"You are cool people"

Pay emperor Kratky with emotional words to fans

Robert Kratky sent an emotional message to fans on his Instagram story after the ORF salaries were published.

(Bild: Andreas Tischler / picturedesk.com)

The publication of the top earners on ORF has caused quite a stir in recent days. At the top of the list: Robert Kratky, who has now addressed his fans for the first time in an Instagram story with an emotional message.

Following the disclosure of his salary, Robert Kratky has not only had to endure a lot of criticism in recent days, but also hostility. On Tuesday evening, the Ö3 presenter and ORF salary emperor spoke out for the first time in his Instagram story, which has since gone offline again.

Receives masses of emails
"It's a quarter past 9, damn, this summer time is killing me," Kratky began his message to fans. Keeping up with his email inbox is a real challenge at the moment, he continued.

And then Kratky got a little emotional: "I wanted to say a big, big thank you to all of you who have written me some incredibly nice things, incredibly lovely things, or simply asked questions and been incredibly friendly in the last 24 hours."

"You are cool people"
And further: "Unfortunately, I can't say any more at the moment, but thank you. I really do. There are very cool people in this country and you're like, you're cool people. Thank you very much! And good night. See you tomorrow."

Robert Kratky has also been the target of hostility in recent days.

(Bild: Starpix / picturedesk.com)

ORF came to Kratky's defense
After personal insults and threats, the ORF had already defended the "Ö3-Wecker" presenter. "The recurring attempts by national and international media companies to poach Mr. Kratky - in some cases with significantly higher salary offers - show how important it is for ORF to have such a high-profile radio presenter on board."

He has also co-developed several formats and the Ö3-Wecker, which he hosts, is one of the most successful ORF products, it was said.

Kratky, who earns 443,894.39 euros a year or around 31,700 euros a month, or just under twelve times the average wage earner, is clearly at the top of the recently published ORF salary emperors. That is more than ORF Director General Roland Weißmann receives, and almost twice as much as his Radio Director Ingrid Thurnher.