ORF crosses border: 522 reports instead of permitted 350!

ORF crosses border: 522 reports instead of permitted 350!

In the discussion about media freedom and legal regulations, ORF caused a sensation last week by exceeding the permitted reports. According to a report by the OTS , the actual text articles on the" Blue Side "from ORF.AT were between 18 and 25 in 522 reports, although the ORF law is only 350 Messages per week allowed. However, this non -compliance was rejected by the ORF, which also indicates that no statement on the allegations had been requested.

The request of the OÖNachrichten on the number of reports was rejected on April 3 at 10:03 a.m. by ORF. In the political arena, there have long been concerns about the large number of free offers from ORF that could endanger private media. The Neos media spokeswoman Henrike Brandstötter expressed serious concerns in this regard and emphasized that the limitation of the text articles was necessary to protect media diversity. This view is also supported by Kurt Egger, the media spokesman for the ÖVP.

political reactions and media evaluation

Media Minister Andreas Babler from the SPÖ pointed out that KommaUtria, the media authority, is responsible for the assessment of the case, but needs a complaint or the factual presentation to act. It is important to emphasize that KommaUtria is not a censorship authority and does not regularly check media offers.

In the broader political debate about the media landscape in Austria, the problem of press promotion is also discussed. The SPÖ media spokesman Jörg Leichtfried criticized the high criteria for press promotion that significantly exclude smaller and innovative digital media. According to Leichtfried, transparency laws should not be perceived as an obstacle to the media diversity, since public legal entities are dependent on information about the edition, reach and target groups.

challenges for smaller media

Eva Blimlinger, media spokeswoman for the Greens, partially announced improvements when accessing press promotion. She emphasizes that qualitative journalism is based on intensive research and should not be measured on high number of signs. Even if the transparency rules are not considered for smaller media, the reporting campaigns of 150,000 euros and 750,000 euros for impact analyzes represent an additional burden that could be financially disadvantageous.

for local and regional media, it often makes no sense to participate in large national surveys. This could further tighten the already tense situation of media diversity in Austria. As the Wirtschaftschafts , politicians have not adequately recognized the problem of the press promotion, which could threaten the media landscape in its diversity.