eurel     Sociological and legal data on religions in Europe and beyond
You are here : Home » Austria » Religions and society » Religions and the media

Religions and the media

Religions and the medias

Public broadcasting
The broadcasting landscape is dominated by ORF, the public market leading channel, which is established as a public foundation. It belongs to its core missions to (...)

Public broadcasting

The broadcasting landscape is dominated by ORF, the public market leading channel, which is established as a public foundation.
It belongs to its core missions to adequately consider the significance of the legally recognised churches and religious societies in its programme, see §4(1) of the Law on ORF. This includes both major events and doctrinal contents.
Both programme and commercial communication must not – inter alia – provoke hatred against religions, see §10(2) and §13(3).
Legally recognised churches and religious societies are (partially) represented on two boards:
 the foundation council
 the audience council which issues recommendations concerning the programme.
According to §28(3) the Catholic Church and the Protestant Church are entitled to nominate an ordinary member to the audience council. The audience council nominates six members to the foundation council, one of whom must stem from the realm of the legally recognised churches and religious societies; see §20(1) and §30(1) leg. cit.

Private broadcasting

Although bodies corporate of public law are generally excluded from offering audio-visual media services by §10(2) of the Law on Audiovisual Media Services (AMD-G), legally recognised churches and religious societies, which do have this very legal status, are explicitly exempt from the aforementioned exclusion.
An analogous provision is laid down in § 8 of the Private Radio Act (PrR-G), concerning private radio broadcasting.
There are two ecclesiastical radio stations functioning:
 Radio Stephansdom, run by an ecclesiastical foundation of the Archdiocese of Vienna broadcasting in Vienna and Salzburg;
 Radio Maria Austria, broadcasting in Carinthia, the Tyrol, Lower Austria and Vienna, and through satellite all over Austria.

Programme contents and commercials

Any programme, television or radio, public or private must not incite to hatred on the grounds of religion, see §10(2) ORF-G, §30(2) AMD-G, §16(4) PrR-G.
Furthermore, it is prohibited to interrupt the broadcasting of religious services and other programmes of religious contents by commercial breaks or teleshopping, see §15(3) ORF-G, §44(4) AMD-G, §19(6) PrR-G.
§14(3) ORF-G forbids the broadcasting of commercials on the public programmes on Good Friday, 1 November and 24 December. Private broadcasters are not restricted likewise.
Commercial communication must not discriminate inter alia on the grounds of religion, see §13(3) ORF-G, §31(3) AMD-G.

D 26 July 2012    AWolfgang Wieshaider

For further information

– Herbert Kalb, Richard Potz, Brigitte Schinkele. Religionsrecht. WUV, Wien 2003, pp. 182–186.
– Wolfgang Wieshaider. "Communicating religion in Austria: the media and the arts", dans: Norman (...)

 Herbert Kalb, Richard Potz, Brigitte Schinkele. Religionsrecht. WUV, Wien 2003, pp. 182–186.
 Wolfgang Wieshaider. "Communicating religion in Austria: the media and the arts", dans: Norman Doe (éd.). The portrayal of religion in Europe: the media and the arts. Peeters, Leuven 2004, pp. 5–18 (5–15).

D 26 July 2012    ANora Dim AWolfgang Wieshaider

Print media

Print media are publicly subsidised, based on the Media Support Act (PublizistikförderungsG). §7(1) leg. cit. requires media to cover exclusively or predominantly politics, culture or religion (...)

Print media are publicly subsidised, based on the Media Support Act (PublizistikförderungsG). §7(1) leg. cit. requires media to cover exclusively or predominantly politics, culture or religion and Weltanschauung including related scientific disciplines, in order to be subsidised.
Media owned or issued by legally recognised churches and religious societies may be subsidised even though bodies corporate of public law are generally excluded from subsidies, see §7(3) leg. cit.
Since pursuant to §43(1) of Media Act a copy of every printed medium has to be delivered to the National Library and to other libraries as specifically decreed, it can be referred to the library catalogues as for the numerous religious journals, newspapers, magazines and the like.

Sources and futher information:
 Kalb, Herbert / Potz, Richard / Schinkele, Brigitte, Religionsrecht, Wien, 2003, pp. 182-186.
 Wieshaider, Wolfgang, "Communicating religion in Austria: the media and the arts", in Norman Doe (ed.), The portrayal of religion in Europe: the media and the arts. Leuven, 2004, pp. 5-18 (5-15).
 Tretina, Kerstin / Wurzrainer, Robert, Medien und Religionen, in Karsten Lehmann / Wolfram Reiss (Hg.), Religiöse Vielfalt in Österreich, Baden-Baden, 2022, pp. 493-508.

D 7 September 2023    ARobert Wurzrainer

CNRS Unistra Dres Gsrl

Follow us:
© 2002-2024 eurel - Contact