Back to overview

Judith Weissenböck, ME ORF Wien #72 Kako uspijeva digitalizacija? Almost 1.9 million people live in the Austrian capital Vienna, almost half of them are first- or second-generation immigrants (source: Statistics Austria, 18.3.2020). This brings with it great cultural diversity, a new kind of "Viennese melange." In order to appeal to these new target groups and to make ORF the number one broadcaster for them as well, it is necessary to offer programming in several languages. This became clear not least in the spring of 2020, when Covid-19 reached Austria. The importance of news and information became clear in an unprecedented form. The population was called upon to follow new rules to prevent the spread of a highly contagious disease, but not all people living in Vienna are fluent in German. In order to inform you quickly and without any language barrier about all recommendations an d regulations, the regional studio Vienna decided to offer the most important information in several languages. Thus, the "Safety Guidelines" were broadcast in English, Turkish, Pashto, Farsi, Spanish, Polish, Arabic, Czech, Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian and in sign language. This is done on the one hand via Radio Wien (excluding sign language), and on the other hand via the social media channels of ORF Vienna. The digital path in particular has opened up new options for ORF Vienna, because many people not born in Austria are not familiar with ORF's linear programs. Online, people are very well connected, no matter where they live; via the Internet, they get the news from their countries of origin as well as from their adopted country. In this way, it was possible to reach new communities and fulfill one of the core missions of public broadcasting, namely to represent all segments of the population in its programs.

"ORF has to be as fast as possible online and on social media under the same quality guidelines in order to remain competitive on the one hand - but also to counteract quickly emerging rumors, keyword 'fake news'."Marco Mursteiner, ORF Carinthia