Compiled with the help of Sergio Sparviero, Josef Trappel, and Stefan Gadringer, University of Salzburg.

Austria has an unlikely Conservative-Green coalition following an election in September 2019 and subsequent political wrangling. This after the media helped bring down the previous coalition by publishing secret recordings of the former vice-chancellor and leader of the far-right Freedom Party (FPÖ). Despite the growing influence of online media, Austrians still enjoy the highest printed newspaper consumption rates in Europe.

Top Brands

Changing Media

Austria has traditionally had the highest levels of print readership in our survey but this has fallen by almost 20 percentage points in just six years. TV news reach is also substantially down in our pre-COVID-19 survey, though public broadcaster ORF has transferred much of its offline strength online.

Trust

The role played by the media in the fall from government of the right-wing freedom party FPÖ has bolstered trust with liberal voters – and overall. The party had been on a collision course with many news media as it tried to control the agenda but plans to reform the popular public service media (ORF) have now been greatly reduced.