2023-10-06 13:11:05
Anyone who trivializes violence once morest the media endangers democracy
Vienna (OTS) – ORF employee Peter Klien was physically prevented from asking a harmless question to party leader Herbert Kickl at an FPÖ party event. This means that the Freedom Party has once once more crossed a red line in dealing with the free press. This border crossing is then trivialized in broadcasts as a “sniveling production”.
The editorial board condemns in the strongest possible terms when the physical integrity of journalists is violated at party events. This raises the question: How far will the FPÖ and its supporters go?
For example, if a leading FPÖ politician asks the question on his YouTube channel: “Is the ORF manipulating the elections?” and illustrates this with a photo of Armin Wolf in the ZiB2 studio, then the entire democratic system is called into question. It is obvious for logical reasons that projections made following the polls have closed cannot have any influence on the election result. But doubts are being sown regarding the legitimacy of election results.
While the ORF as an institution used to be the target of verbal attacks from FPÖ politicians, the party has increasingly resorted to personally insulting, denigrating and mocking unpleasant journalists. The raw tone that has taken over the political discussion is frightening. The fact that no one in the FPÖ can apologize to Peter Klien, but that he is subsequently ridiculed, is an example of how low the political level in Austria has sunk.
The goal behind this strategy when dealing with critical journalism is obvious: framing independent media as “mainstream media” with a supposed left-wing agenda. This is intended to undermine credibility and encourage people to consume party channels and “alternative media”. There, party politicians can then spread unfiltered propaganda without any critical questions.
Verbal and now physical violence perpetrated once morest journalists is moving us towards an “illiberal democracy”.
The editorial board
Dieter Bornemann, Simone Leonhartsberger, Peter Daser, Margit Schuschou
Questions & Contact:
Dieter Bornemann, M.A.
Chairman of the editorial board
dieter.bornemann@orf.at
1696598277
#ORF #editorial #board #condemns #violence #journalists