New Leadership Appointments for ORF Offices in the USA, China, and Turkey

Effective July 1, the ORF General Director, Roland Weißmann, has announced the appointment of new leaders for three overseas ORF offices, marking a significant shift in the organization's international correspondence. Barbara Wolschek, previously a correspondent at the ORF bureau in Washington, D.C., will take over as the head of the Washington office, succeeding Thomas Langpaul, who is returning to the headquarters in Vienna after four and a half years in the United States.

In a related move, Alexandra Siebenhofer from the ORF News Economic Editorial team will assume leadership of the Peking office, taking over from long-time head Josef Dollinger, who has served as the China and Far East correspondent since 2017.

Additionally, crisis reporter Rosa Lyon will lead the ORF bureau in Istanbul, which includes a satellite office in Tehran. She replaces Katharina Wagner, who has managed the Istanbul office since 2022. Both Dollinger and Wagner are also returning to the Vienna headquarters.

General Director Weißmann expressed enthusiasm about appointing three of ORF's most distinguished journalists to oversee these vital international offices. Wolschek has been reporting on foreign political issues for ORF since 1998 and has been involved in numerous significant events, including her coverage during the 9/11 attacks in 2001. She has gathered extensive experience from various regions, including Syria, Sweden, Brussels, Turkey, and Israel.

Rosa Lyon has gained recognition as a crisis reporter, covering conflict zones such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Syria since joining ORF in 2010. She has also been a prominent face on the "ZiB" editorial team, presenting morning to midday news segments, and has contributed to the ORF economic magazine "Eco." Her new role will see her reporting from Turkey.

Alexandra Siebenhofer brings a strong background to her new position in Peking, fortified by her studies in Sinology. A native of Vienna, she is fluent in Mandarin and has previously traveled to China, including a focused report in 2017 for ORF. Since joining ORF in 2013, she has worked in various roles, including in the economics department of the news division and the Ö1 online editorial team. After a stint in the "ZiB" economics section, she is now poised to lead the office in Peking.