ORF.at in print: a 70-page newspaper

In order to show how much text can be read on ORF.at, publishers had all reports from day one printed as a newspaper. It consists of more than 70 large pages.

With a very special speech and newspaper, the VÖZ Publishers Association addressed members of the government, members of the National Council, members of the Federal Council, members of the ORF Foundation Council, the management of the ORF Foundation and the media houses. All articles that appeared on ORF.at on May 10, 2023 are printed in the newspaper titled “news ORF” – from the overview page, current departments, science and sports to the federal state pages. The large print edition contains more than 70 pages. The newspaper cannot be accused of being photo-heavy, the individual pages consist only of text, and there is hardly any advertisement. “Looks like a duck? Walks like a duck? It’s a duck,” says the attached letter, signed by VÖZ President Marcus Mayer, CEO of Styria Media Group, to which “Presse” also belongs, and VÖZ CEO Gerald Grunberger. They explained: “Not a newspaper duck, but a newspaper.”

With the so-called “blue page”, ORF produces one of the largest electronic daily newspapers in Austria, although the ORF law stipulates that the reports are not in-depth and that their presentation and general design cannot be compared with that of online daily and weekly newspapers or magazines. You criticize VÖZ.

Even the mini version corresponds to the newspaper

With the campaign, they are once again trying to show that ORF editing does not go far enough: in the future, a maximum of 350 posts per week should appear on ORF.at, with 70 percent of the page having to consist of moving image content. According to VÖZ, with this regulation, the government is addressing the problem in a “completely inappropriate way”. Because in the shortened version, about 50 text messages per day will appear on ORF.at, which roughly corresponds to the average output of a newspaper, Grünberger told “Press”. The mass expansion of online viewing is feared – also because ORF must be given more leeway in the digital space, and it must also be allowed to produce content exclusively online.

As early as 2009, ORF pledged to the European Commission that reporting would not be like newspapers, but to this day “there is not much difference between ORF.at and the offering of daily newspapers, weeklies, monthly magazines or magazines,” complains the PT. Publishers require that a broadcaster’s coverage consist of audiovisual contributions – as is the case with other public broadcasters in Europe.

VÖZ will issue a 26-page statement

The ORF amendment to the law will be under review through Thursday. VÖZ will issue a statement on this subject, which is currently being finalized and will be approximately 26 pages long.

By the way, Grünberger doesn’t think that only free offerings from newspapers or magazines will benefit from the tighter restrictions on ORF.at: “In the future, no newspaper company will be able to rely on the pure access model.”

ORF does not know the “blue page” newspaper

It appears that the paper has not yet reached the ORF. As of now, no one has any knowledge of it or the accompanying letter, and therefore cannot comment, the newspaper said Wednesday afternoon from Küniglberg.