Coalition agrees on media package worth over 55 million euros

25 million euros for newspaper delivery

The fund for the promotion of digital transformation is to be endowed with 20 million euros each for 2026 and 2027, with tightened funding criteria. This means that significant funds will be available in the coming years to support media houses in their digital renewal.

For high-quality journalistic formats that reach young people, a volume of seven million euros per year is planned from 2027 onwards. In addition, the funds for media literacy are to be increased from 700,000 euros to ten million euros.

Quality as the central benchmark

The Media Ministry formulated the approach to the STANDARD's inquiry on Sunday: "Mit dem Medienpaket investieren wir kurz-, mittel- und langfristig in den Medienstandort und in die Medienkompetenz junger Menschen." Special funds, which had previously been speculated about, are now also "kein Thema mehr" in government circles.

The central benchmark of the new funding is journalistic quality. The draft states: "Die Fördervoraussetzungen sollen so ausgestaltet werden, dass die Qualität der journalistischen Arbeit sowie die dafür notwendigen organisatorischen und professionellen Rahmenbedingungen im Mittelpunkt stehen, wie redaktionelle Unabhängigkeit, Einhaltung ethischer Richtlinien, professionelles Arbeiten und die Erbringung journalistischer Leistungen im öffentlichen Interesse."

In the future, funding is to be provided for journalistic jobs – on which the quality journalism funding has been oriented so far – as well as for "redaktionelle Leistung." The new media funding will be "in zentralen Teilen als Journalismusförderung ausgestaltet und auf journalistische Qualität, Treffsicherheit, Zukunftsfähigkeit und Medienvielfalt ausgerichtet," the paper continues.

Award: transparent and independent of politics

Media Minister Andreas Babler (SPÖ) had most recently emphasized that "zur Stärkung der Demokratie unabhängigen und seriösen Journalismus" is needed. His ministry also underlines: "Wir fördern gezielt und nicht mit der Gießkanne." The overarching goal is also clearly defined: "Ziel ist die langfristige Versorgung der österreichischen Bevölkerung mit vielfältigen, qualitätsvollen und unterschiedlichen journalistischen Dienstleistungen."

Clear rules of the game are to apply to the award of funds. The draft states: "Förderentscheidungen werden professionell, nachvollziehbar, transparent, unbeeinflusst und kollegial getroffen. Die Entscheidungsfindung folgt einem demokratisch legitimierten Prozess." Reform proposals from the Medienhaus Wien provide for a new award commission for this purpose, which is to be staffed in a two-stage process, as independent of politics as possible and with expert expertise.

The existence of the funding requirements should be "eindeutig, transparent und ohne unverhältnismäßigen Aufwand überprüfbar" – namely "unter Beachtung des Grundsatzes der journalistischen Selbstregulierung." In this way, the ministry ties the funds to journalistic standards without intervening in the editorial line itself.

Outlook: major reform in 2028

For the year 2028, the Media Ministry is planning a larger reform of media subsidies. The current package also paves the way for this: those who are already being funded according to quality criteria should not be surprised by a later changeover. According to STANDARD, the package adds up to a total of more than 55 million euros in new funding, distributed over several years and different pots.

Politically, the agreement is above all a signal to the industry, which has been complaining for years about falling subscription numbers for printed newspapers and increasing pressure on digital revenues. The delivery subsidy is intended to secure nationwide supply with print products, while the digital fund and quality funding are to support the transformation towards editorially viable online offerings.