Community media and broadcast journalism in Austria: Legal and funding provisions as indicators for the perception of the media’s societal roles

Abstract

Abstract Starting with considerations on the ongoing transformation of broadcast journalism borne by technological, economic and societal changes, the study aims at clarifying the role of Austrian community media in relation to the public and commercial sector. Setting out from the assumption that legal documents codify social change, and hence are barometers for collectively recognized conceptions and norms and of the changes they undergo, all Austrian legal texts and funding guidelines concerning broadcasting were subject to a comparative analysis with respect to their underlying perceptions of the societal role of broadcast media. The analysis has shown that there is no longer a broadcast journalism as such, but rather that several images of the role of broadcast journalism and conceptions of its function exist side by side. Different conceptions of democracy are perceptible as the basis of their legitimacy and they reflect the change from a traditional representative model to a participatory conception, such as is especially widespread among younger generations. Alternative forms of broadcast journalism, as practiced by community media, are thus acquiring greater significance: forms that no longer treat media communication as one-directional, but rather as fundamentally participative offerings – in order to encourage and empower people to become aware of and responsible for their social environment.