORF Lower Austria state director a few days ago because of the serious allegation that he had operated a kind of message control in favor of the People’s Party during his time as Lower Austria editor-in-chief. As the research platform “Dossier” reported, he is said to have moderated events of ÖVP-related interest groups such as the Lower Austrian Chamber of Commerce several times. Nadja Mader, who presents “Lower Austria Today” on ORF, moderated for the Chamber of Commerce and Raiffeisen, among others, wrote “Falter”.
National Council President Wolfgang Sobotka (ÖVP) made a recommendation for her on her website. Vera Russwurm, presenter of “Vera” on ORF, moderated the start of the ÖVP Lower Austria election campaign in January. However, due to her limited employment as a non-program freelancer in the entertainment sector, this secondary employment was not subject to approval by the ORF, as the ORF had stated to the “Standard”.