Alfred Worm
Encyclopedia
Alfred Worm was an Austria
n journalist
, author and university professor.
In 1973, Worm uncovered the famous Bauring-Skandals (building ring scandals). At which point he changed to become a full-time investigative reporter. He pursued the bribery and fraud affairs in large building projects in Austria. From 1974 - 1994 he was first an editor and then deputy editor-in-chief of profil
, an Austrian news magazine. In 1980, he uncovered the AKH scandal, where a 1 billion schilling
new hospital for Vienna programmed to begin construction in 1955 ended up being the most expensive hospital in Europe at 45,000,000,000 schillings. For which effort he received the Dr. Karl Renner journalism prize (Dr.-Karl-Renner-Publizistikpreis) in 1981.
In the mid-1980s, he uncovered the hidden past of Kurt Waldheim in what came to be known as the Waldheim Affair. In 1985, Worm uncovered the Noricum scandal. Noricum, a subsidiary of Austria's largest state-run steel and engineering group, was an arms manufacturer involved in illegal arm sales to Iran. In May 1994, he moved from Profil to News (an Austrian weekly newsmagazine) and worked under Wolfgang Fellner, who was then editor-in-chief.
From the mid-1980s, Worm taught at the Institute for Journalism and Communication Science at the University of Vienna
. Beginning in 1988 he was considerably involved in getting the Institute its own building on the Schopenhauerstrasse. During his entire teaching career, Worm was not only concerned with solid journalist training, and the importance of ethics, but with the promotion of young journalists as well. As a very prominent journalist his work at the Institute attracted a substantial student body.
From 1983 - 1988, Worm acted as a consultant for the Austrian People's Party
(ÖVP) in the parliament (Landstag) of the Viennese federal state
.
Just three days after receiving the honor of the 2006 Journalist of the Year award by the magazine Der Österreichische Journalist, he succumbed sometime on the night of 5 February 2007, at the age of 61, to a heart attack
.
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
, author and university professor.
Career
Worm began his professional studies at HTL Mödling, an engineering school in Austria. He trained as an underground construction engineer, graduating in 1964. He worked nearly ten years as an engineer in the construction industry, before he began to report on the dubious practices that he had observed within large construction firms.In 1973, Worm uncovered the famous Bauring-Skandals (building ring scandals). At which point he changed to become a full-time investigative reporter. He pursued the bribery and fraud affairs in large building projects in Austria. From 1974 - 1994 he was first an editor and then deputy editor-in-chief of profil
Profil (magazine)
profil is an Austrian news magazine. It was founded in 1970 by Oscar Bronner, who also founded the magazine Trend and the daily newspaper Der Standard....
, an Austrian news magazine. In 1980, he uncovered the AKH scandal, where a 1 billion schilling
Austrian schilling
The schilling was the currency of Austria from 1924 to 1938 and from 1945 to 1999, and the circulating currency until 2002. The euro was introduced at a fixed parity of €1 = 13.7603 schilling to replace it...
new hospital for Vienna programmed to begin construction in 1955 ended up being the most expensive hospital in Europe at 45,000,000,000 schillings. For which effort he received the Dr. Karl Renner journalism prize (Dr.-Karl-Renner-Publizistikpreis) in 1981.
In the mid-1980s, he uncovered the hidden past of Kurt Waldheim in what came to be known as the Waldheim Affair. In 1985, Worm uncovered the Noricum scandal. Noricum, a subsidiary of Austria's largest state-run steel and engineering group, was an arms manufacturer involved in illegal arm sales to Iran. In May 1994, he moved from Profil to News (an Austrian weekly newsmagazine) and worked under Wolfgang Fellner, who was then editor-in-chief.
From the mid-1980s, Worm taught at the Institute for Journalism and Communication Science at the University of Vienna
University of Vienna
The University of Vienna is a public university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world...
. Beginning in 1988 he was considerably involved in getting the Institute its own building on the Schopenhauerstrasse. During his entire teaching career, Worm was not only concerned with solid journalist training, and the importance of ethics, but with the promotion of young journalists as well. As a very prominent journalist his work at the Institute attracted a substantial student body.
From 1983 - 1988, Worm acted as a consultant for the Austrian People's Party
Austrian People's Party
The Austrian People's Party is a Christian democratic and conservative political party in Austria. A successor to the Christian Social Party of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it is similar to the Christian Democratic Union of Germany in terms of ideology...
(ÖVP) in the parliament (Landstag) of the Viennese federal state
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
.
Just three days after receiving the honor of the 2006 Journalist of the Year award by the magazine Der Österreichische Journalist, he succumbed sometime on the night of 5 February 2007, at the age of 61, to a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
.