It’s an election year, and now the political parties are throwing their weight around the ORF fees that have been public since Sunday evening. For FPÖ General Secretary Christian Hafenecker, the published salaries are “downright obscene”: “Things cannot and must not continue like this at Küniglberg.” ÖVP General Secretary Christian Stocker said: “It is up to the leadership of the ORF to clarify who approved these dream salaries and how they came about.” “There should no longer be such fees,” said SPÖ media spokeswoman Muna Duzdar.
As reported, the list of 62 ORF employees who earn more than 170,000 euros gross per year is led by Ö3 Wecker presenter Robert Kratky with 443,894 euros, ahead of Küniglberg conversion manager Pius Strobl (425,677 euros) and ORF general Roland Weißmann (425,500 euros). As part of the transparency regulations that have been in force since the beginning of the year, the ORF had to publish its top earners. Now, as he said yesterday, Kratky is being confronted with “unprecedented personal insults and threats.”
The ORF leadership also published a new code of ethics for the workforce. The 25-page paper was issued as a service instruction and is mandatory. Violations could result in employment, civil and possibly criminal penalties. The principles of conduct cover the areas of secondary employment, social media, corporate communications, anti-corruption, conflicts of interest and political activities. Employees must refrain from secondary employment that is likely to damage the reputation of the ORF, to the extent that it impairs the work for the ORF or that could give rise to a conflict of interest. Secondary employment of editorial managers should be handled restrictively. Attention must be paid to clients about whom the ORF regularly reports: institutions, party-affiliated organizations, institutes and interest groups. ORF employees are also not allowed to report on clients or the reason for their part-time employment.
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Regarding “Social Media” it is said that the ORF’s values (objectivity, impartiality, independence) must be taken into account here. Under “Anti-corruption” it is written: “The ORF does not tolerate any behavior that associates the company or its employees with processes or actions that do not comply with the law.” The ORF employee status may never be used to obtain advantages such as goods, services or other monetary benefits such as memberships.
The exercise of a political function or the candidacy for it, electoral engagement and public declarations of political sympathy and antipathy are also incompatible.
Philipp Jelinek (“Fit with Philipp”) now has to take a break from ORF. As the OÖN reported, Jelinek had chatted with the former FPÖ leader Heinz-Christian Strache: “Dear Heinz, the cake is now being distributed… we urgently need to set the course for me.” In return, the ORF gymnast promised to provide information about ORF internal affairs. Jelinek is on vacation this week, ORF confirmed. The allegations are being investigated. Until then, only repeats of “Fit with Philipp” would be broadcast.