KommAustria Awards 20 Million Euros in Quality Journalism Funding for 2026 – Exxpress Receives Nothing

Largest Recipients of the Funding

In the previous year, a decision had attracted attention that awarded the right-wing populist online boulevard medium Exxpress 41,259.35 euros from the quality journalism funding. This year, the medium receives nothing. KommAustria justified the exclusion, among other things, with an exclusion criterion derived from a recommendation of the expert panel.

As the authority explained to the APA, it concluded after the expert panel's recommendation that an exclusion criterion applies because the editorial embedding and special highlighting of user comments had repeatedly incited hatred and violence. Specifically, the KommAustria's statement reads: "Nach Erkenntnis der KommAustria hebt die Redaktion des Mediums (…) wiederholt Inhalte hervor, die rechtswidrig und somit nicht vom Rahmen der freien Meinungsäußerung gedeckt sind und lässt damit die gebotene journalistische Sorgfaltspflicht außer Acht."

Justification for the Exclusion of Exxpress

The funding guidelines provide for a number of exclusion grounds. These include calls for the violent struggle against democracy or the rule of law, the advocacy of violence against people as a means of politics, as well as repeated incitement or instigation to violence against a group. Legally binding convictions for certain criminal offenses can also exclude funding. A substantive quality assessment of the respective contributions is, however, not a legal prerequisite for funding.

With the current decision, KommAustria is responding to the controversy of the previous year. At that time, the awarding of a substantial 41,300 euros from the funding line, endowed with a total of 20 million euros, to Exxpress had drawn criticism in politics and the media public. The current non-consideration was presented by the authority as a consistent application of the legal exclusion criteria.

Broad Distribution of the Funds

Overall, the funds flowed to a broad range of media houses, from supra-regional daily newspapers to regional and online offerings. The list of 191 approved projects includes both established editorial teams and newer journalistic projects that meet the criteria of the funding instrument.

The awarding of funds follows a multi-stage procedure: applications can be submitted by media organizations that demonstrate a corresponding funding purpose. The expert panel reviews the projects and issues a recommendation. KommAustria decides on the allocation of funds on this basis. The procedure is intended to ensure that the funding is transparent and follows clear criteria.

Transparency and Procedure

The complete list of funding decisions is publicly accessible at https://data.rtr.at/pages/open-data/mf-qjf. Interested citizens as well as media representatives can retrieve the individual commitments there, including project designation, medium, and funding amount.

With the publication of the 2026 funding decisions, the current award round is concluded. The authority pointed out that the budgeted funds were fully exhausted. It is thus determined which Austrian media offerings will receive funds from the quality journalism funding in the upcoming funding period and which will not.

The debate over funding policy is likely to continue, however. While supporters welcome the now-visible application of the exclusion criteria, critics point out that the law does not require a substantive quality assessment of the funded contributions. The question of where the line falls between permissible expression of opinion and funding-relevant misconduct thus remains politically contested.