Journalism in Austria is a profession that requires no formal skills. Nonetheless, some 48.5 per cent of Austrian journalists were graduates of higher education in 2019. This is a considerably higher share than ten years ago (34%). Women outnumber men, with 58 per cent of female journalists being graduates and only 42 per cent of male journalists. Among graduates, almost one third (32%) has studied communication science or journalism, followed by political science (13%) (Kaltenbrunner et al., 2020: 250).
The chair of the journalists’ union emphasised the fact that journalistic ethos and resources do not always match in Austria. He pointed out that resources for investigative journalism have been reduced over the years, and journalists complain about the lack of financial support. Furthermore, journalists report back to the union that the work load has continuously increased, and journalists are too exhausted to engage in further education to enhance professionalism. In a representative survey, nearly 49 per cent of all journalists indicated that they were only partly or not satisfied with their daily workload, and 51 per cent said they were only partly or little satisfied with the time available for investigative reporting (Kaltenbrunner et al., 2020: 253). Compared with 2008, job satisfaction decreased significantly: By then, 75 per cent were very satisfied with working times; 51 per cent could not complain about their daily workload; and 44 per cent were very satisfied with the amount of time they spent on investigation and research (Kaltenbrunner et al., 2008: 82).
