Attack again

Cameraman in Vienna pelted with a bag of faeces

Austria has already slipped in terms of press freedom in recent years, but conditions are hardly improving (symbolic image).

(Bild: [e-mail])

The mood towards journalists in the country is becoming increasingly harsh. After several physical attacks at demonstrations, a cameraman from the Puls4 channel has now been hit with a particularly unsavory attack - a bag of faeces was thrown at him.

"He parked our company car with station logos on it. While he was unloading the car, a bag of faeces was thrown at him and fortunately!!! he missed," reported journalist Magdalena Punz on the X platform (formerly Twitter).

She was then shocked to hear "something about 'media'" being shouted. So who exactly is behind the attack and why it happened is completely unclear at the moment. 

Attacks are becoming more frequent
The reactions to the journalist's post are visibly shocked. "Unbelievable", reacted ORF journalist Patrick Gruska (ZiB 2), "who is inciting people", wrote another user of the platform.

Not least since the coronavirus crisis, however, the wind has been blowing particularly harshly against journalists in the country. Independent, balanced reporting is increasingly confronted with accusations of fake news, sometimes even from politicians. This also results in increasing attacks.

Even krone.tv was recently affected
During the coronavirus demonstrations, Punz herself repeatedly faced angry protesters who tried to stop her from doing her job. In October last year, ORF satirist Peter Klien was put in a headlock by a member of security while trying to persuade FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl to make a statement. 

As recently as March, there was a physical attack on a camera crew at an FPÖ demonstration - again involving the Puls4 channel. There was violence and verbal abuse from demonstrators. In February, the krone.tv team was also attacked while reporting on the Vienna Academics' Ball. Here too, the team was not only confronted with verbal abuse - one person also threw a punch at the camera.

Respect for freedom of the press "inadequate"
The fact that these are by no means isolated incidents is also confirmed by last year's Democracy Index. This attests to Austria's setbacks in terms of media freedom. "From the chancellery to the local council, it is clear that respect for freedom of the press is poorly developed in Austria," said Mathias Zojer from the Concordia Press Club at the time.

This is a worrying development, which is probably also contributing to the increasing propensity for violence in parts of the population.