ORF Director-General Resigns Amid Sexual Harassment Claims Before Eurovision 2024
Roland Weissmann, the director-general of Austrian public broadcaster ORF, has resigned with immediate effect. The move follows allegations of sexual harassment made by a female employee at the start of his tenure. Weissmann has denied the accusations but stepped down to avoid further harm to the organisation.
The ORF Foundation Council gave Weissmann only a few days to resign after receiving the complaint. The female employee reported inappropriate behaviour, prompting swift action from the governing body. Despite the allegations, Weissmann maintained his innocence but chose to leave to protect ORF's reputation.
Weissmann had led ORF since 2022, focusing on digital expansion and engaging younger audiences. Under his leadership, the broadcaster increased its online content and aimed to become more socially diverse. His resignation comes just weeks before ORF is set to host the Eurovision Song Contest in May.
ORF publicly acknowledged Weissmann's three decades of service and his efforts to modernise the broadcaster. No further details about the allegations or potential reforms during his tenure were disclosed.
The resignation leaves ORF without its director-general ahead of a major international event. The broadcaster will now need to address leadership changes while preparing for Eurovision. Weissmann's departure follows a short but eventful period in charge, marked by both digital growth and controversy.
Read also:
- American teenagers taking up farming roles previously filled by immigrants, a concept revisited from 1965's labor market shift.
- Weekly affairs in the German Federal Parliament (Bundestag)
- Landslide claims seven lives, injures six individuals while they work to restore a water channel in the northern region of Pakistan
- Escalating conflict in Sudan has prompted the United Nations to announce a critical gender crisis, highlighting the disproportionate impact of the ongoing violence on women and girls.
