Press in Austria

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Created on Tuesday, 26 January 2016 09:15

Written by austria

Freedom of press, local press and free media in the future
Freedom of press is of the utmost importance to sustain democracy. The population has to have access to sources of genuine information due to the fact that everyone has to form their own unbiased opinion in order to be able to vote. One of the key steps to achieve such a stream of information is to secure that the media is allowed to report freely about ongoing events and political decisions.
The current state of freedom of press in Austria was introduced by the council of the allied forces after World War II and the collapse of the national socialist regime. It is legally fixed in the 13th article of the constitution which says that media must not be censored.
Austria currently ranks 7th in the worldwide ranking of freedom of press. Austrian free media is not endangered by brute force or direct political intervention, but by economic pressure and financial contributions of companies and political parties which hope for beneficial reports. Especially tabloids are closely tied to politics due to the fact that parties favour them when it comes to advertisement. Even though a media transparency exists, the government under Austria´s chancellor Werner Faymann passes on information to some newspapers earlier than to others. This policy is justified with the high circulation of the “Kronen Zeitung”, Austria´s most read and widespread newspaper, and the journal “Heute”, whose core readership is in Vienna.
The media concentration of Austria is the highest in all of Europe. The “Kronen Zeitung” is read daily by an average of 32% of the adult population, which results in a small variety of journals (17 in total). There are also a couple of newspapers which are only published in one federal state which leads to them having only a small market share in the whole of Austria. Most of the weekly and monthly published newspapers with a wide circulation are owned by the “NEWS Verlagsgruppe”, which means that there is another concentration in the print media sector.
In general it can be seen that a large percentage of Austrian reporting is quite similar due to the fact that many articles are adapted from the Austrian press agency owing to the fact that there have been extensive economies in the newspaper sector based on the recession in the readership of print media.
Freedom of press in the future
In order to secure the freedom of press in the future several steps must be undertaken. The most important change that must be made is that media and politics must not influence each other. Because of the widespread monopolisation in the media sector, some media corporations have achieved a high economic and journalistic influence. Due to this fact some politicians feel compelled to adjust their political behaviour to the points of view of these companies.
If political parties and press are dependent on each other, there can be no free reporting.
In general, the economic pressure on press publishing firms should be eased by making them independent from the advertisements of companies and political parties in order to guarantee unbiased reporting. This can be achieved by the state funding media companies, which would result in them being able to function autonomously without being forced to attract advertisers by reporting in their favour.

Freedom of the press

In Austria freedom of the press is a basic law since 1st October 1945 (actually censorship was forbidden in 1918, but during WW II the situation was different). Free press is closely connected with the freedom of opinion, as journalists basically publish their own opinion.  But there is also a restriction: the privacy of a person has to be protected; it is not allowed to write something, which is not proofed if it may harm the honour or reputation of a person. Free press is a privilege for us; just one out of seven people lives somewhere, where freedom of the press is guaranteed.
The Austrian government ensures a free press especially with financial support. Media pluralism is a big factor concerning this topic, and has to be ensured with different kinds of support. There has to be a counterweight to the public-service media, otherwise it is quite one-sided. A discount on postal delivery is a common way of supporting newspapers indirectly. It helps to reduce the costs, especially for smaller newspapers.
Even if the number of local newspapers decreases, there are at least two or three in my home town. They are principally free as well, but in my opinion they cannot write about everything and in any way they want, as they have to ensure a sufficient number of readers. However, it is really good that there are several papers and that we have the possibility to read different articles about the same happening.
In order to keep the situation like this, we have to ensure that small newspapers can survive as well as bigger ones. Furthermore is very important, to give prospective journalists a good education. Formation of opinion just can happen, if you read different reports about the same topic, and not only the ones supporting your own opinion. Therefore, children and young adults have to be taught that it makes sense to inform oneself in different newspapers, which may state and interpret several topics variedly. This assures a big variety of newspapers and different opinions stated in the press. As freedom of the press is anchored in the Austrian constitution, it should not be a problem to maintain it in general.
A free press is probably one of the most important things for a modern society. It is the basis for the development of one’s personality, as well as guarantor for the maintenance and further development of the liberal system of the state and society. In this respect it can’t be replaced by another medium. Due to free press people receive a differentiated view on the government and other organisations, and about what is going on in general. It offers food for thought and asks people to use their brain.
As media is everywhere around us, there is of course a huge offer. There are hundreds of radio stations, websites, TV channels, apps, etc., which is basically a good thing. But as each of this items has its one attitude, the news coverage is quite one-sided. This fact may harm the diversity of opinion, because the offer could be too big.
However, in my opinion a free press and free media is of utmost importance for our modern society and I couldn’t imagine a life without it. There are many things to do in order to support freedom of the press and consequently the diversity of opinion.

Media I use within one week

The most important item for my media consumption is my mobile phone.
When I get up in the morning I first check WhatsApp and during breakfast I listen to the radio.
During my way to school I read the newspapers in form of an app as this is more practical as printed newspapers.
In school lessons we often use the internet to look something up, to watch a film, etc.
During my way home I often check my mail and diverse messages, sometimes I watch clips on YouTube.
At home I read through the newspapers and advertisements we received by post.
Doing my homework I often use the internet for some help, for example by using an online dictionary.
If I get somewhere by car, I nearly always listen to the radio.
In the evening I communicate with my friends via WhatsApp, or play a game on my cell phone or, watch clips on YouTube, or I watch TV.
At the weekend I sometimes use the internet to check out events, but most of the time I watch TV at the weekend.
Even though I’m not registered on facebook or instagram, I spent quite a lot of time with (social) media.


My media consumption in one week

•    The most important devices regarding my media consumption are my computer and my cell phone.

•    After waking up I immediately check various messaging services, Telegram, WhatsApp and the like.

•    During breakfast I often watch the news on television.

•    Due to my parents´ profession, my family is subscribed to lots of print media, but I only read actual newspapers if a headline catches my attention. I prefer the only version of a journal called “Der Standard” to keep myself educated about current events. Whenever I want to read interesting articles and watch documentaries about rather extraordinary and unconventional topics, I visit the website of the online magazine “Vice”

•    I only listen to the radio when I go somewhere by car, but I always pay attention when I listen to the news.

•    If I am just looking for entertainment, I listen to podcasts.

•    When it comes to school, I mostly use the internet to look up vocabulary or for research purposes.

•    I am also registered on various social media services, for instance Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, with Facebook being my most often visited site.

•    If I have some time left, I sometimes play videogames and I also own a console.


•    I rarely watch TV due to the fact that I find streaming services, like Netflix and Amazon Prime Instant Video, more appealing because of the wider array of movies and series they offer compared to classic television programmes.

  
Media I use in one week

My most used media would be the Internet. It has become a big part of my whole life and I'm almost all the time connected with it. Whether I'm at home or at school. During classes we are not allowed to use our mobiles, but teachers tend more and more to search something up on the internet since we have a computer in every classroom. Due to the fact that there's also a projector in every classroom we frequently watch a film via it.
My daily life is most influenced by my mobile phone. I use to communicate with my friends via WhatsApp, to do most research on the internet for school, to use social media, to read the newspaper and to check my calendar. During waiting times and longer car drives I use my mobile phone to listen to music. My preferred music streaming network is Spotify. In my recreational time I mostly watch YouTube clips or play with my game console. The last few years my consumption of TV has strongly diminished. At the time I only use my television as a monitor to watch series on Netflix or to use my game console. On my way to school I use to listen to the radio or to read the newspaper on my mobile.