150 euros for young people

SPÖ wants to promote media subscriptions, combat fake news

SPÖ leader Andreas Babler wants to solve two problems at once with his idea of combating fake news and strengthening reputable media providers.

(Bild: APA/ROBERT JAEGER)

The SPÖ wants to make media subscriptions - whether print or digital - cheaper for young people. Specifically, there is to be a state subsidy of 150 euros for Austrians between the ages of 16 and 30 who regularly subscribe to a journalistic product. In this way, party leader Andreas Babler wants to support the struggling media industry as well as fight the consumption of fake news on the internet, he said on Monday.

Babler had already outlined the red "My Newspaper Subscription" model at the end of April in his programmatic speech "With heart and brain for Austria", which was aimed at the National Council elections. Now he explained the plan in more detail at a press conference. The readership of traditional media and daily newspapers is constantly shrinking, fewer and fewer journalists are having to produce more and more content and economic pressure is increasing, not least due to falling advertising revenue, which is flowing towards Google, Facebook and the like. All of this ultimately weakens democracy, the SPÖ chairman offered a comprehensive outline of the problem.

If the majority of young adults only obtain information from social media, that is a problem.

SPÖ-Mediensprecherin Muna Duzdar

His party wants to take countermeasures with the presented subscription support and make Austria a little more "resilient to authoritarian developments", as SPÖ media spokesperson Muna Duzdar put it. "If the majority of young adults only get information from social media, that's a problem. AI adds a new dimension to this 'fake news sling'."

Funding should be paid directly to the medium
The 150 euros per subscription mentioned above should in any case be paid directly to the medium selected for a subscription. The Social Democrats want to finance this with funds from the digital tax, with Babler stating the goal of reaching around half of the eligible group of people (1.6 million people), which would correspond to costs of up to 120 million euros.

It is still unclear which media will be part of the subsidy program. Certain criteria are being considered, although when asked, it was pointed out that these would first be drawn up by a committee of experts from academia and the industry itself. The committee includes communications scientist Fritz Hausjell, who is also a member of the expert council set up by Babler to develop ideas for the SPÖ.

Expert warns against elite media instead of mass media
"We are on the verge of destroying the freedom of the press", which is constantly sawing away at one of the foundations of democracy, Hausjell expressed his concern. Especially in view of the many current challenges, high-quality, diverse and sovereign journalism is needed. "But we have become weaker and weaker in recent years," he said, citing Austria's "very poor 32nd place" in the current press freedom index as well as the expansion of political PR, the establishment of "message control" and fundamental failures in media policy. Mass media as solid sources of information that are accessible to all are slowly becoming "elite media" due to rising costs - with all the negative consequences.

Babler wants to tackle the implementation of the "Meine-Zeitung subscription" when his party comes into government after the National Council elections. In this respect, he also declared the ballot on September 29 to be a "directional decision" in terms of media freedom and independent critical reporting. If a coalition between the ÖVP and FPÖ comes to power, there will be an authoritarian turn or "Orbanization", not least in the media sector, he warned.