Rainer Nowak resigns as editor-in-chief, publisher and director of the “Presse” at his own request. Nowak announced this in a joint statement with the Styria Media Group on Friday. He talks about “clear, undeniable consequences from the current debate over chat protocols that have gone public”. It wasn’t until Monday that Nowak temporarily suspended his positions as editor-in-chief and publisher.
The background is the well-known talks with the then Secretary-General of the Ministry of Finance, Thomas Schmid, about a possible position in the boardroom of ORF. Chat fragments in a report from the Economic and Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (WKStA) show that Nowak had ambitions to reach the top of the ORF and apparently hoped Schmid would support him.
For example, Schmid wrote: “Now you’re still the head of the ORF”/”Dude – then it’s gone”/”Thanks for everything.” Nowak responded with, “A matter of honour. Now you have to help me with the ORF, please.” Schmid: “Absolutely.” In addition, Nowak Schmid gave formulation tips for communicating with his editors.
Nowak held important positions
The definitive withdrawal from all positions at the “Presse” in the course of the chat affair not only represents a huge break in Rainer Nowak’s career, but also a new era for the daily newspaper. After all, the 49-year-old Tyrolean has held the position of editor-in-chief since 2012, later that of publisher and director was added. This made Rainer Nowak one of the most powerful media figures in the country for years.
ORF2 editor-in-chief Matthias Schrom only withdrew on Wednesday — a chat history (in this case involving ex-Vice Chancellor Heinz-Christian Strache) also proved fatal to him. In it, the two exchanged views about reporting and staff requests in public broadcasting.
Source: Krone
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