Government is pushing for less influence and more transparency with ORF reform!

Government is pushing for less influence and more transparency with ORF reform!

Österreich - The Austrian federal government has decided on far-reaching reforms of public service broadcasting, in particular ORF. These reforms aim to push back the influence of the government on radio and to make administrative changes in the committee area. A central element of this reform is the freezing of the ORF contribution until 2029 and the adaptation of the committee, which was fixed by the constitutional committee, such as Diese-orf-will-die-gregation-- reported.

An important goal of these reforms is to secure the independence of the broadcast. According to the Federal Constitutional Act, broadcasting is regarded as a "public task" and must be regulated by law in order to ensure objectivity, impartiality and diversity of opinion, according to the information of the Federal Chancelloramt .

changes in the committee structure

The changes provide a reduction in the foundation councils from nine to six. In the future, the federal government will have to pay attention to professional qualifications and a balanced composition when ordering these councils. Add to prospect for the foundation councils must be advertised publicly. The public council is increased by six to nine members, while the total number of members of the public council is reduced from 28 to 14 members who are determined by the government.

In addition, the exact leadership of the Supreme ORF committee is still open because the chair has not yet been discussed. The composition of the foundation councils shows that these councils are largely integrated into party -political “friends of friends”. Currently ÖVP-related councils have the majority, while the "Turkish Freundeskreis" loses influence and the SPÖ-related circle is gaining in importance.

legal foundations and perspectives

The current reforms are in the context of the Federal Constitutional Act, which encourages the federal government to competence to regulate broadcasting. It is stipulated that federal laws must contain provisions that ensure the independence of the broadcasting providers. This includes regulations that ensure the quality and balance of the programs and define the legal for the operation of the radio, including the need for a federal law authorization, as from the explanations of the Federal Chancellor Damts emerged.

These measures represent a fundamental change that not only influences the structure of the ORF, but could also shape the assessment of the independence and quality of public broadcast in Austria in the long term. While the government enforces the reforms, it remains to be seen how the composition of the bodies and the influence of political parties will develop on the program design.