Open Letter – Dear Mr Chancellor…

Date:

Dear Chancellor Nehammer,
Dear Members of the Federal Government,
Dear members of the National Council!

Newspapers and magazines – print and digital – are an indispensable part of liberal democracies.

Their diversity guarantees diversity of opinions.

This gives Austrian citizens self-determined access to verified facts. The integrity and competence of the editors help classify complex issues based on safe, well-researched, and conscientiously verified facts.

Only on that basis is it possible to form an opinion and participate in democratic society.

No freedom of choice without media diversity. And without freedom of choice, there is no liberal democracy.

With the planned amendment to the ORF law, Austria’s largest media company, the ORF, will receive additional public resources and significantly more opportunities to expand its activities and offerings in the digital space.

That’s good for the ORF. And bad for media diversity.

With no less than 710 million euros that the ORF receives from the fee payers, the ORF is now increasingly competing with the private journalistic media.

This closes any possibility of development in the future.

This poses an existential threat to Austrian media diversity!

In the interest of all media in our country, we call on you to counter a looming monopoly of opinion. Review the ORF law. Ensure a fair balance of interests. And thus ensure media and opinion diversity.

Democracy needs diversity of opinion so that the parties do not remain white.

May 3 – International Press Freedom Day.

Source: Krone

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