“Austrian Newspaper Association Demands Overhaul of ORF Law in Campaign for Media Reform”

As the SN learned in advance, the association had the editorial reports on orf.at and the articles in the “Current” submenu printed in newspaper form for an average, eventful day. The result is the “ORF daily newspaper” with more than 70 pages. This was sent to the members of the federal government as well as all members of the National Council and the Federal Council, the provincial governors, the ORF management and the members of the ORF foundation board. The aim is to show that the ORF “as the largest media company in Austria also produces one of the largest electronic daily newspapers in the country”. “And this despite the fact that the ORF law already stipulates that the ORF’s reporting must not be in-depth and its overall presentation and design must not be comparable to the online offerings of daily or weekly newspapers, monthly magazines or magazines,” explains VÖZ President and Styria CEO Markus Mair.

That’s another reason why the VÖZ wants a “real system change for the ORF,” as Maier explains. Specifically, a “unmistakable public law profile” and a focus on audiovisual content are required. The currently planned regulation with around 50 text contributions per day does not go far enough, because this also corresponds to an average newspaper production.
In addition, the VÖZ submitted a 26-page statement on the new ORF law at the end of the assessment period. In it, the publishers demand “a fundamental revision of the ORF law”.