Media Congress in Vienna – “Good journalism is the oxygen of democracy”

Quality journalism has never been more important than it is today: In times when dictators impose their own “sovereignty of interpretation” on citizens and anyone can spread false facts on social media channels with impunity, reputable media are of great importance.

For example important, the powerful one keeps an eye on the fingers
Julia Becker, head of the German Funke Group and co-owner of the “Krone”, spoke about this at a European media conference in Vienna. In addition to numerous prominent media people, interested listeners were her mother Petra Grotkamp and “Krone” publisher Christoph Dichand.

More than ever, an authority is needed to keep an eye on the influential and powerful. Becker quotes Austrian publicist Alfred Polgar: “The press also has the job of mowing the grass that threatens to grow over something.”

“Credibility is the most important currency in the media industry”
She underlined the need for publishers to offer their content both in print and digitally to reach all audiences. But she expects objectivity, distance, restraint and seriousness from the media in everything: “Credibility is undoubtedly the most important means of payment in the media industry.”

She is critical of the “click logic” of many online newsrooms, which measure exactly how many people read a text, for how long and how it “runs” on different channels. So there would be the danger of tabloidization and scandal. You have to be very careful there.

In a very complex world, people want the media to explain and orientate facts. Especially (local) newspapers, which according to studies have the most credibility, score particularly well here. Becker would like to see politicians waive VAT on print products, as publishers suffer from high paper and energy costs.