Dr. Monika Lindner

General Director, Austrian Broadcasting Company
(Österreichischer Rundfunk/ORF)

Born in Silasian Gleiwitz (nowadays Glivice). Grew up and went to school in Tyrol (Innsbruck). Dr. phil. (theatre sciences, art history and philosophy; University of Vienna).

Started her professional career in a Vienna-based film production firm where she was assistant director and helped to develop documentaries particularly in the field of contemporary history (five years). Completed her training as a TV journalist.

1974 freelance work for ORF (politics and events of the day). Contributor to various magazines.

1979 head of the ORF press office.

1982 she was offered a position in the staff of ORF’s general director. Her duties included programme management activities in the widest sense. She helped to set up new radio and TV programme schemes and performed all kinds of programme-related work on behalf of the company’s management. She regularly checked TV programmings for their coherence with the agreed standards and she examined them in view of, and adapted them to, the latest results of media analysis.

1991 she became in charge of „WIR“ (a daily counselling format, aired early in the evening).

1995 she developed a new 2-hour information-entertainment-service format (for which she received the Romy TV Award in the section „Best Programme Idea”, donated by the Austrian newspaper „Kurier“). Under her supervision, „Willkommen Österreich“ was to be aired daily before primetime.

1998 director of the Landesstudio Niederösterreich, one of ORF’s nine regional stations.

Since 1 January 2002 General Director of the Österreichischer Rundfunk/ORF broadcasting company.

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