Austria improves press freedom: Green measures are having an impact!

Austria improves press freedom: Green measures are having an impact!

On May 2, 2025, Sigi Maurer, deputy club chairwoman and media spokesperson for the Green Party, highlighted positive developments in the Austrian media landscape. According to ots.at, Austria has improved by ten places in Reporters Without Borders' press freedom index and now reaches 22nd place. This is attributed to quality-oriented funding during the green government participation and an increased focus on digital transformation.

During the last legislative period, various laws and funding were implemented to strengthen the media and promote press freedom. These include quality journalism funding, funding for digital transformation and podcast funding. In addition, existing subsidies for private broadcasting and non-commercial broadcasting were increased. The measures aim to increase media transparency and strengthen the financing and digital possibilities of public broadcasting.

Calls for more support for journalism

In her statement, Maurer emphasizes the need to move away from current advertising practice and introduce targeted funding for a professional journalistic framework. She points to the outflow of advertising money to international digital companies, which is putting a strain on the budgets of domestic media companies. To counteract this, she calls for media cooperation to be pushed back in favor of objective funding. This is happening in the context of two motions for resolutions that have been tabled, which seek to increase funding for quality journalism and private broadcasting.

On February 5, 2025, the Austrian UNESCO Commission will present the first results report of the “Media Diversity Platform” initiative, in which over 30 experts discussed measures to strengthen a diverse and sustainable media sector. This is in line with the findings of unesco.at, which identifies key challenges in media pluralism and media financing.

Recommendations on media policy

The challenges outlined in the report include, among other things, the lack of alignment of funding with journalistic quality criteria and the growing market power of a few players. Dr. Sabine Haag, President of the Austrian UNESCO Commission, emphasizes the urgency of decisive measures to counteract a one-sided media landscape that is prone to disinformation. The recommendations for a sustainable media policy include:

• Förderung von qualitativ hochwertigem Journalismus, insbesondere im öffentlich-rechtlichen, nicht-kommerziellen und gemeinnützigen Bereich.
• Transparente und faire Förderpolitik mit nachvollziehbaren Qualitätskriterien für den Zugang zu Fördermitteln.
• Diversität und Inklusion sowie die Bekämpfung struktureller Diskriminierung im Journalismus.
• Regulierung digitaler Plattformen und Schaffung von Transparenzpflichten für Algorithmen sowie faire Vergütung journalistischer Inhalte.
• Förderung von Medienkompetenz durch Bildungsprogramme für alle Altersgruppen.

UNESCO advocates for media diversity and press freedom worldwide and supports actors who are committed to securing fundamental freedoms in the digital and analogue space. Current developments in Austria show that both political measures and the collaboration of experts are necessary to ensure a diverse and high-quality media landscape.