Controlling the (media) controllers is not particularly pertinent in Austria and has no tradition. Nonetheless, a few initiatives can be listed. Online-only initiatives on the issue of media content surveillance and control had been active in the past (e.g., Krone-Blog and Medienschelt) but have disappeared again. Currently, Kobuk[i] is run by students of Communication Studies in University of Vienna. This blog observes media coverage, most frequently by Kronenzeitung and Österreich.
A more professional media watch is exercised by the daily newspaper Der Standard in its online edition. There, the “Etat” section is dedicated to media and media business affairs and is a rich information source about media. A subsection of that website is dedicated to authors from the field of communication studies reporting and commenting on communication affairs (“Ein Fall für die Wissenschaft”). Other newspapers also employ specialised journalists to report about media and communication, dedicating sections of the paper to these matters (e.g., Salzburger Nachrichten, Kleine Zeitung). Some magazines specialise in media issues, aiming at journalists as readers and discussing media economics, the functions and roles of media for society, or debates on journalistic ethics and standards (e.g., Der Österreichische Journalist, Horizont).
Furthermore, the crowd-funded hybrid-magazine Dossier specialises on investigative journalism and addressed the history, coverage, and governance of Kronenzeitung at the occasion of its 60th anniversary in 2019.[ii] In May 2017, ORF launched a monthly radio feature on media affairs and media politics, “#doublecheck”. This magazine-style radio broadcast addresses media and communication matters with a critical view.[iii] There is no corresponding format in television.
Regarding the code of ethics for print media, the Austrian Press Council continuously scrutinises violations based on complaints. In 2019, some 297 complaints were filed, of which 37 were considered to breach the code. Most of these cases concerned the boulevard daily newspapers Österreich (14 cases) und Kronenzeitung (9 cases) (Österreichischer Presserat, 2019) (see also Indicator E7 – Code of ethics at the national level).
Apart from such self-observing and self-regulatory initiatives by journalists and the media, there is no systematic media-performance monitoring institution in Austria.
[i] www.kobuk.at
[ii] https://www.dossier.at/dossiers/kronen-zeitung/
[iii] https://oe1.orf.at/doublecheck
