Suchergebnisse

Der Beitrag untersucht das Phänomen der Pressekonzentration im Rahmen einer detaillierten Analyse des österreichischen Mediensystems im europäischen Vergleich. Den theoretischen Rahmen bilden die von Hallin und Mancini (2004) für eine vergleichende Analyse von Mediensystemen in den liberalen Demokratien Westeuropas und Nordamerikas entwickelten 'models of media and politics'. Entsprechend dem in nord- und mitteleuropäischen Staaten vorherrschenden demokratisch-korporatistischen Modell (in Abgrenzung zum polarisiert-pluralistischen und zum liberalen Modell) interessieren vor allem zwei zentrale, einander überlappende und bedingende Strukturmerkmale: eine lange Zeit der Koexistenz von Partei- und Massenpresse, aus der eine bis in die Gegenwart andauernde starke Position der Tageszeitung auf dem Werbe- und Publikumsmarkt resultiert, und die Koexistenz von politischem Parallelismus in den Medien und einem hohen Professionalisierungsgrad. Beide Charakteristika lassen sich für das österreichische Mediensystem in einem großen Ausmaß zeigen. Für die daraus resultierende Notwendigkeit externer Vielfalt ist allerdings das in Österreich herrschende Ausmaß an Pressekonzentration als Gefährdung zu werten, während Auswirkungen der jüngeren Trends zu Regionalisierung und Lokalisierung noch nicht einschätzbar sind, aber mit einem im europäischen Vergleich überdurchschnittlich hohen Rückgang des Interesses an politischer Information einhergehen.

Der Beitrag befaßt sich mit der Situation der Zeitungsindustrie in kleineren Ländern, die jeweils ein größeres und mächtigeres Land, in dem die gleiche Sprache gesprochen wird, zum Nachbarn haben. Österreich und Irland wurden gewählt, um Übereinstimmungen in unterschiedlichen Bezugssystemen herausarbeiten zu können. Anhand des Zeitungssektors kann gezeigt werden, wo die traditionellen Marktmechanismen versagen, hinzukommt, daß die Untersuchungsergebnisse eine starke politische Relevanz haben. Daher sind in diesem Bereich politische Maßnahmen von größerer Bedeutung als in anderen Industriezweigen. Am Beginn der Arbeit steht eine ökonomische Analyse der Entwicklungen in der Zeitungsindustrie unter besonderer Berücksichtigung der beiden Länder, gefolgt von einem interpretierenden Überblick über aktuelle wirtschaftspolitische Maßnahmen und medienpolitische Alternativen. Ausgehend von den Veränderungen in den Zeitungsindustrien Österreichs und Irlands, versucht der Beitrag herauszuarbeiten, ob und auf welche Weise die beobachteten Konzentrationsprozesse gestört oder gar gestoppt werden können. (UNübers.)

This article deals with the newspaper industry in small states with a big, more powerful neighbouring country where the same language is spoken. Austria and Ireland are used as examples to show the similarities within the different frameworks, the chosen newspaper sector displaying typical characteristics of traditional market failure and providing output with strong political relevance. Therefore public policy measures are even more important than in other industries. An economic analysis of the developments in the newspaper industry (in the two countries especially) is given, followed by a survey and interpretation of recent economic policies as well as media policy options. With an overview of the changes in the newspaper industries in Austria and Ireland as a starting point, the article aims to explore whether and what can be done to hinder or even unravel the observed concentration processes.

Switzerland is a country where the press is key. Democracy is at the heart of the Swiss press, characterized by multilingualism, diversity of the press and a long tradition of newspapers readership. But the paid-for daily printed press has been faced with a crisis for the last decade with the development of the free press, the rise of Internet and a decline in advertising revenues. Consequently, the Swiss press model is evolving. With the help of various indicators, this paper highlights an increasingly strong concentration of the Swiss daily press between 2005 and 2014. Moreover, it analyses the strategies of the two main Swiss press groups, Tamedia and Ringier, towards profitable digital diversification. It shows that the Swiss press remains strong, contrarily to the French press, for example. Thus, the evolution of the Swiss press model is illustrative of a new economic model. However, the paper also emphasizes that the Swiss press is now faced with increasing competition from the world digital leaders, such as Google and Facebook.

`Glasnost Hungarian style' forms part of a process of reform initiated from `above'. From `below', there has been a remarkable renaissance of civil society, with increasing numbers of people becoming actively involved in public and political life. At the same time, gathering social and economic crisis threatens to destabilize the country, while institutional structures inherited almost intact from the Stalinist period serve as a strait-jacket, precluding any meaningful and lasting change. This is particularly evident in the print media, a field which is strictly regulated and controlled. Licensing of newspapers and periodicals, allocation of newsprint, strict price controls, almost non-existent opportunities for the entry of new actors into the field, a high degree of press concentration in the hands of the power elite — all these characterize the situation in the Hungarian press. All of these factors are incompatible with movement towards a democratic and pluralistic socialist society, but change in these areas is predicated on the reform of political institutions.

This article reviews the evidence about ownership of the UK national daily press, and the possibility of new entrants succeeding, in the light of concern about media concentration in European fora. It demonstrates that this market is concentrated and effectively closed and explores why this is so. The article shows that this market is stratified in ways which also display closure and concentration and demonstrates that the existing law is ineffective in preventing concentration. It concludes that the nature of the UK national daily press market results from the natural workings of the free market.

Switzerland is a country where the press is key. Democracy is at the heart of the Swiss press, characterized by multilingualism, diversity of the press and a long tradition of newspapers readership. But the paid-for daily printed press has been faced with a crisis for the last decade with the development of the free press, the rise of Internet and a decline in advertising revenues. Consequently, the Swiss press model is evolving. With the help of various indicators, this paper highlights an increasingly strong concentration of the Swiss daily press between 2005 and 2014. Moreover, it analyses the strategies of the two main Swiss press groups, Tamedia and Ringier, towards profitable digital diversification. It shows that the Swiss press remains strong, contrarily to the French press, for example. Thus, the evolution of the Swiss press model is illustrative of a new economic model. However, the paper also emphasizes that the Swiss press is now faced with increasing competition from the world digital leaders, such as Google and Facebook. ; Switzerland is a country where the press is key. Democracy is at the heart of the Swiss press, characterized by multilingualism, diversity of the press and a long tradition of newspapers readership. But the paid-for daily printed press has been faced with a crisis for the last decade with the development of the free press, the rise of Internet and a decline in advertising revenues. Consequently, the Swiss press model is evolving. With the help of various indicators, this paper highlights an increasingly strong concentration of the Swiss daily press between 2005 and 2014. Moreover, it analyses the strategies of the two main Swiss press groups, Tamedia and Ringier, towards profitable digital diversification. It shows that the Swiss press remains strong, contrarily to the French press, for example. Thus, the evolution of the Swiss press model is illustrative of a new economic model. However, the paper also emphasizes that the Swiss press is now faced with increasing competition from the world digital leaders, such as Google and Facebook.