In the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation, the members of the editorial staff should not only have the right to complain about executives, but also initiate their replacement if necessary.

This provides for a new statute that the editorial board negotiated with General Director Roland Weißmann.

The result of an online vote by the editors is still pending before it comes into force. In view of the extension of rights, broad approval is to be expected, as well as approval from the foundation board by the end of June.

Kind of an emergency clause

Stephen Lowenstein

Political correspondent based in Vienna.

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The new rule applies to ORF editors as an emergency paragraph that is not expected to ever come into force.

However, it is intended to help protect the independence of the editorial team from politically motivated interference.

"Any member of the editorial team in this area can lodge a complaint with the editorial board about behavior worthy of criticism by a journalistic executive that appears likely to impair the journalistic quality of reporting," says the draft.

In the case of three independent, "substantiated" complaints, an editorial meeting can express no confidence in the manager.

Another ethics council needs to be involved.

On this basis, the Director-General can remove the person from his post.

The final decision is still a matter for the boss,

Weißmann was only appointed ORF boss by the board of trustees this year.

Because people close to the ÖVP have a majority in this body, the new director general was also considered to be close to the ÖVP.

The political “Friends” in the Foundation Council have recently been the subject of critical controversy, more so than in the past when an SPÖ majority decided there.

With the new editorial statute, Weißmann could try to strengthen trust within the editorial team.

Especially since numerous structural decisions are unlikely to meet with everyone's enthusiasm, such as the joint newsroom for television, radio and online.

Or the relocation of radio from the city center to the ORF headquarters on Küniglberg, which is not dissimilar to the Lerchenberg in Mainz in terms of its extensive nesting.