Austria’s further decline in press freedom is a disgrace for the government
Vienna (OTS/SK) – Vienna (SK) Austria’s further fall in the press freedom ranking is a “show of poverty for the government and also the result of ÖVP and FPÖ attacks on independent journalism,” says SPÖ club and party leader Andreas Babler on the ranking published today “Reporters Without Borders” (RSF). “32nd place for press freedom, the worst value since the ranking began, is worrying. The coming National Council election will also be a directional decision as to whether press freedom and critical reporting will be restricted by a black-blue government or whether independent journalism and the media location will be strengthened with the SPÖ,” says Babler. “When we broke up the Wiener Zeitung, we warned that the government was endangering media diversity. It’s tragic that the Greens played a part in it,” criticizes Duzdar. ****
“Millions for government PR, black and blue advertisement corruption, physical attacks on journalists at FPÖ events, quotation bans and intimidation attempts against journalists – black and blue are ready to attack independent journalism,” warns media spokeswoman Duzdar. “Media policy under a Chancellor Kickl would mean FPÖ TV and money for right-wing extremist media, as FPÖ-Hafenecker also announced quite blatantly.”
The SPÖ is the counter-model to these “organization attempts”: “Especially in times when fake news is increasing and the algorithm determines which news we read, high-quality and critical journalism is needed,” says Andreas Babler. That’s why the “My Newspaper Subscription” for people up to 30 years old is also a central project of the “Herz&Hirn” plan. Babler: “It’s about giving young people free access to reliable information and thereby strengthening our democracy.” And it has to be about strengthening the domestic media location, which is under great pressure given the market power of Google and Co. “We stand for additional support for private individuals who make a significant contribution to media diversity. Otherwise there is a risk of further concentration of the market and further waves of layoffs. But we need more journalism, not less!” (Conclusion) ah
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