How Politicians in Austria Obtain Information and Its Consequences for Corporate Communications Activities

Abstract

The public affairs activities of companies often have to do with gut instincts. The communication experts think they know how to communicate most effectively but until now there is little reliable data available about the politician´s point of view. Do Austrian politicians still read printed newspapers or do they focus on social media? Which communications channels do the politicians trust? We asked the members of the Austrian parliament to examine their information sources and media use habits. Out of this we draw conclusions for successful PR work. In this context we show that print media is still the most effective media type to indirectly reach politicians in Austria. Print media are by far the most important information sources for Austrian´s politicians and they are assessed as the most trustworthy. It was also surprising to see the high acceptance of corporate communications activities in the political sector and that corporate communications experts are still far away from overloading politicians with content. Quite the opposite, politicians seem to demand more information coming directly out of enterprises. And it is inexplicable that there are still members of parliament who do not receive any information from Austrian companies. It is time for them to edit their distribution lists.