$Unique_ID{COW00250} $Pretitle{376} $Title{Austria The Media in Austria} $Subtitle{} $Author{Federal Press Service} $Affiliation{Embassy of Austria, Washington DC} $Subject{press austria radio freedom television austrian council information programme programmes} $Date{1988} $Log{Table 23.*0025001.tab Table 24.*0025002.tab } Country: Austria Book: Austria Facts and Figures Author: Federal Press Service Affiliation: Embassy of Austria, Washington DC Date: 1988 The Media in Austria The Press Since Austria is a parlamentary democracy, freedom of the press and of opinion is guaranteed and there is no form of state censorship. The following table lists the daily newspapers published in Austria with the numbers printed (not the numbers sold or circulated). This figure was arrived at by computing the circulations of the weekday, weekend, Sunday and holiday issues. [See Table 23.: Publications and Circulations] [See Table 24.: Periodicals] The Austrian Press Agency The Austrian Press Agency (APA) was established as a limited company in 1946 and supplies Austria's newspapers (with the exception of the Neue Kronen Zeitung) and the Austrian radio and television network with information. APA obtains international news from Reuter's, Associated Press, Agence France Presse, TASS and the two services of the Deutsche Presse Agentur. As the capital of a neutral country, Vienna serves as a transit centre for news to and from southern and eastern Europe. APA has its own multiplex circuit from Frankfurt to Vienna via the Deutsche Presse Agentur and the other western agencies which provides a flow of information to the east. The capitals of Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia are connected directly with APA by multiplex circuits. APA, whose building in Vienna also houses the International Press Centre, also carries official announcements, which are specifically identified as such. Radio and Television Austria's first broadcasting company was established in 1924 and known as RAVAG, a contraction of Radio-Verkehrs-AG. RAVAG was discontinued after the occupation of Austria by national socialist Germany in 1938, when broadcasting was taken over by the German national company. After the war, RAVAG was succeeded by the Osterreichische Rundfunk-Ges.m.b.H., a company whose shares were held by the Republic of Austria and the federal provinces. Television test programmes were begun in 1955 and the radio service was supplemented by regular television broadcasts in 1957. Following a special referendum, the Osterreichischer Rundfunk (ORF) was reformed in 1967 and since then has been politically and economically independent. In 1974 there was a further reform, establishing the ORF as an economically autonomous entity; the reform also involved constitutional legislation guaranteeing objective and impartial reporting, representation of a wide variety of opinion, balanced programming and complete independence for people in leading positions in broadcasting. The ORF is headed by a director general. Programme planning is the responsibility of three directors, one for radio and one for each of the fields information and programming. There are also individual directors for the nine provincial studios, for technical questions and for administrative affairs. The role of the shareholders is taken over by a board of thirty-five trustees. Other ORF bodies are a council of thirty-five listeners' and viewers' representatives and a three-man commission which reviews the state of the ORF's financial affairs annually. There are five programmes altogether, two on television and three on radio. The two television programmes FS 1 and FS 2 are coordinated in their programming in such a way that the viewer can choose between entertainment, news and information and cultural broadcasts. The timing of the television programmes is therefore carefully co-ordinated. In addition, each of the nine provinces has had its own regional programmes since May 1988. Since the reforms of 1967 there have been three radio programmes. O 1 offers a high quality cultural programme with the main emphasis on music, science, literature und information. O Regional serves as a national framework within which individual provincial studios broadcast at certain times for their particular region. The overall programme of entertainment and information is of a predominantly local character. O 3 provides a progressive entertainment programme for young people, interspersed with frequent news coverage. It also provides foreign visitors and residents with service and music programmes in English and French on O 3 International (Blue Danube Radio). In addition to the three radio and two television programmes for home audiences, the ORF also has a short-wave service, Radio Austria International, which, under its own director, broadcasts a programme which is commissioned by the Austrian government and funded by the Republic of Austria. The programme is designed to provide listeners throughout the world with an up-to-date account of Austrian affairs and is broadcast round the clock in German, English, French and Spanish. Since 1984 cable television subcribers in Austria have been able to receive a satellite programme (3-sat) run jointly by the ORF, the West German ZDF and the Swiss SRG. This programme is designed to serve the German speaking countries and act as a counterweight to the commercial satellite programmes in English and French. In May 1988 there were 2,682,741 radio sets registered in Austria and 2,477,613 television sets, which means that practically 100% of the population has access to both radio and TV. In 1973, a special ORF editors' statute was agreed on, designed to guarantee independent reporting and journalistic freedom. The new Broadcasting Act of 1974 stipulates specifically that the ORF must respect the independence and freedom of all staff engaged on programme presentation and also the freedom of all its journalists in carrying out any duties which may devolve on them. The act also stipulates an editors' statute for the journalistic staff, guaranteeing them protection of their rights, the freedom to exercise their profession and co-determination in any decisions on personnel policy or other issues which may involve them personally. The Austria Wochenschau The cinema newsreel "Hallo Kino" is produced by Austria Wochenschau Ges. m.b.H. (majority share-holder: Republic of Austria) and is issued every fortnight in 108 colour copies. The newsreel has a duration of about five minutes and deals with subjects of medium-term topicality. It is shown before the main film in some 200 cinemas in Austria. Press Promotion The main argument of those advocating press promotion has been that in a democratic society, a free press fulfils a public duty and that the state must be interested in ensuring the survival of as many newspapers as possible in order to maintain a correspondingly wide range of public opinion. It went without saying that in the event of state promotion being provided, any government influence on the running of individual newspapers was to be avoided. This form of promotion has been in effect since 1975. The annual promotion amounted to some AS 65,000,000 in 1988. Austria also has a Periodicals Promotion Act which dates back to 1972. The budget for 1988 contained some AS 3,200,000 earmarked for their promotion. This form of promotion is granted only if the publication concerned meets certain requirements. Media Law Austria's Media Act came into effect in 1982. The preamble to this law contains the following statement of adherence to the principle of freedom of the press as laid down in the European Convention on Human Rights: "This federal law is designed to safeguard the complete freedom of the media with a view to upholding the right to freedom of opinion and free access to information. While the freedom of opinion is seen as involving certain duties and obligations, it may be limited only in those circumstances stipulated in Article 10, paragraph 2 of the Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms." Thus, the freedom of all the media is in a sense safeguarded in two ways. The new law guarantees the independence which the journalist needs to fulfil his function of providing information; on the other hand it protects the individual from libel, defamation of character, ridicule or the invasion of his privacy. Film, television or radio recordings of court proceedings are not permitted, although no restrictions are imposed on other forms of reporting in trials. Each medium is required to make regular statements of its ownership and its general political stance. The reader, listener or viewer should be in a position to know what standpoint the medium will adopt on fundamental issues and who is behind it, since the medium is marketing both information and opinions as "commodities". The Austrian Press Council This body is designed to subject the Austrian press to voluntary self-supervision. It was founded in 1961 by the Association of Austrian Newspaper Publishers and the Austrian Journalists' Union; the council consists of ten representatives from each organisation. The twenty independent members of the council ensure that the press fulfils its professional obligations and that the freedom of the press is not violated. It is responsible for maintaining the press's reputation, seeking abuses and making sure they are eliminated and it is also up to the council to represent the interests of the press in relations with the legislature, the administration and the public. Anyone may turn to the Austrian Press Council if they believe that a newspaper or periodical, radio or television has abused the freedom of the press or that than an article or broadcast represent an affront to public decency, an intrusion into the private sphere, disregards the obligation to provide honest and accurate reporting or any other principles of journalism. The council has drawn up a catalogue of guidelines on such principles. The council has no sanctions at its disposal with which to force a newspaper to publish a decision. Experience has shown, however, that virtually all the media concerned respect and publish the findings of the Press Council.