The national news agency APA in cooperation with MediaWatch Institut für Medienanalysen publishes the Prime Politics Index on a weekly basis, monitoring news coverage of the leading politicians of the Austrian parliamentary parties (http://www.apamediawatch.at). furthermore, the RTR (Rundfunk und Telekomregulierungs-GmbH) publishes several reports about the Austrian media market. A general communication report is published every year summarizing the main developments of the Austrian communication market as well as the work of the regulatory authorities. Still, only a few content-related issues can be found in these reports (RTR 2009a). Since 2007, the RTR has financed and published regular reports on the program structure of the Austrian television channels ORF 1, ORF 2, ATV and PULS 4 (Woelke 2007 2008 2010). The main focus of those reports is on a quantitative analysis of the program and issue structures of the Austrian television channels in comparison to other German-speaking countries. The Viewers’ Council (Publikumsrat) and the Public Value Competence Center of the ORF can commission reports concerning content issues. In addition, ORF established an annual quality monitoring system in 2008. Besides a representative survey and several statements from experts, this monitoring system includes audience talks (Publikumsgespräche) (ORf 2010d).
The Department of Communication at the university of Salzburg has published regular reports (Bericht zur Lage des Journalismus in Österreich/Journalismus in Österreich) on working conditions, quality standards, legal and practical developments as well as specific content-related issues since 1996. The purpose of the reports is to present relevant research findings for the journalistic daily business (Abteilung für Journalistik des fachbereichs Kommunikationswissenschaft der universität Salzburg 2006, 2009). The Commission for Comparative Media and Communications Studies of the Austrian Academy of Sciences participates in international research projects focusing on the comparative approach of media systems. Based on historical data, the Internet portal HYPRESS – with information on the development of the Austrian press market since the beginning of the 19th century – was established. It is still pursued (http://www.oeaw.ac.at/cmc/hypress/); at present, data up until 1934 is available.
Still, there is no systematic independent monitoring instrument supervising media coverage on the Austrian media market on a permanent and continuous basis, comparable to other countries. Attempts at media monitoring are usually not published outside the scientific community and therefore their visibility is rather low.
