More than 1,500 complaints to the press council after the Vienna attack – Vienna news

Last week, the press council received more than 1,500 complaints based on reports of the terrorist attack in Vienna. “An absolutely negative record,” Managing Director Alexander Warzilek said in a broadcast on Friday. No other issue in the history of the Austrian Press Council has had so many complaints. A decision from the responsible Senate 2 is expected in mid-December.

Therefore, most of the complaints refer to the publication of video and image material showing a shot victim or a murdered police officer. They refer to the “oe24” and “Kronen Zeitung” media. But also the publication of images showing pools of blood at the crime scene, the spread of rumors and false information, the endangerment of the ongoing police operation due to the rapid upload of video and image material, the publication of images on those that can be seen fleeing passers-by. as well as the identification reports and the photographs published by the murderer and the policemen were objected by the readers.

All reports are sent to Senate 2 of the Press Council. At a special meeting on November 19, the latter will decide whether and in which cases to initiate a procedure, the broadcast read. “We expect a decision in mid-December,” announced Senate 2 spokesman Andreas Koller. “The large number of complaints about the terrible terrorist attack also shows how great the need is for ethical standards in the media,” Koller said.