1
Mapping Minorities and their Media: The National Context – Austria
Mag. Martina Böse, Mag. Regina Haberfellner, Mag. Ayhan Koldas
Centre for Social Innovation
2
1 MIGRATION AND MINORITIES IN AUSTRIA
Austria's minority population can be broadly separated into the officially recognised minority groups
and the 'new minorities' following from post war immigration into Austria. To the former belong the
following groups: Slovenes in Carinthia, Croats in Burgenland, Hungarians in Burgenland and Vienna,
Roma and Sinti, Czechs and Slovaks in Vienna.
With regard to these groups minority politics have traditionally not been made on the basis of language
or citizen rights in Austria, but rather in dependency on respective national or international politics.
Furthermore, the situation of different minority groups differed significantly between the Austrian and
former Hungarian part of Austria, due to the historical standing of minority groups and in particular
their (anti)clerical and political affiliation in the Austro-Hungarian monarchy. Thus, while for example
the use of Slovenian in Carinthia was clearly stigmatised after world war II, the use of Croatian in
Burgenland was not a critical issue then. (Bernhard/Perchinig 1995). Against the background of mostly
hesitant, at times practically absent minority politics and generally restrictive immigration politics in
Austria, the self-ethnization of minority groups and multi-cultural approaches have developed
alongside each other.
1.1. A short overview of immigration to Austria
Immigration to Austria can be characterised on the one hand by a history of so-called 'guestworkermigration'
and on the other hand, by the immigration of refugees - mostly from former Eastern
European Countries in different phases. For four major groups of Eastern refugees Austria
represented a transitional stopover on their way from one of the Eastern European Countries to one of
the Western Countries (mostly to the United States) and to Israel. The numbers are as follows:
Hungarians (180,000 in 1956), Czechoslovakians (160,000 in 1968), Poles (140,000 in 1981/82 and
Jews from the former Soviet Union (about 250.000 between 1973 and 1989).
'Guest-worker' immigration was promoted by contract labour programmes since the 1960s, and
organised by state agencies like in Germany. The first contract labour programme was established
already in 1962 with Spain, followed by that with Turkey in 1964 and two years later, followed by
Former Yugoslavia. By the end of the 1960s, the percentage of foreign workers had noticeably
increased. For the first time in 1970, more than 100.000 work-permits were issued. A first peak was
reached in 1973, with 226,800 foreigners working in Austria. As Austrians increasingly found
employment in the service sector, the remaining jobs in the production sector were occupied by
unskilled immigrant workers. Due to this role as unskilled workers in the industry, "guest-workers" had
to be preferably young and healthy men rather than well educated ones. However, due to its lower
rates of income, Austria attracted less qualified workers than Germany, and did so also after the
abolition of the "guest-worker"-scheme in 1973 (Parnreiter 1994). The first slump in the Austrian
economy led to a drastic reduction in foreign labour between the mid 70’s and the early 80s. Austria
experienced a long period of prosperous economic development, highly supported by the 'AustroKeynesian´
policy which was following the Swedish model. The structural problems of Austria´s labour
3
market became obvious in the 1980s. While Austrians found increasingly employment in the service
sector, the remaining work places in the production sector were occupied by unskilled immigrant
workers. The short period of economic progress in the early 90s was mainly induced by immigrants´
employment, then followed by predatory competition in the secondary sector and finally by increased
unemployment of immigrant workers in the 90s.
The basic idea of the guest-worker system was the rotation principle. Immigrants were supposed to
stay for a short period of time to cover the specific demand for labour. However, for several reasons
the system never worked as expected: Migrants wanted to stay longer because their income had not
met their expectations, and employers refused to recruit new inexperienced workers and preferred to
keep the already trained ones. As the mostly male immigrants decided to stay longer, the immigration
of their family members started in the beginning of the 1970’s. This phase of immigration profoundly
changed the structure of the foreign population. Austria became in fact an immigration country, relative
to the size of its population, even one of the foremost immigration countries in Europe. However, this
status has never become part of Austria's official self-understanding (Fassmann, H, Münz, R 1995).
Even in phases of significant immigration, the political discourse held on to notions of "Zuwanderung",
thus emphasising the transitory state of immigration, as opposed to "Einwanderung", which implies
settlement. Integration was considered as the unifying policy objective related to immigrants, which
served to distract from the fact of immigration (Gächter 2001). Following from this outlook, the need for
an active immigration policy was not perceived in Austria until the mid 1990’s.
1.2. Immigration Policy, Labour Market Access and the Role
of the Social Partners
A significant pillar of the Austrian political system has for a long time been the elaborate system of
social partnership. As this corporate political system has also influenced the history of Austria's
immigration policies to a considerable extent, it shall be briefly illustrated in this section.
The four organisations that have been dominating this system are: on the one hand the Chamber of
Commerce and the Chamber of Agriculture, both entertaining good relations with the Conservative
People’s Party and on the other hand, the Chamber of Labour and the Trade Unions Congress, which
have always been close to the Social Democratic Party. In policy decisions concerning the economy
and the labour market and in central questions of social policy these 'social partners' have traditionally
had a decisive influence, based on a netting of personal, formal and informal linkages with decisionmakers
in the government, the administration, the parliament, and the political parties (Tálos/
Leichsenring/ Zeiner 1993). The institutionalisation of the "Sozialpartnerschaft" however started in the
beginning of the 1960s and was indeed initiated by a clash of interests regarding the opening of the
labour market to foreigners. While the Chamber of Labour and the trade Unions Congress were strictly
opposed to this opening, the Chamber of Commerce pressurised for it. Due to the hardened front
lines, the consensus necessary for a law that regulates the employment of foreigners could not be
achieved. Instead the unions agreed to open the labour market and the borders for a first temporary
immigration of 47.000 guest-workers in 1961 under the condition of equal payment, fixed one yearcontracts
and prior dismissal of immigrants in the case of job-losses. At the origin of this concession
4
was an agreement about the increased influence of the employees' representatives in one of the
central arenas of negotiation within the framework of "Sozialpartnerschaft", the “parity price and wage
commission”. Until 1975 the unions and the Chamber of Labour strengthened their position within the
social partnership by using the yearly negotiations of the contingent for foreign workers as lever
(Wimmer 1986, Wollner 1996, Bauböck 1997). In the following decades the initial social partnershipagreement,
the 'Raab-Olah-agreement', remained the determining framework for regulations of the
labour market access by immigrants.
While the unions controlled the employment of immigrants in Austria, the Chamber of Commerce tried
to stimulate 'guest-worker' immigration through specially established agencies in potential sending
countries. In spite of these endeavours the percentage of foreign workers increased noticeably only at
the end of the 1960s whereby the most important immigrant groups were coming from the former
Yugoslavia and Turkey. For the first time in 1970 more than 100,000 work-permits were issued. In
1973 a first peak was reached with 226,800 foreigners working in Austria. The agencies lost their
influence after some years because immigration to Austria developed its own dynamics through
increased chain migration which was more flexible.
Although the basic idea of the guest-worker system was the rotation principle, at a time of economic
boom neither the unions nor the employment office saw a need for restricting the number of work
permits issued. This development as well as the need for a female labour force in the growing service
sector and in the textile industries stimulated the immigration of family members which commenced in
the beginning of the 1970s.
The first Foreigners’ Employment Act (Ausländerbeschäftigungsgesetz), enacted in 1975, reaffirmed
again the influence of the social partners by establishing a parity commission which had an extensive
influence on all regulations concerning the access of foreigners to the labour market.
1
According to the
law, only after 8 years of continuous employment could a foreigner obtain a so-called
‘Befreiungsschein’ - limited to two years, but renewable - which allowed the employee to change the
employer (Bauböck 1997). That regulation affected an ethnic segmentation of the labour market and
for the immigrant employees a high degree of dependence on their employers (Gächter 1995). The
Trade Unions had again two options in this period: Either to support the interests of immigrant workers
and to co-ordinate their interests with those of the Austrian native workers or to use their influence on
immigrant employment issues as leverage in negotiations within the framework of
"Sozialpartnerschaft" and to force the prioritised employment of native workers. There is some
evidence that the union kept following rather the second mentioned strategy (Bauböck 1997, 683).
Until 1987 immigration policy was purely seen as labour market policy and thus the Ministry for Social
Affairs was the only responsible authority. From 1991 onwards, the Ministry of the Interior became a
proactive player in the field, after having played only a nominal role till then (Gächter 2001).
Additionally the political landscape had changed in the meantime and two parties which had not been
involved in the negotiating processes of the social partners before, started to actively use immigration
issues to shape their political profile. Although representing opposite approaches, both were rather
1
Until 1975 the negotiations of the foreign workers contingents had still been based on the first ‚Raab-Olah
agreement' from 1961.
5
free in their argumentation without the restrictions of keeping the burden of traditionalised interests in
mind (Bauböck/ Wimmer 1988). Mainly due to the concern of the unions to lose their influence, a great
reformation of the legal framework that regulated the residence and labour market access for nonAustrians
was not feasible at the end of the 1980s. Consequently, only minor changes of the existing
regulations were being made and – still following the concept of the ‘guest-worker'-schemes - a
national quota-system (Bundeshöchstzahl) was introduced for work permits. The yearly fixed quotas
vary between 8% to 10% of the total workforce and can cause the paradox effect that even persons
with a legal residence permission have no access to the labour market. Particularly young people,
women, and self-employed immigrants are affected (Bauböck 1997, 684; Haberfellner/ Böse 1999). In
spite of many years of criticism, the split into these two vital permits has still not been removed.
The opening of the borders to the Eastern European Countries, an additional need of immigrant labour
due to an economic upswing and a rise of asylum seekers led to more than a duplication of the foreign
population, from 326,000 up to 713,000 between 1987 and 1994. Since the enactment of a new
Asylum Law in 1992 and the institution of a yearly quota for new residence permissions
2
the netimmigration
into Austria has been dramatically reduced. The yearly net-immigration to Austria did not
exceed 10,000 people in the 1990s since the new quota-regulation came into effect and these low
numbers are expected to remain on that level in the next few years.
The high influx of immigrants and the rising unemployment rates caused heated discussions about
immigration into Austria in the media as well as in the political arena at the beginning of the 90s They
eventually led to the already mentioned more restrictive regulations concerning labour market access
and immigration which had to be adapted several times in the last years.
The table below gives an overview of the shares of non-Austrian employees between 1961 and 1998.
2
reformed in 1995 and 1997.
6
Table 1: Rate of employees without Austrian citizenship 1961-1998
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
1961
1963
1965
1967
1969
1971
1973
1975
1977
1979
1981
1983
1985
1987
1989
1991
1993
1995
1997
in%
Source: Biffl et al 1997; employees without Austrian citizenship in percentage of all employees.
Although the uncertainty of continued residence was reduced by the adapted regulations in 1997, to
be in employment and obtain a sufficient income, is still a vital requirement for non-Austrian citizens.
As extended periods of unemployment can cost immigrants the legal base of their stay, there is even
more pressure on them to find a new job as soon as possible than there is for unemployed Austrians.
Therefore they are much more likely to accept even low paid or low quality jobs which tends to enforce
the segmentation of the labour market, where immigrants can generally be expected to occupy lower
and less attractive positions. This leads furthermore to a situation in which activity rates for foreign
women and men are considerably higher than those of Austrians. Against the backdrop of the multiple
pressure on immigrants (economic and political) it is hardly surpising to see that the average
unemployment rate of immigrants in Austria exceeds the overall unemployment rate only by 1% to 2%.
Austria’s labour market statistics show that employment in the manufacturing industries - with a
traditionally high percentage of men and foreigners - decreased during the last few decades while the
service sector showed a rising share of employment. Immigrant workers are not only confronted with a
higher risk of unemployment but their average income lies also far below the Austrian average.
Foreign workers have a much higher job fluctuation than nationals and re-employment is more often
linked to a cut in wages than in higher wage groups. Furthermore, they can be predominantly found in
the so-called “outsider segment”; the only industry which provides relatively stable employment for
immigrants is the textile industry (Biffl 1999). The economic sectors with the largest shares of
immigrant workers are construction, catering, and cleaning, which are also the sectors with the highest
concentration of unskilled labour and very restricted chances for upward mobility (Fassmann 1993).
7
1.3. Refugees and asylum policies
Its geographical and geopolitical position at the intersection of East and West has made Austria one of
the most significant destinations of refugees. Its history as an asylum country goes further back than
the guest worker schemes. More than 650.000 people reached the West via Austria between 1945
and 1990. However, the bulk of the asylum seekers spent only a transient phase in Austria before
moving on to – mostly other Western -countries. Nonetheless, the notion of being an 'asylum country'
and a 'gateway to the West' has been established in the national imagination for some decades.
Already shortly after 1945, more than half a million 'displaced persons' – war refugees, people who
had been liberated from the concentration camps – and more than 300.000 German speaking
refugees from East and Central Europe were in Austria before moving on to the USA, Canada or
Australia. The major refugee movements since then were connected mainly to political change in the
neighbouring Eastern European countries. Thus, the uprise in Hungary in 1956 led to the first influx of
refugees (180.000), followed by the 'Prague Spring' in 1968, when more than 160.000 people fled from
the Russian invasion and sought refuge in Austria. After the state of war was declared in Poland, more
than 120.000 Poles escaped into the West via Austria. The majority of these groups of refugees used
Austria only as a 'corridor' on their path to a life in the West. Since the mid-1980s however this trend
ceased, as the destination countries of the refugees from Eastern Europe adopted more restrictive
policies towards these immigrants.
The breakdown of the socialist governments in Eastern Europe caused a new phase of refugee
movements. Thousands of people grasped the opportunity to go West when Poles, Hungarians and
Czechoslovakian were granted the freedom to travel. Nearly 90.000 people (mainly from Romania and
Poland) applied for asylum in Austria between 1989 and 1992. .Austrian asylum and refugee policies
changed in exactly these years. In particular in the course of immigration from Romania, the asylum
law was deconstructed step by step. Supported by the yellow press in Austria and politically exploited
in the course of a federal elections campaign, a highly emotional anti-asylum seeker-discourse
emerged, introducing notions of 'abuse of asylum' and rising sensitive issues in connection with the
dispersal of asylum seekers in Austria. The recently torn down fences at the Eastern borders were replaced
by members of the Austrian armed forces.
In the course of the break-down of the former Yugoslavia which caused the largest European refugee
movements since World War Two, Austria created a particular temporary residency permit for
refugees from Bosnia, who were not granted the status of convention-refugees. In 1992 alone, about
50.000 war refugees from Bosnia sought protection in Austria. The next peak in the applications for
asylum occurred in the course of the war in Kosovo. With more than 20.000 applications in 1999, the
peak from 1989 was almost reached. (Volf, Bauböck 2001)
As for the refugees' origin countries, a significant change occurred in 1989. Till then, non-European
asylum seekers were a small albeit growing minority while non-Europeans (more recently from
Afghanistan, Iran, India and the Iraq) have been outnumbering Europeans since then. As exact data
on the legal status of non-Austrian nationals are not available, the overall number of non-Austrians
who enjoy convention refugee status remains un-known. (Gächter 2001)
8
1.4. The demography of immigration country Austria
Historically, Austria's minority groups are Croats in Burgenland (census 1991: 29.596, estimate:
30.000 - 40.000), Slovenes (census 1991: 20.191, estimate 40.000 - 50.000) and Hungarians (census
1991: 19.638, estimate: 25.000)
3
. Croats have been living in Burgenland, the very Eastern province of
Austria bordering to Hungary, since the 16
th
century. Slovenes were the group that originally populated
the predecessor of the province of Carinthia in the South of Austria (in the 7
th
century) and have
populated the area since then. Shortly after the foundation of the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and
Slovenes in 1918, Carinthia was claimed and occupied, but finally lost to Austria following a plebiscite
in 1920. Finally, Hungarians are also based in Burgenland. Croats and Slovene minorities were given
sovereignty yet also stipulations on their rights as minority groups in the Austrian Treaty of 1955.
Romas have been granted the status of 'autochthonous minorities' only in 1993. According to
estimates of the Centre of Ethnic Minorities around 10.000 Romas live in Austria, the Platform for
Minorities in Austria estimated their number to amount up to 40.000. The settling of Czechs and
Slovaks in Austria has been traced back to the 13
th
century. Today, their numbers amount to 15.000
(Czechs) and 5.000 (Slovaks) respectively.
In Austrian official statistics, Immigrants are not identified by their ethnic origin, but by their citizenship.
Hence, after their naturalisation there is no indication of their origin and they disappear in the statistics.
The population without Austrian citizenship was estimated to be about 250.000 in 1999 on annual
average out of a total of 8 million. The share of naturalised immigrants is estimated to be by 5% of the
population. The statistical figures have to be 'handled with care' since they tend to under-represent
immigrants due to the neglect of this group.
The most important immigrant groups in Austria are people from the five successor countries of the
former Yugoslavia, who made up about 4.2% of the Austrian population and almost half of the
population of non-Austrian nationals (46%). The next largest group with a non-Austrian citizenship are
people from Turkey, who build a 1.7% share of the overall and 18% of the non-Austrian population.
Further 1.2% of the total and 12% of the non-Austrian population were EU-nationals and the remaining
2.1% of the total and 24% of the non-Austrian population came from a large number of nationalities,
according to this estimation (Gächter 2001).
Larger settlements of immigrants (with a population of more than 5,000) could be found in only nine
urban areas in Austria except Vienna, among which only four have more than 10.000 non-Austrian
inhabitants in 1999. These larger settlements were throughout of people from former Yugoslavia, while
the populations of Turkish people do not exceed 3,500 in any town. According to the micro-census,
non-Austrian nationals live in poorer housing conditions than Austrian nationals. Not only are nonAustrian
nationals more likely to be given fixed-term rent contracts, but they also tend to pay more for
less quality. Furthermore, overcrowding was diagnosed disproportionately more often for the group of
non-Austrians. Due to the limitations of the figures recorded by official statistics, segregation indices
allow only for a restrictive interpretation of changes in residential patterns. The stagnation of the
3
Source: Platform for Minorities Austria, http://www.initiative.minderheiten.at/ The
9
segregation index for the total of non-Austrian nationals in Vienna thus has to be understood in the
context of relatively high naturalisation rates. (op.cit)
1.5. Political Climate, Racism and Anti-Racism
Austria is not a post-colonial immigration country albeit a part of the immigration into Austria can be
drawn back to former member countries of the Habsburg Empire. In contrast to post-colonial countries
such as England or the Netherlands, there is no comparable tradition of 'race-talk' and anti-racism
policies.
Racism or xenophobia, as resentments against immigrant minorities are generally referred to in
Austria, has emerged in different waves in Austria. In the mid 1990s, for the first time in several
decades racist violence manifested itself in a series of letter bomb attacks on minority activists as well
as in violent attacks on the bi-lingual Slovene-German school in Carinthia and on Roma settlements in
Burgenland (Baumgartner/ Perchinig 1995). Although the extent of violent racism seemed to be
smaller than in other European countries, xenophobia has always had a crucial impact on the daily
lives of immigrants in Austria. Thus, in the period after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the 'opening of the
East' an upsurge of racism was identified not only in the discourses of the yellow press but also in
official, so-called 'elite discourses' (Matouschek 1995). The Freedom Party, at that time in its role of
the opposition party, was at the forefront of emotionalising the debates and initiated an 'Anti-Foreigner'
referendum in 1992. Surveys in the late 1990s suggested a wide agreement of the population with the
by then implemented restrictive immigration policy. Among those who supported political measures in
favour of immigrants, a clear distinction was made between 'real refugees' and other immigrants,
whereby the former group was clearly prioritised. Overall, xenophobia was diagnosed to emerge rather
in older and in less educated sections of the population and against immigrants from Eastern and
South Eastern European countries. (Lebhart, Münz 1999) Many of the prejudices against immigrants
can be traced back to the period of 'guest worker' immigration and partly even to the social
stratification within the Austro-Hungarian monarchy. In the meanwhile, discussions evolve also around
the second generation of immigrants, as for example about their participation in the Austrian education
system. The most recent political measure in the field of 'integration policy' is a so-called 'integration
contract', which is in fact a one-sided obligation on behalf of the immigrant who has to deliver specified
evidence of being 'integrated' as defined in the regulation, such as by passing a German language
proficiency exam. In case of failure the immigrant can lose their residency permit. The implementation
of the measure is only being prepared at the time of writing, first reactions to the concept were
consistently negative.
A significant anti-xenophobia-movement was constituted only at the time of the mentioned AntiForeigner-Referendum.
Before that the candidacy of Waldheim for the Austrian presidency had led to
the first more recent emergence of an anti-semitic and anti-populist forum. Since the FPÖ-initiated
referendum, a variety of NGOs were established with the objective of combating racism and
representing the interests of immigrants and refugees in Austria. A further degree of organisation
against racism with a high level of presence and exchange on the web was reached since the FPÖ-
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participation in the Federal government in 2000
4
. In the same year the European Monitoring Centre on
Racism and Xenophobia was opened in Vienna. Organisations like the Integration Fund which is
affiliated with the City Council of Vienna have served as advice centres for immigrants and various 2
nd
generation- projects have been active for several years. In 1995 integration issues were allocated to a
separate department at Vienna City Council.. Among the many issues currently at stake are the
political participation and representation of immigrants (the passive and active right to participate in
elections as well as the right for workplace representation) and their access to council flats.
Concerning the critical potential among immigrants themselves, who are partly also involved in the
mentioned initiatives and organisations, it has been suggested that it might be a particularity of the
Austrian system that counselling and care structures served to absorb such potentials. The rise of an
'ethnically oriented political elite' has furthermore been prevented so far by the exclusion of immigrants
from political participation including trade unions. (Gächter 2001) The few instances of political
representation among immigrants (f.ex. as entrepreneur in the Chamber of Commerce) are restricted
to those who have been naturalized.
2 MINORITY IN THE MEDIA
2.1. A short overview
According to the findings of a rather recent research project on the representation of immigrants in the
Austrian media, immigrants' media are limited to the papers of individual associations and initiatives as
well as the information leaflets of various immigrants organisations based in Austria. Regular
publications in Turkish or Serbo-Croatian are published by the Viennese Integration Fund. The
German-speaking youth magazines for the second generation, ECHO and Top One, are also
published regularly. Besides, only international editions of mainstream media in respective 'home
countries' could be found in the field of print media. (Volf, Bauböck 2001, Kogoj1999). A more detailed
description of these media follows below.
Austrian electronic media are primarily public. The opening of television and radio to private providers
and programmers only occurred in 1993. Immigrant programmes occupy only a very marginal position
in radio and television. Thusly, the regional channels of the Austrian Public Service Broadcasting
(ORF) station is broadcasting a half-hour programme per week in Croatian respectively Slovenian
language and a bimonthly in Hungarian. Besides, there is a 1-hour programme on the radio
broadcasted daily in minority languages (also Hungarian), a weekly radio broadcast, dedicated to
'ethnic minorities' and a quarterly programme of all minorities together on TV. Minority radio
programmes such as “Tribüne Afrikas” (African Stage, our translation) or the programme of the
“Kulturverein österreichischer Roma” (Cultural Association of Austrian Romas, our tranlsation)– are
broadcasted on medium wave.
4
See e.g. http://www.rassimus.at, http://www.no-racism.net, http://www.demokratische-offensive.at
11
Minority media have at the same time become very specialist media, focusing in particular on
identification components, while information and entertainment aspects tend to get rather ignored.
These remain to be covered largely by the mainstream media. Lacking their own media or prominent
minority programmes in the public as well as in the independent television and radio sector,
immigrants were found to be mainly restricted to the role of the passive observer, consumer or object
of the programme in the Austrian media landscape (Busch 1999).
In the course of increasing digitalisation, the availability of news in the mother tongues of Austrian
minority groups through the internet has obviously improved. Regarding the consumption of online
newspapers, data is not yet available however.
2.2. Austria's media policy context
Austria's mediascape can and has been characterised by a high level of concentration in the print
media and a lack of legislation in the digital media sector as well as the lack of a systematic public
discourse about the value of diversity in the media sector., A legal framework for the provision of
media in minority languages does not exist. The legal ensuring of minority access to media can
only be subsumed to the general minority protection legislation, which applies however only to
Austria's recognised minorities, i.e. Austrian citizens with minority descent, but not to younger
immigrant groups. Thus, the Austrian State Treaty of 1955, article 7 grants Austrian citizens of
Slovenian and Croatian origin equal rights as other Austrian citizens regarding ‘press in their own
language’ (Art. 7 Z.1. State Treaty of Vienna) and equal conditions for the participation in cultural
facilities (Art. 7 Z.4. State Treaty of Vienna). Although electronic media are not explicitly named in
this regulation, an interpretation of the underlying intention would have to lead to their inclusion.
(Busch 1998, Kogoj 1999) However, nothing like an immediate right can be derived from the
Austrian constitution, as for example in terms of a guarantee of being allocated broadcast
licences. What can be derived though, according to the Supreme Court interpretation
5
, is a ‘value
statement in favour of the protection of minorities’. This obliges the state to protect the linguistic
and ethnic identity and to prioritise minorities in certain respects to promote their development of
cultural autonomy. Thus, minority interests and programmes in minority languages have to be
considered also in the field of broadcasting. (GfbV 2000) However, neither the Broadcasting Law
nor the Mission Statement of the ORF contained any explicit regulations about the provision for
minority interests till the recent change of legislation in 2000 and 2001. Similarly no representation
of minority members is guaranteed in the representative body of audiences, established at the
ORF. (Kogoj 1999)
Independent or 'free' radio stations have only gone on air since the European Court for Human Rights
in 1993 declared the monopoly position of the Austrian Public Broadcast Service (ORF) a breach of
the freedom of expression, granted in article 10 of the European Convention for the Protection of
Human Rights. Media in minority languages were however not considered in the first Regional
Broadcast Act that implemented this change in the media infrastructure. Only in the course of the
5
VfSlg 9224/1981
12
second allocation of licenses in 1997, programmes in minority languages were also considered. This
delay stands in contrast to the constitutionally set commitment to the protection of minorities which
would have had to be considered already when implementing the regional radio regulation
6
. According
to the selection criteria in case of a limited availability of broadcasting frequencies, in particular the
‘diversity of opinions in the provided programmes’ and ‘independent programme provision, with
consideration of the diverse interests in the target area’ would have suggested such a consideration of
minority interests. (GfbV 2000)
Another specificity of the Austrian media legislation is the regulation of public subsidies for print media.
The promotion of a diverse media landscape by a compensatory logic behind subsidies is contrary to
the spirit of the respective law
7
as newspapers receive support directly according to their circulation
figures. A Special Subsidy for the preservation of media diversity was introduced in 1985, which is
directed to those newspapers that are credited a preeminent importance for the formation of political
opinion yet do not hold a strong position in the market. Since this subsidy is limited to daily
newspapers, it is not applicable to any of the existing minority papers in Austria. Minorities receive
financial subsidies mainly from a budget specifically granted to the promotion of ethnic minority
groups. (Kogoj 1999)
IN 2000 and 2001, the media legislation was changed and the European Charter for Regional or
Minority Languages was finally ratified in Austria. The crucial part of the recent version of the Federal
Broadcast Act is a 'special programming commitment'
8
, through which the ORF is compelled to
broadcast a 'suitable programme' for the minority groups who are represented in the minorities
advisory board. The implementation of this responsibility through the ORF was authorised also by way
of cooperations with other private providers. This permission was heavily criticised by the pro minority
media lobby as it facilitates the shifting of responsibilities from the public to the private sector.
Likewise, none of the European Charter-regulations that entail a commitment on behalf of the Federal
broadcasting body, were ratified by Austria. (Arbeitsgruppe Medien)
Subsidies through a budget that is allocated to the promotion of 'ethnic minorities'
('Volksgruppenförderung') were initially given to the regional minority radio stations, but were cut after
the first 2 years and suspended in 2001. MORA, the regional minority radio station in Burgenland had
to cease its services in 2001.
2.3. Search for self-representation
The last few years have seen a growing awareness and higher degree of pro-minority-media-activities.
Only in 2000, the minorities advisory board, a representative body of Austria's officially recognised
'ethnic minorities', has presented their demands regarding the government's media policies to the
Austrian chancellor. These claims have to be seen in the context of a broader discourse about the
(linguistic) representation of minorities in Austria, as for example through bilingual place name signs in
6
BGBl.1993/ 506
7
Presseförderungsgesetz (1975)
8
BGBl I Nr. 83, 5
13
the residential areas of officially recognised minorities
9
. The controversies around the latter matter led
eventually to the so-called Volksgruppengesetz
10
('Ethnic Minorities Act') in 1976, which envisioned
the establishment of minority advisory boards to represent particular minority interests. Due to the
restriction of their competencies to mere consultancy, most of the minority organisations rejected this
political innovation. By then, a new generation of activists had emerged who understood minority
issues increasingly as democracy issues and sought for a co-operation with the critical public to
enforce their claims. In 1972, a 'Committee for the rights of the Burgenland Croats' was established in
Burgenland which should exert a crucial influence in the implementation of Croatian radio programmes
later on. The 'Ethnic Minorities Act from 1976 symbolised the attempt to synchronise the diverse legal
positions of Austria's minority groups (the position of Slovenes and Burgenland Croats laid down by
constitutional law, that of Czech and Slovaks in Vienna by bi-lateral treaties). (Baumgartner/ Perchinig
1995, Kogoj 1999, Arbeitsgruppe Medien).
Here follow some of the claims made by minority representatives to achieve an improvement of the
representation of minorities in the media:
• the establishment and maintenance of a television channel and a radio station or at least the
broadcasting of programmes in minority languages in bilingual areas. implementation
• the representation of minorities in the deciding bodies within the ORF and the regional radio
authority
• financial support for private radio providers who broadcast in minority languages
• the promotion of training for bi-lingual journalists
• the establishment of at least one daily newspaper for minorities
2.4. A Mapping of Minority Media in Austria
An official list of minority media in Austria is not available at the present time. Previous research in the
area (Busch, Kogoj) has focused on the officially recognised ethnic minority groups in Austria, in
particular Slovenes in Carinthia and Croatians in Burgenland, less so on the media by and for 'new
minorities'. Likewise there are no statistics available as yet about media consumption by minorities in
Austria. The density of satellite dishes and cable TV registrations in immigrant households tends to be
above the Austrian average however and is still on the increase (Kogoj 2001).
As for the media scene of ethnic minority groups in Austria generally, it has to be noted first that
there are no daily newspapers and secondly, that the Austrian Federal Broadcasting (ORF)
porgrammes for minorities on TV are limited to a half-hour programme on Sundays (lunch time), which
are broadcasted simultaneously in Slovenian language in Carinthia and in Croatian in Burgenland
while the other seven provinces in Austria receive the same ‘general minority’ programme titled
9
As for the implementation of bilingual place name signs, the public debate on the matter reached a new peak
only recently (in 2001) when the former head of the Freedom Party Haider challenged the respective Supreme
Court decision, which had ruled that the 25% minimum population quota necessary for bilingual signs to be put up
was a breach of constitutional law.
10
BGBl.Nr. 396/1976
14
‘Heimat, fremde Heimat’ ('Homeland, foreign homeland', our translation). A radio show with the same
name is broadcasted every Sunday on the local radio station in Vienna. Other minority programmes
are broadcasted on a medium wave frequency via the ORF. 'Danubedialogue', as this radio project of
the ORF is called, shows a broad variety of programme makers, including a programme for second
generation youth and a 'stage of Africa'. Regional minority programmes exist in Slovenian in Carinthia,
in Croatian and in Hungarian in Burgenland, and in Turkish in Vorarlberg. Similar programmes existed
in the regional ORF branches in Styria and Upper Austria, but were stopped due to lacking demand.
Finally, only since 1998 migrants are for the first time creating their own radio broadcasts on three of
the then emerging independent radio stations: on Orange 94.0 – the free radio station based in
Vienna, Radio Fro in Linz and on the Radiofabrik in Salzburg. In the meanwhile there are more than
10 free radio stations on air in Austria, whose programmes cover overall about 20 languages. Most
free radio stations broadcast in the languages of the larger migrant groups in Austria, such as
Bosnian/ Croatian/ Serbian, Turkish, Kurdish. (Arbeitsgruppe Medien) Since 2000 the Federal
Broadcasting Corporation (ORF) has included several pages in Croatian on to their website
11
.
Furthermore, the so-called 'Volksgruppenportal' (minority portal) provides specific minority-relevant
information, that ranges from political news reports to basics about the Austrian minority legislation.
To start with the Slovenes in Carinthia, three weekly newspapers are published which differ mainly in
their ideological and political orientation. Their contents ressemble in terms of focusing on reports
about the cultural and social life of the ethnic group (e.g. reports on sports and cultural events of
associations and artists) while neglecting areas like technological development, health, travel, living,
etc Beside these weekly newspapers, there is a monthly family-magazine and a few quarterly
magazines, among them a cultural politics-magazine. Furthermore, there are student papers in
Vienna. The representation of Slovenians in Carinthian newspapers has improved over the years, but
is still limited to Austrian journalists writing about Slovenes. (Busch 1998, Kogoj 1999). The half-hour
TV programme in Slovenian broadcasted by the ORF is watched by more than half of the Slovenian
population in Carinthia, according to a survey in 1993. The popularity of this programme has been
interpreted through its function as a “virtual village square” (Busch 1999). On the level of radio
programmes, two radio stations which broadcast programmes in minority languages have gone on air
in Carinthia in 1998. Radio AGORA represent the form of ‘non-commercial citizen’s radio’ while Radio
Korotan positions itself as a commercial radio station. The two providers share one frequency and
broadcast in turns a 12-hour programme in the bilingual part of the province. In the meanwhile, the
ORF has entered into a collaboration with AGORA/ Korotan. (Arbeitsgruppe Medien, Kogoj 1999)
Like the Slovenes, the Croats in Burgenland also lack their own daily newspaper. The periodicals are
published likewise by associations and the church. A couple of the periodicals is published by
Burgenland Croatians in Vienna, a couple is based in Burgenland. Since 1978, the regional branch of
the ORF in Burgenland (established in 1966) has also a Croatian editorial department which created a
weekly half-hour programme, since a few years slightly increased in length. Besides, there is an earlyecening
slot where 10 minutes of news are followed by a half hour programme with a focus on culture,
11
http://volksgruppen.orf.at/
15
customs, music, youth, etc. Since 1989, there was additionally the already mentioned half-hour
programme on Sundays. Radio MORA, broadcasted in Croatian, Hungarian and Romans and
understood itself like its correspondant Radio AGORA in Carinthia, as a ‘non-commercial citizen’s
radio station’. In Novermber 2001, the station was closed. A final parallel with the Slovenes in
Carinthia, is the focus on contents that are not provided by German speaking mainstream media, such
as customs and ethnic politics. The majority of Burgenland Croatians consumes in fact German
speaking media. (Kogoj 1999)
Among the media of younger minority groups, one newspaper stands out as being produced by Turks
in Austria and bearing a striking ressemblage to the most widely read Austrian tabloid paper (the
'Kronenzeitung') in layout, style and content. This news paper appears monthly, in Turkish language in
the print version, online also in German and English. Besides, the only Turkish speaking magazine,
produced in Austria and available via an Austrian media distributor, is the lifestyle magazine
Paparrrazzi.
The following list aims to give an overview of minority media in different formats in Austria. It cannot
claim completeness. Many of the media listed here, are produced in Germany. Private associations or
indviduals distribute these magazines and newspapers then in the respective 'community' in Austria.
(0) Media catering for more than one specific migrant or minority group
(All indicated media are written in German unless otherwise indicated.)
Periodicals
§ Die Bunte Zeitung (by and for immigrants, about migration-politics, based in Vienna since
1999) Rotenlöwengasse 12/1, 1090 Wien, contact: bunte.zeitung@lion.cc
§ Stimme (quarterly, since 1991, since 1997 also online, published by the Platform for
Minorities in Austria; offices in Vienna and Innsbruck; not only migrants but more generally
by and for minorities) http://www.initiative.minderheiten.at/Zeitschrift/zeitschr.htm
GÜRSES HAKAN, Gumpendorferstrasse 15/13, 1060 Wien
§ Zebratl (by and for immigrants, since 1990, based in Graz) http://www.zebra.or.at/zebratl/
§ Mosaik (a 'mulitcultural information magazine' for immigrants, issues related to migration,
integration, anti-racism, 1993-1997, activated again in 2000)
http://www.migration.cc/magazin/index.html Verein Multikulturell, PF 740, 6021 Innsbruck
§ BALKAN Südosteuropäischer Dialog - (multi-lingual, in Vienna since 1999)
http://www.balkan-dialog.org, balkan@netway.at
Second generation magazines
§ Top One – published in print (since 1996) and online http://www.topone.at/
§ Echo - pulished in print (since 1993) and online by Echo, a an association for youth, culture
and integration, built 'to empower young people from the 'so called 2
nd
generation'.
http://www.echo.non.at/index1.htm
16
§ Mosaik – Multicultural magazine in the Tyrol (1993-97)
Radio programmes by/for minorities
§ Radio Stimme – programme by Platform for Minorities in Austria, broadcasted on Radio
Orange and Radio AGORA, http://www.initiative.minderheiten.at/
§ Inter>face - youth radio station, broadcasted on medium wave
http://www.interface.or.at/medien_projekte.html, http://1476.orf.at/
Independent radio stations
§ Radio Orange, formerly: Freies Radio Wien – based in Vienna, programmes by and for Turks,
Bosnians, Serbs, Croatians, and Kurds. http://www.orange.or.at
§ Radio FRO – based in and around Linz, programming in various languages (Serbo-Croatian,
Hungarian, Bosnian, English for Kurdish people, Spanish and Portugese) http://www.fro.at/
§ Rado Helsinki – based in Styria, programming in various languages, including Serbo-Croatian,
Turkish and Kurdish http://helsinki.mur.at/
§ Radiofabrik – based in Salzburg, programmes in Turkish and Serbo-Croatian
http://www.radiofabrik.at/
§ Radio Proton – based in Vorarlberg, 2 programmes in Turkish and Kurdish http://www.med-
user.net/proton/
(1) by ethnic group and/or language and kind of medium
OFFICIALLY RECOGNISED MINORITIES IN AUSTRIA
Slovenians in Carinthia
Newspapers and periodicals (each approx. 3.000 copies)
weeklies
§ Slovenski Vestnik – left liberal, publi. By the central association of Slovenian organisations
§ Naš tednik – conservative, opublished by the Council of Carinthian Slovenians
§ Nedelja – church paper, publ. by the Slovenian Bishop Seelsorge Office
http://www.nedelja.at
Monthlies and quarterlies
§ Družina in dom – monthly family magazine
§ a few regional papers - quarterly
§ Celovški zvon – on culture politics, quarterly
§ Punt and other quarterly student papers (publ. by the Slovenian student club in Vienna)
Radio stations
§ Radio AGORA, http://www.buk.ktn.gv.at/agora/
§ Radio Korotan http://www.korotan.at
17
Croats in Burgenland
Newspapers and periodicals
Weeklies
§ Hrvatske novine (Croatian in print, online Croatian/ German, published by the Croat Press
Association in Burgenland– Croatian issues in Vienna and Burgenland, circulation: approx.
3.400) http://www.hrvatskenovine.at/
§ Crikveni Glasnik Gradiška – church paper
Periodicals
§ Novi glas (quarterly, Croatian, published in Vienna, by the Croatian Acadmics Club)
§ PUT (bimonthly, Croatian/ German, published by the Burgenland Cultural Association in
Vienna, since 1980)
§ Glasilo – quarterly, published by the Croatian Culture Association in Burgenland.
§ Multi – bilingual, distributed in the Croatian Culture DocumentationCentre in Burgenland
§ Mali Mini Multi – published by the Association of Croatian Pedgagogists
Various local and church papers
Radio station
§ Radio MORA –multilingual (1998-2001) http://www.antenne4.at
§ 4 satellite radio stations
Television channels
5 Croatian satellite TV channels
''NEW MINORITIES'
Bosnian
No newspapers and periodicals produced in Austria.
Online newspapers by Bosnians:
§ Oslobodjenje http://www.oslobodjenje.com.ba/ (daily)
§ Dveni avaz http://www.avaz.ba (daily)
§ Dani http://www.bhdani.com/ (weekly)
§ Ljiljan http://www.nippljiljan.com (weekly)
§ Slobodna Bosna http://www.slobodna-bosna.ba (weekly)
Radio station: -
1 staellite radio station
Television channel
3 Satellite TV channels (Alternativna TV, FTV Federalna TV BiH, OBN Open Broadcast Network)
Kurdish (unless indicated otherwise, the following media are produced in Germany)
18
Newspapers and periodicals
§ Özgür Politika (daily), published by Uelkem Press in Germany, in Turkish
http://www.ozgurpolitika.org/
Weeklies
§ Roja Teze (bilingual Turkish/ English) http://www.demanu.com.tr/rojateze/
Periodicals
§ Baveri (monthly, Kurdish, Kurdish Islamic community)
§ Civan – youth (monthly, Kurdish)
§ Deng (monthly, Kurdish)
§ Jina Serbilind (monthly, Kurdish, for women)
§ KNK Buletin – quarterly bulletin of the Kurdish National Congress
§ Kurdistan Report (multilingual, bi-monthly) http://burn.ucsd.edu/~kurdistan/
§ Kurdistan Rundbrief (German, irregular editions) http://www.kurdistan-rundbrief.de/
§ Midya (monthly, Kurdish)
§ Ronahi (monthly, Kurdish, student paper)
§ Serxwebun (monthly, Kurdish) http://www.serxwebun.com/
§ Zülfikar (monthly, Kurdish, Kurdish-Alevite community) http://www.zulfikardergisi.de/
Radio Programmes
§ Radio Dersim Wien (on Radio Orange)
§ Radio Mezopotamya Graz (on Radio Helsinki)
§ Kurdistan Radio Linz (on Radio Fro)
Television channel (not produced, only received in Austria)
§ Medya-TV (successor to the previously existing, but banned Med-TV)
§ Mezopotamya TV
§ CTV (Vatikan) (see Medya-TV)
§ TV Kurd
§ KTV (Kurdistan TV)
Serbian
Newspapers and periodicals
Weeklies
Periodicals
§ Becki Informator (monthly) http://www.becki-informator.at
Postfach 29, 1050 Vienna
Radio station
§ Radio Jugoton Wien (Serbo-Coratian/ German) via internet http://www.jugoton.com
Postfach 262, 1050 Vienna
§ Nasa Mala Ulica (Serbo-Croatian, Slovenian, ..) on Radio Helsinki
§ 5 staellite radio stations
Television channel
§ Satellite TV channels (16)
19
Turkish (unless indicated otherwise, the following media are produced in Germany)
Newspapers and periodicals
Dailies
§ Several daily Turkish newspapers are imported from Germany such as Milliyet, Tuerkiye,
Huerriyet..
Weeklies
§ Aydinlik
§ Demokratik Cumhuriyet – politically left wing
§ Dünya-Hafta – in Turkish, (issue in German is planned), publ. by SMC Mediengesellschaft
mbH http://www.sesmc.de/Almanca/smsanasayfa.htm
§ Evrensel – politically left wing http://www.evrensel.de
§ Fanatik – sport (publ. In Turkey) http://www.fanatik.com.tr/
§ Girgir – publ. by W.E.Saarbach GmbH (http://www.saarbach.de/)
§ Milli Gazete – welfare party http://www.milligazete.com.tr/
§ Zaman – political party paper, right wing http://www.zaman.com.tr
Periodicals
§ Alinteri (monthly, Turkish, political left) http://www.alinteri.org/
§ Anadolu (monthly, Turkish-German, produced in Vienna)
§ Avusturya Haber (monthly, Turkish, distributed free of charge in the Tyrol and Vorarlberg)
http://www.geocities.com/avusturyahaber/
§ Caglayan (monthly, Turkish/ German, religious, produced in Vienna)
§ Ehl-I Beyt (monthly, Turkish, Turkish-Alevitian, religious) http://www.ehli-beyt.net/
§ Medyatik (monthly, Turkish)
§ Özgür Gençlik (monthly, Turkish, politically left)
§ Tuna (monthly, Turkish, produced in Vienna)
§ Yaşamda Atilim (monthly, Turkish, politically left)
§ Yeni Vatan Gazetisi (monthly, Turkish, online also English/German, prodcued in Vienna)
www.yenivatan.com
Radio stations/ programmes
No Turkish radio station, but a wide range of Turkish satellite radio stations and several programmes
hosted by (mostly free) Austrian radio stations:
§ Radio Anadolu and Radio Türkiyem via Radio Fro in Linz
§ Radyo Sel via Radio Helsinki
§ Turkish news and youth radio programme via ORF Radio Vorarlberg
§ weekly programmes on Free Radio Proton in Vorarlberg
Television channel
No Turkish TV channel produced in Austria, only satellite TV channels are available in Turkish.
(2) By technology, language and group
Analogue radio
Croatian
Stopped in 2001
Kurdish
No Kurdish radio station, but a few programmes hosted by mainly free radio stations
RADIO DERSIM WIEN (VIA FREE RADIO ORANGE)
RADIO MEZOPOTAMYA GRAZ (VIA FREE RADIO HELSINKI)
KURDISTAN RADIO LINZ (VIA FREE RADIO FRO)
Slovenian
RADIO AGORA
20
RADIO KOROTAN
Turkish
No Turkish radio station, a few programmes (incl. Turkish news) hosted by Austrian radio stations:
TURKISH YOUTH RADIO PROGRAMME VIA ORF RADIO VORARLBERG, WEEKLY
PROGRAMMES ON FREE RADIO PROTON, RADIO ANADOLU AND RADIO TÜRKIYEM VIA
RADIO FRO, RADYO SEL VIA RADIO HELSINKI
Former Yugoslavia
NASA MALA ULICA
Für Südosteuropäische Raum
Digital Radio (satellite)
Bosnian
BH RADIO 1 (satellite)
Croatian
HRT-HR1 HRVATSKI RADIO 1
HRT-HR2 HRVATSKI RADIO 2
HRT-HR3 HRVATSKI RADIO 3
OTVORENI RADIO
Yugoslavian
B2-92
RADIO BEOGRAD 1 (satellite)
RADIO BEOGRAD 202 (satellite)
RADIO MONTENEGRO (satellite)
RADIO PINK (satellite)
RADIO JUGOTON (on line)
Slovenian
RADIO SLOVENIA INTERNATIONAL (satellite)
RADIO SLOVENIJA 1 (A1) (satellite)
RADIO SLOVENIJA 2 (VAL 202) (satellite)
RADIO SLOVENIJA 3 (ARS) (satellite)
Turkish
A wide range of satellite TV channels (approx. 60)
Analogue Television
Digital Television
Bosnian
ALTERNATIVNA TV (satellite)
FTV FEDERALNA TV BiH (satellite)
OBN OPEN BROADCAST NETWORK (satellite)
Croatian
HRT-TV 1 (satellite)
HRT-TV 2 (satellite)
HRT-TV 3 (satellite)
HTV Hrvatska TV (satellite)
NOVA TV (satellite)
Slovenian
KANAL A (satellite)
POP TV (satellite)
TEVE PIKA (satellite)
21
TV KOPER-CAPODISTRIA (satellite)
TV SLOVENIJA 1 (satellite)
TV SLOVENIJA 2 (satellite)
TV3 (satellite)
Yugoslavian
ANEM TV (satellite)
B92 TV (satellite)
BK 063 SAT (satellite)
JUVEMOERC (satellite)
PALMA TV (satellite)
PINK PLUS TV (satellite)
RTK 1 KOSOVO (satellite)
RTS 1 (RADIO TELEVIZIJA SRBIJE) (satellite)
RTS 2 (RADIO TELEVIZIJA SRBIJE) (satellite)
RTS 3 (RADIO TELEVIZIJA SRBIJE) (satellite)
RTS SAT (RADIO TELEVIZIJA SRBIJE) (satellite)
STUDIO B (satellite)
TV 21 (KOSOVA) (satellite)
TV CRNE GORE (TV MONTENEGRO) (satellite)
TV MELOS (satellite)
YU INFO (NOVA TV) (satellite)
Print
Croatian
HRVATSKE NOVINE
CRIKVENI GLASNIK GRADIŠKA
NOVI GLAS
PUT
GLASILO
MULTI
MALI MINI MULTI
SLovenian
SLOVENSKI VESTNIK
NAS TEDNIK
NEDELJA
DRUZINA IN DOM
CELOVSKI ZVON
PUNT
Turkish
AYDINLIK
ANADOLU
ALINTERI http://www.alinteri.org/
CAGLAYAN
DEMOKRATIK CUMHURIYET
EHL-I BEYT http://www.ehli-beyt.net/
EVRENSEL http://www.evrensel.net/
FANATIK – SPORT http://www.fanatik.com.tr/
MEDYATIK
MILLI GAZETE http://www.milliyet.com.tr/
PAPARRRAZZI
ÖZGÜR GENÇLIK
TUNA
TURKISH DAILY NEWS http://www.turkishdailynews.com/
YAŞAMDA ATILIM
22
YENI VATAN GAZETISI
ZAMAN http://www.zaman.com
Some preliminary conclusions from the mapping
Firstly, the lack of print media produced by 'new minorities' in Austria is striking. Only the 'officially
recognised minorities', Croatian and Slovenians and to a limited extent Turks and Kurds have a few
press publications. A large part of the media read by Turks and Kurds in Austria is produced in
Germany however and reaches their audiences in Austria through Turkish and Kurdish associations
based here who fulfill a distributing function. The association of Austrian media distributors shows a
wide range of foreign media available in Austria, among which the origin countries of the 'new
minorities' are well represented. The emergence of Turkish and foerm Yugoslavian newspapers on the
Austrian press market is a rather recent phenomenon however.
Other media originating from the country of origin, are generally digital media and especially satellite
TV channels who appear to have occupied a central role as a medium for minorities in Austria. Due to
the only recent history of independent 'free radio' stations in Austria, the on air-presence of minorities
can be regarded as still in the process of development.
Conclusions: What's to learn from the Austrian experience?
In contrast to many other European countries, Austria has a poorly developed and hardly diversified
domestic media scene with only 5 national daily newspapers (of which 2 are tabloid papers) and 9
regional ones. In relation to the country's overall population, the most widely read daily newspaper in
the world (sic!) is an Austrian tabloid paper with a long tradition of anti-minorities-discourse. Ironically,
this very newspaper has found its mirror image in a Turkish monthly, which ressembles the Austrian
'Kronenzeitung' in layout and style.
Differences between the media availablity of Austria's officially recognised minorities and 'new
minorities' based on immigration since after WWII can be seen above all in the lacking representation
of the latter in audio-visual media. Within the Austrian public television and radio framework, even the
recognised minorities have been allocated traditionally a very marginal position, limited to rather
folkloristic programmes. A more significant representation of minority members as producers and
programme makers has only started since the liberalisation of the broadcasting legislation. Thus,
various 'minority programmes' can now be found on some local radio stations, addressed
predominantly to younger – or 'second' - generations of immigrants. Likewise, more lively publication
activities in the realm of print publications can be found at the level of second generation magazines
which tend to be also published online and generally written in German.
While the mentioned publications have a strong local reference point, a different part of the media
sector appears to exist at the level of diaspora media, especially in the context of Kurdish and Turkish
media. These are to a large extent produced and published in Germany and distributed in Austria
through religious or political associations. This distribution is generally based on private networks and
on door-to-door sales. So far, no data is available on the consumption of media by minority members
23
in Austria. It can only be assumed that the younger generations who have largely grown up in Austria,
consume 'ethnic' as well as mainstream media, while the older generation probably draws more on
media imported from their country of origin as well as, most importantly, satellite TV channels. During
the period of the war in former Yugoslavia, satellite TV was a central magnet in catering businesses
run by immigrants from former Yugoslavia.
A movement towards an improved representation of minorities in teh Austrian media landscape can be
hoped for on the basis of the changed legislation regarding audio-visual media. The scarcity of print
media produced by minorities in Austria has to be seen in the context of the socio-economic position
of Austria’s minorities, inparticular in comparison with Germany, and a generally hostile policy
framework relating to the security of stay of minority members.
24
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