SPÖ secures more influence on radio through ORF reform!

SPÖ secures more influence on radio through ORF reform!

Münster, Deutschland - On March 26, 2025, the Constitutional Committee decided on a far-reaching reform of public service broadcasting in Austria, which also includes freezing the ORF contribution by 2029. This reform was supported exclusively by the three coalition parties and aims to significantly reduce the influence of the government on the foundation and public council, an approach that was requested by the Constitutional Court. In the future, the federal government will only order six boarding councils instead of the previous nine, while the public council will grow to nine members.

Another central element of the reform is the innovation that the government will have to pay attention to technical qualifications and balance when ordering the foundation councils. Advocation of prospect for the foundation councils should also be advertised publicly. The occupation will continue to be made by the federal states, parliamentary parties and the central works council in accordance with strict quality requirements.

changed power relationships

The number of members of the public council is reduced to 28, whereby the distribution should be made more uniform in the future: 14 members are elected by the government, 14 of defined positions such as chambers, churches and party academies. The new constitution of these committees should come into force at the beginning of the new period of function on June 17th. The foundation council takes on important tasks such as the election of the ORF general director and the approval of financial and program plans.

The reform has the potential to significantly change the previous majority in the committee. The majority of the ÖVP currently form the majority, but with the new constitution, the influence of the "Freundeskreis" of the ÖVP could decrease, while the SPÖ-related "Freundeskreis" could increase. Critics of the reform, such as the FPÖ and the Greens, express themselves skeptically about the actual reduction in political influence on the ORF and partially describe the reform as inadequate.

criticism of the reform

The FP media spokesman described the reform as "reförmchen" and criticize the continued influence of politics and chambers on state radio, while the Greens club chairwoman expressed doubts about the innovations. These critical voices underline the concerns that the reform could not have the hoped -for effect to reduce the political influence in the long term.

dr. Jan Christopher Kalbhenn, LL.M., an expert for public law and professor at the federal university in Münster, has also dealt intensively with the current media situation. Kalbhenn, who in the past worked as a syndic lawyer at Deutsche Welle and specializes in areas such as media law, platform regulation and public service broadcasting, could offer valuable insights into the effects of such reforms on the media landscape. His research emphasizes the necessity of a functioning and apolitic public service broadcast for the media library of the future.

The coming months will show how the reform will affect ORF and whether the measures taken can actually contribute to the independence of the broadcast. Until then, the discussion about the necessary balance between political influence and journalistic freedom remains a central topic in the public debate.

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Otto-brenner-stiftung.de offers further insights ...