The daily newspaper "Wiener Zeitung" is 100% owned by the state of Austria.
Actually, as anarchists, we would never have dreamed of suggesting that you use astate medium. However, the drama of the situation dictates this. Especiallybecause of the - in international comparison - extremely miserable medialandscape in these latitudes, ... ---- So why is it that we are now breaking alance for the Wiener Zeitung? First of all, there is the special condition of theAustrian daily newspaper market. In this country there are simply no clevernewspapers and of them, including free sheets, only 14 pieces. The boulevard isunreadable for us. For many years, the Kronen Zeitung was the largest newspaperin the world in terms of population, with a reach of up to 45%. This means thatthere is - in a global comparison - extreme market power as well as influencepossibilities of the tabloids. We don't need to discuss the conservative"quality" media like the press any further because of their close relationshipwith the ÖVP. There are no local newspapers, such as in Germany. Alternative oreven "left" newspapers do not exist. No weekly newspapers either. Thesocial-democratic workers' newspaper was discontinued in 1991 and the communistVolksstimme eke out an existence as a largely unknown monthly magazine. Whatremains is the economically and sometimes socially liberal DerStandard, which iscompletely dedicated to Facebookization and is declining in quality from year toyear - especially as far as the editorial content is concerned.What they all have in common is that "news" in this society is a commodity likeany other product. Lobbying groups set the spins, political reporting means - andnot just since message control and the poll scandal - that topics are positionedand news is controlled. As is so often the case, those who are financiallystronger can influence the news better. See all too clumsy "news", such as therecently positioned "refugee tent debate" or recently the "serious riots" in Linzand most recently on New Year's Eve in Transdanubia. Attempts at investigativejournalism such as zackzack.at remain online and thus in hopeless competitionwith "social" media.And then there is the Wiener Zeitung. This is also part of the spectacle, butwith an independent editorial statute, it is actually remarkably independent ofthe state. Although the conservative editor-in-chief can definitely be felt inthe editorial board, we even know of libertarian editors. Many articles in thenewspaper are unsurpassed and unscandalous. Information and journalism arenoticeably in the foreground and clickbaiting, emotionalisation and attentioneconomy are comparatively the lowest of all Austrian daily newspapers. The tidytype area design and typography, which are kept discreetly in the background,also make reading on paper a pleasant experience without gimmicky sensationalism,which would be really increasingly necessary in these times, but is unfortunatelydisappearing more and more.In short, the editorial part of the Wiener Zeitung is currently the closest toour ideal of a daily newspaper that meets the need for information and not justthe goal of activating emotions and selling advertising. About half of thearticles are also easy to read for anarchists without a stomach ache because ofthe propaganda content.The fact that the owner, the state of Austria, now wants to stamp out thenewspaper, which has been published since 1703 and is therefore the oldest dailynewspaper in the world, after 320 years, also represents a cultural-politicalcatastrophe. And another train of thought is not insignificant in this context .The newspaper is already owned by all of us because it belongs to the state. Justas we sometimes have to defend the public broadcasters from complete heteronomy,or even annihilation by capital, a newspaper that already belongs to us, so tospeak, should not be given up completely paternalistically.But if you listen to Ms. Blimlinger from the Greens, how she talks about futureonline ideas or training orders from the publisher, you can already guess that itcan only be a question of abolishing the newspaper in installments. Frommid-2023, the newspaper will only appear "online" and once a month in print, ...because of the cost savings of a few million. From the other governing party, theÖVP, there was never much to be expected in terms of media policy anyway. Veryclumsily pointed; "the furrow must be enough for our sheep".We therefore recommend taking advantage of the current subscription offer for EUR80 per half year. If you take a trial subscription beforehand, you get 24 weeks,i.e. 0.67 euros per newspaper - including delivery to the post office everymorning. The experience of consuming media on paper, letting unexcited readingbecome part of the daily morning ritual (again), or looking at the papernewspaper several times a day instead of on the smartphone, e.g. when waiting, ishighly recommended. We urgently want to suggest this form of news reception tothe younger ones among you, let's say the post-millennials. Holding a well-setand printed, and therefore irretrievably completed, work in your hands every daymakes a really big difference. In addition, the newspaper can be ordered just aseasily as in the 1980s. One phone call and you get them delivered, and some timelater a payment slip. No registration, no identification, no prepayment, directdebit authorization or other nonsense. So if you want, you can even subscribeanonymously by paying in cash. The subscription ends automatically, so you arenot "trapped" with subscription tricks, as is so often the case in the industry.The information is comprehensive and you are only supplied with the print productas well as with TV, radio magazines, online or mixed consumer behavior. The priceis unbeatably cheap, even the standard price would only be 17.50 euros per monthand therefore also socially acceptable - as it should actually be. Just forcomparison; The standard costs 62.70 per month and is therefore unaffordable foraverage hackers.We don't want to be misunderstood here. This comment is not meant to be anuncritical paean to a state newspaper. Of course, a libertarian daily newspaperwould be the most desirable goal. Unfortunately, we are a long way from that atthe moment. A classic anarcho-syndicalist approach in the current situation wouldactually be to strive for self-government by the editorial staff and thoseworking at the newspaper. With these ideal goals always in mind, we sometimeshave to express ourselves in a pragmatic and reformist way, especially when thedegree of organization of the workers is as low as it is at the Wiener Zeitung atthe moment.So think about getting a subscription now and having a print newspaper sent toyou every day. In a few months, this possibility may no longer exist if thegovernment implements its plan - to destroy its own and currently editoriallymost tolerable daily newspaper in Austria as a print product.Published on the WAS blog on 1/11/2023. Can be copied provided the source isacknowledged.https://wiensyndikat.wordpress.com/2023/01/11/fur-den-erhalt-der-wiener-zeitung/_________________________________________A - I N F O S N E W S S E R V I C EBy, For, and About AnarchistsSend news reports to A-infos-en mailing listA-infos-en@ainfos.ca
Geen opmerkingen:
Een reactie posten