Pig positions ORF as bulwark against disinformation

ORF’s designated director general, Clemens Pig, has described the broadcaster as a final “bulwark” against hybrid warfare and disinformation, while calling for stronger regional coverage from its state studios, ORF reported in an interview with “Wien heute”.

About seven million people living in Austria come into contact with ORF each day through its television and radio programmes, weather information and online channels. Pig said the broadcaster had a legal duty to provide objective and independent information, describing the household levy as a “democracy levy”.

ORF’s Vienna studio produces daily reports, features and news items for “Wien heute”, Radio Wien, wien.ORF.at and several social media channels.

Pig said regional media were particularly important in a world marked by geopolitical and economic uncertainty, as well as questions raised by artificial intelligence. Regional broadcasters such as ORF Vienna created trust, he said, because people could call them, knew their faces and names, and could be confident that what they saw on television or heard on the radio was genuine.

Funding challenges

ORF faces major financial challenges. Pig said the broadcaster would work intensively over the coming weeks and months to manage the situation and continue producing programmes with reduced resources.

He also called for predictable, long-term funding that would not be called into question after a change in political power. Pig said budget funding could be considered if it were given constitutional status.