“Propaganda machine”: Westenthaler irritates the ORF editorial board

The ORF editorial board firmly rejected these “baseless allegations” and reminded the ex-politician that, as a board of trustees without instructions, he had to act in the interests of the ORF and not the FPÖ. “We have experienced it for years, but especially now because we are heading towards elections, that the ORF information somehow sees itself as a propaganda machine against a single party – the FPÖ,” said Westenthaler in the “Kurier”. In the “Standard” he also hit out at “ZiB2” anchorman Armin Wolf, whom he accused of making political comments on social networks.

• Also read: FPÖ sends Peter Westenthaler to the ORF Foundation Board

Discussant at oe24

The ORF editorial board was not only irritated by these statements, but also by the fact that the FPÖ was sending someone, Westenthaler, who regularly works for a competing company – specifically as a panelist at oe24.tv. The ORF editorial board demanded that the federal government examine whether this nomination was compatible with the ORF law.

Westenthaler himself sees no incompatibility, says he does not receive any money for his work at oe24.tv and wants to continue there. He is even considering developing a new broadcast format there about the ORF – which would probably be the task of the oe24 management – and reporting on board of trustees meetings. The ORF editorial board pointed out to the ex-FPÖ club chairman that the foundation board’s deliberations are subject to confidentiality according to ORF law.

“Inadmissible attempts at intervention”

The editorial board was also disappointed that it was not an independent media expert who was involved, but rather a former top party official. “In this case also a former party official with a long history of inadmissible attempts to intervene against ORF journalists, against whom the editorial representation had to defend itself repeatedly,” it said in a broadcast. Westenthaler admitted in the “Standard” that he had called the ORF “perhaps often.” “I referred to false reports. Maybe I was misunderstood.”

Abolish household tax again?

The designated board of trustees was convinced that the ORF contribution in the form of a budget levy would be abolished within a year. Like the FPÖ, funding from the federal budget seems more sensible to him. “Such budget financing would dramatically increase the ORF’s dependence on the respective federal government,” warned the ORF editorial board and appealed to the federal government and parliament to make the appointments to the ORF committees as politically distant and professional as possible. Specifically, the Constitutional Court (VfGH) has decided that the government’s current influence in appointing the ORF Foundation Board is too great. An amendment to the law must be made by March 2025.

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