Austria’s newspapers provide a larger diversity of formats. Boulevard and quality press titles differ considerably in their news provision. Boulevard newspapers with a stronger focus on entertainment enforced the implementation of social web applications (videos, photos, weblogs) in order to enable users to contribute content; quality newspapers offer more traditional news formats supplemented by postings or chats (Stark & Kraus 2008, p. 313). Some online newspapers also implemented their own community applications.
ORF’s main television news formats are broadcasted on ORF 2; information formats on ORF 1 are usually shorter (Woelke 2008, p. 31). Overall, ORF 2 provides seven different news formats throughout the day, four of them exceeding 15 minutes. A local news format is broadcasted on ORF 2 before the main evening news, delivered by the regional ORF studios. In addition, ORF 1 delivers shorter news formats five times a day. Besides traditional news formats, there are also special interest magazines on political and economic topics (Thema, Report), political discussion formats (im ZENTRUM), service magazines (Konkret) as well as a weekly discussion format on current affairs inviting journalists from other media to be co-interviewers (Pressestunde).
Private television channels have shorter and more sensationalist forms of news presentation. The private channel ATV delivers its daily news format (ATV Aktuell) twice a day, in addition to news magazines (ATV Reportage) and a discussion format (Am Punkt) with lower frequency. Puls 4 produces a news format (AustriaNews), which is also broadcasted on Pro7 and Sat1 as a local window program, besides a morning and midday news format and a weekly discussion format (Talk of Town). There is no Austrian 24-hour news channel, even though some foreign news channels (ntv, n24, CNN) are available via cable or satellite.
On most radio programs, short news flashes every full hour are common. Ö1 offers further news formats: two morning journals including one in english and french, a one-hour news journal at midday (Mittagsjournal), and four news formats in the evening. In addition, radio magazines are quite common (Ö1 2010). All public service radio channels and many local private channels provide podcasts or are also available as web radio.
