Software Repair Analysis | Ö 1 It started with a serious soundtrack

After these waltzing turns there is something literary. Yesterday, Alexandra Augustin was the first female daytime presenter on Ö 1. The little Ö 1 fix was so inconspicuous at first that most listeners barely noticed the reserved chat between formats. If you really want to achieve impact through daily moderation, transitions need to be more frequent and your handwriting stronger.

There was a need for improvement as there were double announcements: first the presenter of the day introduced the programme, then he presented the programme. The redundancy is due to media constraints: today, ORF broadcasts have to operate not only linearly on radio, but also in the rapidly increasing competition in the podcast sector. The latter was the main reason for this reform, with the aim of making Ö 1 and its extensive program portfolio attractive to a younger audience.

Harsh criticism in an open letter

It is not program reform based on structural simplification that concerns the signatories of an open letter addressed to ORF Director General Roland Weissmann. Among others, Gerhard Reuss (Managing Director of the IG authors) and the former presidents of Ö 1, Alfred Führer and Peter Klein, expressed concern about “the current and future situation of Ö 1”. Its letter, criticizing the planned merger of ORF's specialized departments into the so-called multimedia groups, should be understood as a “cry for help against the dismantling of the Cultural Broadcasting Corporation.” This would destroy Ö 1 “as an independent and functioning organizational unit.” It has not yet been decided when the radio, television and Internet departments will be merged. Administrative job advertisements have recently ended.

Restructuring would lead to the dissolution of Ö 1's identity, and criticism of the signatories, most of whom could be entrusted with literary work. Ö 1 became more important than ever, and instead of protecting it, the station was “dissolved as an organizational unit”. ORF management is not accused of intentionally damaging the station, but of pushing it against the wall through negligence and lack of care.

Weissman: No savings worth mentioning

In his response in one of Weissman's rare social media messages, the ORF president tries to calm down. The station's independence is not threatened by the merger and the multimedia nature of the divisions will have no impact “on the amount of (scientific) programming on Ö 1”. There are also no savings worth noting at the station. He considers the financing “sustainable, even if not generous,” says Weissmann, and points to the general pressure to save: between 2023 and 2026, ORF has to save a total of 325 million euros.

Culture follows sports and religion

ORF refers to the process of transformation from a classic broadcaster to a multimedia platform. There is no date for the start of fully integrated multimedia specialized departments: “The Department “Religion and Ethics” has been successfully operating as a specialized multimedia department for a long time, and in “Sports” and “Media” multimedia structures are being developed.” According to plan, “Culture” and “Science” follow. “The ultimate goal is to ensure the success of ORF's television and radio fleet and to position individual stations for the future,” ORF corporate communications said in response to the request.

Savings plans 2022

Approximately three to four percent of ORF's €1 billion budget falls to the Cultural Broadcasting Authority; Ö 1's broad influence as a leading public institution also makes it irreplaceable for broadcasting. However, the ORF management wanted to implement a huge savings package in the fall of 2022: “Kunstradio”, “Jazznacht”, “Kinderuni”, “Heimspiel”, “Philosophie am Urlaub” and “Zeit-Ton” will fall victim to austerity. pencil. There was great enthusiasm, with Reus declaring at the time: “We will not allow Ö1 to be destroyed.”

In the end, the significant savings were negated. Some of the mentioned formats have already been removed from the program with the current fix. With the exception of Children's University, all of them have been replaced by similar programmes.