Anton Fellner

Anton Fellner

Anton Fellner (born December 25, 1927 in Wagram am Wagram , † January 7, 1997 in Varadero , Cuba ) was an Austrian journalist, general secretary of the Vienna diocesan synod and long-time department head at ORF .

Life

Born into a winegrowing family (Anton and Magdalena Fellner), Anton Fellner had to interrupt his school days at the age of sixteen, as he was drafted into the war service as an anti-aircraft helper , where he was captured by the Americans in 1945. After the end of the war he graduated from the Krems secondary school in 1946 , where his religion teacher was the later Cardinal Franz König , who would become his lifelong friend and mentor.

From October 1946 Fellner studied German and history at the University of Vienna . While still a student, he turned to journalistic activities as editor of the "Wiener Blätter" of the Catholic university community. After his doctorate as Dr. phil. In 1951 (dissertation on "Viennese Romanticism at the Turning Point 1813-1815") he joined the editorial team of the Catholic weekly newspaper "Gegenwart" (at that time " Der Volksbote ").

Anton Fellner married Ingeborg, b. Winkler, September 6, 1952. The marriage resulted in a son and two daughters: Bernhard (* 1953), Susanne (* 1954), Monika (* 1958). In 1959 Anton Fellner moved to the daily newspaper Neues Österreich as a domestic affairs editor . From 1964 to 1967 he was their last editor-in-chief and was awarded the Karl Renner Journalism Prize for his admonishing articles against the reawakening of National Socialist and anti-Austrian tendencies.

After this newspaper was discontinued, he took over the organization of the Vienna Diocesan Synod as General Secretary in March 1967. In this function Fellner, together with the then Archbishop - Coadjutor Franz Jachym as the President of the Synod, played a key role in realizing the results of the Second Vatican Council at the level of the local Church. At this time he was also appointed chairman of the Austrian Catholic TV Commission (until 1975), and from November 1970 President of the Catholic Center for Mass Communication.

From 1972 Fellner headed the " Wiener Kirchenzeitung " as editor-in-chief responsible for the publication and was active in the Catholic World Union of the Press (UCIP). During the "Austrian Synodal Process" (1973/74) Fellner was chairman of the "Church and Mass Media" commission.

After eight years of freelance work for Austrian Broadcasting Corporation, Anton Fellner took over the "Religion" department in 1975. Under his direction, a large number of new programs were created, such as "Theologie im Dialog" (later "Nachtstudio") and "Orientation" (awarded the Dr. Karl Renner Journalism Prize in 1994 and today the "longest-serving" magazine on the ORF). In the 15 years he was head of the department, the proportion of programs with religious content tripled, with a strong focus on ecumenism. With Anton Fellner's retirement in 1990, the management passed to his long-term employee Peter Pawlowsky .

From 1990 to 1996 Fellner acted as chairman of the Association of Catholic Publicists Austria , to which he gave new impetus by introducing a monthly jour fixe with well-known guest speakers. Anton Fellner passed away unexpectedly in 1997 on a trip to Cuba as a result of a swimming accident. Cardinal Franz König directed the funeral service for the funeral of the Catholic publicist at the Gersthofer Friedhof in Vienna.

Honors

• 1959 Order of Gregorius
• 1965 Dr.-Karl-Renner-Publizistikpreis
• 1989 Cardinal Innitzer Prize for scientifically sound journalism

Web links

• Pioneer of television religious journalism