04 - Why can I trust ORF news?

Univ.-Prof. Dr. Peter Filzmaier, Donau-Universität Krems

"Trust," explains Dr. Kati Förster in PUBLIC VALUE TEXTE 7, "is generally regarded as the foundation of social order and therefore the basis for the functioning of modern societies." Without trust, there would probably be no happy relationships, no flourishing trade, and ultimately: no successful human coexistence. Trust is also an essential asset for the media, as the EU Commission stated in 2020: "Trustworthy, high-quality media are crucial for both democracy and cultural diversity," according to the Commission's communication on shaping Europe's digital future.

Prof. Dr. Peter Filzmaier (Danube University Krems) and Mag. Gisela Reiter (FH Wien der WKW) took on the topic for the Public Value Report.

Why can you trust ORF news?
Univ.-Prof. Dr. Peter Filzmaier, Danube University Krems



Austrian democracy, which like all modern communication societies is a media democracy, has a problem: according to data from the major long-term Eurobarometer study conducted in all EU countries, only 10 percent of the population were very satisfied with democracy in Austria in 2023, while another 40 percent - i.e. only half in total - were somewhat satisfied. The main concern cited was false or misleading information circulating in the public sphere.


But there is good news and bad news, and it should not be said that "only bad news is good news". The good news for traditional media and ORF in particular is that they are far more trusted than most political actors and especially political parties. According to parliamentary studies, the latter are only trusted by a quarter to a third of the Austrian population. In contrast, the ORF is seen as by far the most credible and trustworthy source of information among all media.

According to the 2022 Eurobarometer data, 56% trust ORF the most - the survey asked about public television and radio stations, including their online presence - while only 10% or less trust social media, influencers or blogs and video platforms such as YouTube. In between are traditional print newspapers with an online presence as well as private television and radio.

Austria can also still be described as a television nation. According to the Reuters Digital News Report 2023, 54% cite television as their main source of news consumption, followed by radio at 47%. Among the four most important news sources beyond the internet and social media are three ORF channels: ORF 2 with 38 percent usage as well as the ORF radio station Ö3 (31 percent) and ORF 1 (29 percent). With orf.at, the most frequently used online news channel in Austria with 33%, ORF also scores points digitally. Of course, this is no reason to rest on one's laurels.

If a political party conducts a campaign against the media during the (pre-)election campaign - for example against ORF, as the FPÖ is currently doing - the strategic goal of maximizing votes by discrediting critical reports is obvious. After all, these reports come from a more credible source than the party itself, according to the data cited.

There is also a crucial difference: campaigning parties and their party media are under no obligation whatsoever to be objective. This is completely different for the ORF's information dissemination. It is instructed to report comprehensively, independently, impartially and objectively in accordance with Section 10 (5) of the ORF Act. Parties, on the other hand, naturally have at least a very one-sided view of things. In election campaigns anyway.

But what happens when a party is constantly trumpeting or someone honestly believes that ORF's reporting is subjective? Then another difference comes into play: as long as parties and individuals communicate within the (criminal) legal framework in terms of public opinion, there is no complaints office against very subjective or simply badly distorting statements. In the case of ORF, on the other hand, complaints can be lodged with the Austrian Communications Authority (KommAustria) as an independent regulatory and supervisory authority that is not subject to directives.

So far, so good. However, if political parties "campaign" against the media, there is no clear evidence that this gives a party a better election result. Unfortunately, however, there is evidence that, in addition to the growing mistrust of political parties, trust in the media and especially in news channels is also declining. The Reuters report cited above shows that only just over a third - 38.3% of Austrian adults - generally trust the news from various media. Just under a third (31.4 percent) no longer trust it at all.

Enjoyment of news consumption is also declining, especially among younger people. It is now seen as a form of self-protection to be less exposed to traditional news consumption, as it is assumed that this could be negative or even depressing. The times when people used to gather in front of the screen with their families every day at 7:30 pm to watch ZIB 1 are now just a distant memory. It's good that the media landscape has become more diverse and individualistic. However, a common campfire of factual discourse is missing.

This is exactly what public service media, and therefore ORF, were and are. Because all ORF media forms are also required by law to convey the news and are not simply allowed to show only feature films, sport or even pornography for the sake of ratings. This in no way means that news should now be presented wrapped in cotton candy. The key words are: accuracy, diversity and ethical principles.

So-called news fatigue can only be countered with constructive journalism. This means providing more background information and highlighting ways of dealing with current challenges instead of constantly focusing on disasters.

This is another way to counter the accusation of one-sidedness. What is important and right, however, is that people often want to hear more different opinions. However, facts cannot be discussed. The ORF is objective precisely because it does not allow people who claim that the earth is flat, that the moon landing did not take place and that there is no coronavirus or climate change to have their say out of a false sense of objectivity. On the other hand, experts were and are invited to discuss the pros and cons of specific corona policy or environmental policy measures. Whatever happens: It should be mentioned and classified why some groups are for or against something.

Even the making-of is no longer only fascinating in Hollywood films. The difficulties and the much-loved hoppalas in an ORF program can be revealed. The ORF wins the match in terms of trustworthiness with political parties that reflexively deny their own mistakes and only point out those of others. In almost all other areas too. The real challenge, however, is a different one: How do you make it clear to political parties that ORF is neither their playground for attempts to exert influence nor the nation's rubbing tree, but that politics and journalism have the preservation of democratic values as a joint task? This applies in particular to trust.


Young users' trust in public service news offerings?

Mag.a Gisela Reiter, FH Wien


In a time of multiple crises, trust in credible and reliable sources of information is particularly important. The relationship between young people in particular and the media has been a cause for concern for researchers in recent years (see Swart et al. 2017). Social media is used by almost 40% of 18 to 24-year-olds in Austria as their main source of news (Gadringer et al. 2023, p. 18) and this figure is constantly increasing. Nevertheless, this does not mean that the content found there is trusted. General media scepticism and a lack of trust can also be seen as a reason for the declining trust in public media such as the ORF. The survey results of the Digital News Report 2023 for ORF news have fallen again in the last two years following a peak in 2021 (Gadringer et al. 2023, p. 115).


The increase in trust or a higher level of trust is often closely linked to the ritualization of the use of (traditional) media (cf. Schranz, Schneider & Eisenegger 2018). It is important to look at parameters such as habitual usage patterns, ritualized content structures and indicators of trust and media literacy (cf. Tsang 2019). Analyses of this multi-method research show different strategies of media use and different dimensions of trust associated with certain media offerings. Peers play a key role here. This role model effect works primarily within epistemic communities - i.e. in a group of people who share a certain set of values (see Schneiker 2014). In line with these values, young people respect traditional journalistic values, even if public service media are not key media in their everyday lives. An important sign of trust is that young people also increased their news consumption of traditional and public service media in acute crisis situations, such as at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic (cf. Reiter & Bernhard 2022).

The young Austrian users who took part in a qualitative study as part of a course at the University of Vienna in the winter semester of 2023 are for the most part very media-savvy and understand the motives behind market-driven sensational reporting. At the same time, they identify the dangers of social media echo chambers as problematic news sources. The results indicate that respondents rate transparency, pluralistic and equal representation of perspectives as important and that meeting the needs of different young target groups as crucial dimensions. This suggests that public service media should consider three fundamental issues:

  1. How can trust be implemented in media use?
    Trust in traditional media and their principles remains high. ORF must be seen as a kind of "seal of approval" for the balance and quality of its news offerings on all platforms. The follow-up question must be: Can ORF appeal to young people in genres, formats and styles that are suitable for them?

  2. How can media literacy be promoted?
    Junge Menschen verfügen vielfach über ein hohes Maß an Medienkompetenz, unterstützt auch durch eine nächste Generation, die schulisch Fächer wie "Digitale Grundbildung" haben wird. Sie sind sich der journalistischen Werte und z. B. der geschäftlichen Zwänge kommerzieller Medien bewusst. Sie verstehen prinzipiell auch viele Gefahren der sozialen Medien und sogar der Künstlichen Intelligenz - aber sind diese digitalen Kompetenzen ausreichend?

  3. How could public service media address different groups, needs and experiences - and create inclusive discussion forums?
    Some separate epistemic communities can be identified, for example in relation to distrust of politics, science or specific knowledge institutions. These reflect the polarization and fragmentation of general trust in public institutions and people in such groups can only be reached through constant offers for dialogue. The multidimensionality of trust (cf. Horowitz et al. 2021) encompasses both general trust in media and specific experiences in relation to sources, topics and individual disposition - including demographic and identity-related factors. Trust as a complex, pluralistic concept is therefore particularly important for further research and the examination of successful trust building. ORF must use its still great advantage here and emphasize and conscientiously strengthen its position as a promoter of democracy. Compared to other offerings on the Austrian media market, it is still a trustworthy and central player - also for young users. What young people may miss in their media experience is that the ORF must clearly set itself apart from other providers by upholding its quality standards, actively supporting critical, sustainable media education and involving young people.





Literatur

Horowitz, M., Ojala, M., Matikainen, J. & Jääsaari, J. (2021). The Multidimensionality of Trust: Assessing Finnish Audiences' Views on the Trustworthiness of Digital News. In: Global Perspectives. 2 (1), Article 19054.
Gadringer, S., Sparviero, S., Trappel, J., & Reichenberger, P. F. (2023). Digital News Report Austria 2023. Detailergebnisse für Österreich. Fachbereich Kommunikationswissenschaft, Universität Salzburg.
Reiter, G. & Bernhard, J. (2022). "It was unusual to suddenly watch the national TV-newscast together, as an event." Changes in media usage among young audiences during the first COVID-19 Lockdown in Austria. Vortrag auf der ECREA 2022 (European Communication Research and Education Association). Link:https://conferences.au.dk/fileadmin/conferences/2022/ECREA/FINAL_Electronic_booklet_ECREA.pdf
Schneiker, A. (2014). Epistemische Gemeinschaften und transnationale governance: Humanitäre Sicherheitsexperten als Motor für Wandel. In: Zeitschrift für Internationale Beziehungen, 21 (1), S.39-78.
Schranz, M., Schneider, J. & Eisenegger, M. (2018). Media Trust and Media Use. In: Otto, K. & Köhler,
A. (eds) Trust in Media and Journalism. Springer VS: Wiesbaden, S. 73-91.
Swart, J., Peters, C. & Broersma, M. (2017). From news use to public connection. Audiences' everyday experiences of digital journalism, civic engagement and social life. In: Schwanholz, J., Graham, T. & Stoll, P.T. (Eds.), Managing democracy in the digital age. Internet regulation, social media use, and online civic engagement. Cham, Switzerland: Springer International, S. 181-199.
Tsang, S. J. (2019). News Credibility and Literacy in the Digital Age. In: M. N. Yildiz, M. Fazal, M, Ahn,
R. Feirsen, & S. Ozdemir. (Eds.), Media Literacy Research and Applications Across Disciplines, Hershey,
PA: IGI Global, S. 135-155.

Frühere Studien zu verschiedenen Dimensionen des Public Value haben das Thema Vertrauen zumindest berührt, so die Studie zu News-Avoider:innen, die u.a. das vertrauen junger Menschen in Nachrichten untersucht hat oder die Untersuchung von Krisztina Braun-Rozgonyi zur Zuverlässigkeit und Vertrauenswürdigkeit relevanter Online-Dienste vor dem Hintergrund europäischer Medienregulierung. Mehr Studien zu Public Value finden Sie hier.



#individualvalue

Below you will find the English version of the tables:


Informations in ORF-TV


ZIB 19:30 - Top 3 (365 broadcasts)
Time in picture from 12.02.,
Earthquake in Syria and Turkey, war report: the battle for Bachmut, Superbowl preview 1509 Tsd
ZIB. from 06.02.
Earthquake in Syria and Turkey, scandal about Florian Teichtmeister 1486 Tsd.
ZIB from 23.12.
Storms in Austria, Gasa resolution from the UN Security Council, volcanoes in Iceland. 1474 thousand

ZIB Special on ORF 2 - Top 3

Zeit im Bild Special - Top 3 (59 broadcasts)
Wahl23: Lower Austria has voted 29.01. 1003 thousand voters
Floods in Austria 04.08. 888 thousand viewers
Wahl23: Discussion of the parties" 29.01. 798 thousand viewers


ZIB 2 - Top 3 (286 broadcasts)
ZIB 2
Broadcast during the live broadcast of the Vienna Opera Ball, gas prices down, arms deliveries to Ukraine 16.02. 1065 thousand viewers
ZIB 2
Resignation in the SPÖ: New leader Sven Hergovich and former party manager Josef Ragginger in an interview with Wolf, murder in Sweden 30.01. 879 thousand viewers
ZIB 2
SPÖ election debacle: Wrong election result for Doskozil/Babler 05.06. 859 thousand votes

ZIB formats on ORF1 - top programs

ZIB Flash:
Selenskyj in Rome, rail strike in Germany canceled, Greenpeace action, Eurovision Song Contest final,
13.05.
992 thousand viewers
ZIB Zack Mini:
Soft drinks and dancing
27.10.
34 thousand

News on ORF1 and ORF2 - a selection

News Number of hours
"Zeit im Bild 1", ORF 2 + ORF 1 631 208
"Zeit im Bild - Weather", ORF 2 + ORF 1 1,113 28
"Zeit im Bild 2", ORF 2 + ORF 1 293 138
"Zeit im Bild 2" on Sunday
"Zeit im Bild" - short programs 2,168 299
News on ORF 1 1,560 139
"ZIB Flash" 950 58
"ZIB Zack" 382 29
"ZIB Night" 228 52
Special & special programs & round table 78 30
Russian-Ukrainian war 13 6.8
Domestic politics 20 12.6
Conflict in the Middle East 23 4.7
Floods in Austria + abroad 11 2.1
Federal presidential election / inauguration 2 2.3
Speeches by the Federal President / Chancellor 4 0.5
Other 5 1.5
"Text aktuell" in the morning 94 72
"Aktuell nach eins" 247 156
"News after five" 353 117
Midday in Austria
"Bundesland Heute" (all federal states) 6,551 1,102
"Bundesland Heute" preview / compact 3,676 49
"Südtirol Heute" + weather + compact 741 90


Radio
Information on ORF radio, Sabine Funk
Evaluation of the proportion of words by category in minutes and percent. Basis: Results of a content analysis of ORF radios in the sample week from September 11 to 17, 2023.

Station Minutes Percent
Ö1 1.479:21 29,90
Ö3 452:44 30,12
FM4 407:00 22.87
Radio Burgenland 672:30 33.54
Radio Carinthia 813:10 35.89
Radio Lower Austria 697:13 40.23
Radio Upper Austria 705:30 41.04
Radio Salzburg 773:12 35.42
Radio Styria 705:02 33.56
Radio Tirol 758:06 38.84
Radio Vorarlberg 667:34 33.48
Radio Vienna 520:02 32.42



Programs of the current service - Ö1

Number of programs
Journal-Panorama 188
Europa-Journal 50
Balance 50
#doublecheck 11
Klartext 9

Stories on ORF.at

Offer articles (stories) Topic
ORF.at 41,386 reports on national and international politics, business, chronicles, culture, society, etc.
wetter.ORF.at 46,218 weather reports, forecasts, values
oesterreich.ORF.at + nine federal states 41,952 Regional reporting, accompanying information etc.
sport.ORF.at 13,026 Coverage of national and international sports
oe1.ORF.at 10,177 Website of the Ö1 channel
topos.ORF.at 374 Multimedia platform for culture, religion, science and society
fm4.ORF.at 2,316 Website of the FM4 station
science.ORF.at 1,659 Science reporting
oe3.ORF.at 3,052 Website of the station Hitradio Ö3
okidoki.ORF.at 2,196 Media-adequate preparation of content from the ORF children's program
tv.ORF.at + program sub-sites + highlights 6,860 Program information, highlights and tips, television websites accompanying programs
help.ORF.at 335 consumer information
religion.ORF.at 3,887 News, topics from the field of religion
volksgruppen.ORF.at 8,556 News, topics from the Austrian ethnic groups
Total 181,994

TVthek: Information - Top 3

Clip type Program Date Channel Reach
Live ZIB FLASH 21.11. ORF1 960 thousand viewers
Live ZIB SPECIAL: SPÖ election count 05.06. ORF2 522 thousand
Live ZIB SPECIAL: ELECTION 23, NIEDERÖSTERREICH HAS VOTED 29.01. ORF2 1 000 3 thousand

Teletext
The total volume of ORF TELETEXT amounted to 1,485 pages as of March 31. Below is the distribution of ORF Teletext page updates according to news areas in the March evaluation period.

Topic
Number
Headlines 1,571
Politics Austria and EU 3,207
International politics 2,836
Chronicle 2,801
Economy 2,403
People 598
Elections + Simple Language Specials 329
Federal states 6,297
Total updates 20,042

Video on Demand usage (Fehrmann coming)

Top 3 info programs , without double mention
Zeit im Bild: Chancellor Nehammer in the studio 11.01., 22:00 41484
ECO Special: Benko's case 30.11., 22:30 35446
Federal state today 28.04., 19:00 33090
ORF1, ORF2, ORF lll, ORF Sport + (in percent)

Entertainment: 31% 16,714 programs and program segments 37408690 seconds
Information: 19% 19979 programs and program segments 23277257 seconds
Culture: 19% 10255 programs and program segments 22944902 seconds
Sport: 30% 19258 broadcasts and parts of broadcasts 36042684 seconds
Total: 100% 66206 programs and program segments 119673533 seconds

ORF lll Politics live broadcasts
20 National Council sessions
4 Federal Council meetings
8 special sessions of the National Council
2 Federal Council quests