Cornelia Primosch is moving for ORF from Paris to the Balkans. The journalist will take over the Belgrade office on July 1. She succeeds Christian Wehrschütz, who will concentrate on Ukraine for half a year from then on. According to a press release, the vacant position in Paris will be advertised shortly. Meanwhile, Carola Schneider will return to Moscow as bureau chief from January 1. Last year, her accreditation was revoked by the Russian Foreign Ministry.

Wehrschütz before final year

Wehrschütz will retire at the end of 2026. It is not known who will succeed the 64-year-old with regard to Ukraine.

"Cornelia Primosch is one of the most established ORF foreign journalists and will put ORF reporting on the Balkans on a new footing," ORF chief Roland Weißmann was quoted as saying. The journalist will also be responsible for Bulgaria and thus practically for the entire Balkans. "I look forward to immersing myself in the complex political, social, and cultural developments and conveying them to our audience. In addition to its historical relevance, the Western Balkans region is more geopolitically relevant than ever," Primosch stated regarding her future task. The 46-year-old has already reported for ORF from Brussels, London, and most recently Paris.

The reorganization of ORF foreign offices in Eastern and Southeastern Europe also affects Greece. The country will no longer be managed by the ORF office in Budapest but will move to Rome under the leadership of Cornelia Vospernik. According to ORF editor-in-chief Gabriele Waldner-Pammesberger, this is a "more logical and practical combination."

Schneider as Moscow bureau chief

Schneider can resume on-site reporting in Russia in less than two weeks after the reissuance of accreditation. "Journalistic work in Russia is becoming increasingly difficult in times of political aggression outward and repression against independent voices inward. This also applies to reporters from the West, which has been stylized as an enemy by the Kremlin. It is all the more important to be on site, to travel through Russia's regions, to perceive events and atmosphere with one's own eyes and ears, and to try to give a voice to those people whom we hear little of in Europe," said the 53-year-old from Vorarlberg, who already held the bureau chief position in Moscow from 2011 to 2021 and from the end of 2022 to summer 2024. Subsequently, she had to leave the country, leaving no journalists in the warring country represented in the ORF office.

At that time, ORF spoke of an "arbitrary act against independent reporting" regarding the revoked accreditation, as Schneider had always reported "most competently" and in compliance with all laws from the country.

(APA/Red)

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