Gisela Reiter from the Department of Communication presented the results of her study on the information behaviour of young target groups before elections at this year’s RIPE@2021 conference and was a guest at the ORF DialogForum in the Radiokulturhaus.
In her presentation „Having a broad range of different political viewpoints is important für me – Trust in Media and the Relevance of Public Service Media (PSM) before political elections“ Gisela Reiter presented the results of a qualitative study conducted during the 2019 European elections in Austria. In the study, the changed media usage behaviour in the age group of 18 to 30 year-olds in the run-up to a political election is analysed and the significance of public service media offerings in this phase is investigated.
The online conference took place on September 27/28, 2021 and was organised by the University of Fribourg and the IAPMR (International Association of Public Media Researchers). Approximately 250 international participants discussed interdisciplinary study results with a focus on the social added value of different public service media offerings.
 © Screenshot: University of Fribourg
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Manifesto for a Public Service Internet
Die Relevanz öffentlich-rechtlicher Medien wird auch regelmäßig in der Veranstaltungsreihe ORF DialogForum thematisiert bei der Gisela Reiter am 4.10.2021 als Podiumsteilnehmerin zu Gast war. Anlassgeber und Thema der Podiumsdiskussion war die Initiative zum „Manifest für öffentlich-rechtliche Medien und ein öffentlich-rechtliches Internet“, welches weltweit bereits von mehr als 1.000 WissenschaftlerInnen unterzeichnet wurde. Die Initiative möchte mit dem Manifest zur Diskussion über entsprechende rechtliche Rahmenbedingungen für ein öffentlich-rechtliches Internet anregen, wie zuletzt auch in Österreich immer wieder von ORF gefordert: ein Public Service Internet als starkes globales Signal gegenüber marktbeherrschenden Unternehmen wie Google, Facebook und Co.
The relevance of public service media is also regularly addressed in the ORF DialogForum series of events, where Gisela Reiter was a guest panelist on October 4, 2021. The occasion and topic of the panel discussion was the initiative for the “Manifesto for Public Service Media and a Public Service Internet“, which has already been signed by more than 1,000 academics worldwide. With the Manifesto, the initiative wants to stimulate discussion about the appropriate legal framework for a public service Internet, as recently repeatedly demanded by ORF in Austria: a public service Internet as a strong global signal against market-dominating companies such as Google, Facebook and Co.
Young media usage behavior shows relevance for public service Internet
As part of the panel discussion, Gisela Reiter drew particular attention to the media usage behavior of the under-30s. As her own research during the first Corona Lockdown in March 2020 showed, public service media were the first point of contact for secure and verified information – more detailed information can be found at #YouthMediaLife – Presentation by Gisela Reiter and Jana Bernhard at international conference on media lifeworlds of young people.
 Gisela Reiter at the DialogForum: Public Service Internet at the ORF Radiokulturhaus. © Screenshot, Credit ORF Public Value |
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“It is very much about differentiation: between watching the YouTube channel of the 10-year-old as entertainment or whether I want to seek information about the respective party before making an election decision,” said Gisela Reiter at the ORF Public Value DialogForum. “You certainly have to differentiate here and you should not underestimate the young.”
A recording of the entire panel discussion at the DialogForum: Public Service Internet is available at: https://zukunft.orf.at/show_content.php?sid=147&pvi_id=2356&pvi_medientyp=v&oti_tag=Dialogforum