Not only political observers have looked forward to an election round in recent decades with as much anticipation as the election of the US President, which – according to European time – will take place on the night of November 5th to 6th, 2024. The ORF is devoting around ten hours of live broadcast to the duel between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump on ORF 2 and on ORF ON, which begins on Tuesday, November 5th at 10 p.m. with a “ZIB 2 Special” with Armin Wolf At 12:30 a.m. Tarek Leitner and Nadja Bernhard report directly from the election in “ZIB Special – The Election Night”. In between, a “Universe” (8:15 p.m.), “WeltWeit” (11:05 p.m.) and “kreuz und quer” (11:35 p.m.) invite the audience to the USA.
The ORF live reporting will come to an end at 10:15 a.m., before it starts on Wednesday, November 6th from 8:15 p.m. on ORF 2 with a “ZIB Spezial” again with Leitner and Bernhard, then with a “WELTjournal Spezial” edition, which continues with “ZIB 2” and a “round table” with worldwide reactions and background reports.
ORF III will also be dedicating itself to the election process on November 5th in the main evening with “US Election: the Countdown” (8:15 p.m.) and “Heritage of Austria: Vienna in America” (9:20 p.m.).
On Monday, November 4th, there will be a “ZIB Wissen” on ORF 2 at 8:15 p.m. and “kulturMontag” at 10:30 p.m. dedicated to the US election.
In addition to reporting on the US election, the USA expert duo Inka Pieh and Christophe Kohl are presenting their personal “must-see” streaming highlights on ORF ON: These include numerous documentaries such as “Elon Musk and the Twitter takeover “ and “Love and Sex in the USA – Profit, Prudery and Polyamory”.
Further details, such as online reporting and that on ORF radio, are available at presse.ORF.at.
The US election timetable on ORF 2
Monday, November 4th, 8:15 p.m.: “ZIB Wissen: US election”
On the eve of the US election, the fourth edition of the new format “ZIB Wissen” is dedicated to the crucial issues that affect the USA and the world. Moderated by Nadja Bernhard and Tarek Leitner, the show sheds light on the complex and sometimes strange electoral system in the United States, where de facto only a few states decide who moves into the White House. The focus is also on the pressing challenges that have divided the country so deeply: economic problems, inflation and the controversial issue of immigration. Among other things, with connections to ORF correspondents in Washington, Beijing and Brussels, “ZIB Wissen” also sheds light on the global role of the USA and the “superpower’s” relationships with Europe and Austria. A guest in the studio is the US Ambassador to Austria, Victoria Reggie Kennedy, widow of the former US Senator Ted Kennedy.
Monday, November 4th, 10:30 p.m.: “kulturMontag”
“kulturMontag” is dedicated to the fight for the White House, allows cultural figures to have their say on the election match between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump and highlights what influence celebrities have on the ballot or how conservative or liberal US society is . In a live broadcast to Cleveland, Ohio, the Upper Austrian star conductor Franz Welser-Möst, who has led the Cleveland Orchestra since 2002, paints a picture of the mood shortly before the elections.
The election evening on Tuesday, November 5th on ORF 2
8:15 p.m.: “Universe: Grand Canyon – America’s Greatest Natural Wonder”
Hardly any other natural wonder on earth is more impressive. The Colorado River has dug itself up to 1,600 meters deep into the rock over millions of years and created a gorge that measures almost 30 kilometers at its widest point. The world knows this gigantic chasm as the Grand Canyon. The Colorado Plateau and the canyon are considered extremely different habitats.
11:05 p.m.: “Worldwide: Fascination with the USA – How is the American Dream lived?”
The United States has always been considered the premier country of immigration. Even today, there are still more migrants living in America than in any other country in the world. For millions of people, the USA is the destination of their dreams. And to live this dream, most people are willing to sacrifice a lot. Migration is one of the top issues in the election campaign and divides opinion. On the occasion of the presidential election, the “WeltWeit” reporters shed light on the stories of three immigrants. USA correspondent Christophe Kohl accompanies a Mexican who was smuggled into the country illegally as a three-year-old, now has American citizenship and is allowed to vote for the first time in this election. Patrick A. Hafner meets a single mother of four children in New York who came to the country illegally from Ecuador more than ten years ago. The fact that she has not yet been expelled is thanks to the so-called “Sanctuary State Law”. A law that allows local authorities not to enforce federal designation requests. Vanessa Böttcher delves into the world of those who live the American Dream. Carinthian Daniel Wurschl won his residence permit in 2009 in the green card lottery that the USA organizes annually to encourage immigrants from certain countries. He took the opportunity to get started in Hollywood as a cameraman and had stars like Charlize Theron, Michael Douglas and Nicole Kidman in front of his lens. Whether green card winners, company owners or start-up founders: those who have made it are role models for those who want to realize their dream of a beautiful life at all costs.
11.35 p.m.: “all over the place: We believe in Noah’s Ark”
The “criss-cross” documentary deals with creationism on election night. According to this belief, all living creatures on earth are no older than 10,000 years. More than a third of the American population believes in Noah’s Ark and sees the biblical story of creation as a factual historical account. That’s what it says in the Bible, and anyone who doubts the word of God is not a Christian. The influence of creationists on education, business and politics is constantly growing in the USA.
LIVE from 10 p.m. or 12:30 a.m
The long live election evening begins at 10 p.m. with a one-hour “ZIB 2 Spezial” with Armin Wolf. Starting at 12:30 a.m., a “ZIB Special – Election Night,” presented by Tarek Leitner and Nadja Bernhard, will take you through election night: In a special broadcast lasting around ten hours, the election will be viewed from many perspectives. In the morning hours of November 6th, from 7:00 a.m. to 10:15 a.m., another “ZIB Special,” once again with Tarek Leitner and Nadja Bernhard, will guide you through the voting decision. At 8:15 p.m. there will be another “ZIB Special” moderated by Leitner and Bernhard with the results analysis. Afterwards, the “ZIB 2” at 10 p.m. and a “round table” led by Martin Thür on ORF 2 at 10:30 p.m. will focus on the election decision.
Wednesday, November 6th, 9:20 p.m.: “WELTjournal Special”
A “WELTjournal Special” shows a portrait of the new president of the United States the day after the election.
The election evening on Tuesday, November 5th on ORF III
8:15 p.m.: US election 2024: The countdown
It is THE big event in the super election year 2024: Who can win the race in the US presidential election campaign and move into the White House for the next four years? ORF III is starting its coverage of the 2024 US election night with “The Countdown”, which will end with the decision between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. Editor-in-chief Lou Lorenz-Dittlbacher welcomes the two former USA correspondents Hanno Settele and Wolfgang Geier to the studio. Guests present pieces on important U.S. policy issues, including the situation at the Mexican border, restrictions on access to abortion, the gun problem, and free medical care for needy people in Tennessee. In the studio, the central campaign themes are set in a historical context, supplemented by live links to correspondents in the USA.
9:20 p.m.: “Heritage of Austria: Vienna in America”
From Texas to Maine, 17 places in the USA bear the name Vienna, although not a single one of them has a connection to the Danube metropolis. It is often difficult to understand how these communities got their “Austrian” name. On the occasion of the US presidential election, designer Gerhard Jelinek traveled to the American Viennas and confronted the local population with the name analogy. Is it possible to live in a Vienna and not feel any closeness to the only true Vienna?