As far as the household contribution is concerned, the ORF follows the German models – soon also via digitization amendment?
The GIS is a thing of the past, from 1 January 2024 the household contribution will come. In addition, approximately 400,000 households will then have to pay their monthly contribution of EUR 15.20 (excluding state tax – Upper Austria and Vorarlberg do not charge). A saving of about a third in times of record inflation for former forced payers. Even the German mass newspaper “Bild” ran the headline “Austria shows how it’s done”!
At the same time, the ORF must save 325 million euros by 2026. Also because private individuals are alarmed. The Association of Austrian Private Broadcasters speaks of “market disruption”. ORF General Roland Weißmann strongly disagreed. Regardless, there are still many unanswered questions in the country’s public media system.
No ORF privileges and orf.at-like ARD/ZDF pages
Even ORF insiders see savings opportunities not only in the generous salaries (for example, a state director receives an average annual remuneration of up to 200,000 euros) or in the more than questionable privileges such as housing allowances for ORF employees. Calling into question ORF’s extensive online presence through orf.at also offers significant savings potential.
If you compare the pages of ARD and ZDF, you get content from the “public broadcaster”, while orf.at offers a veritable deluge of stories, videos and other information. Insiders often speak of unnecessary redundancies at the editorial office and a waste of resources.
Resizing and halving the reports
Minister Susanne Raab speaks of a necessary “re-dimensioning” – which must come now anyway, since the digitization amendment will come in a few weeks at the same time as the ORF law due to the renewal of the rates.
In any case, Roland Weißmann’s initiative is a start, but it is far from enough: he proposed to halve the text messages on the “blue side”. The ORF will follow the German household tax model in nine months, perhaps even online with a more cost-effective repositioning.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
