Media Freedom in Focus: Independent journalism in Austria faces a far-right threat

Independent journalism and media freedom in Austria are facing a simmering far-right threat. In the country's legislative elections in September 2024, the Russia-friendly Freedom Party, or FPÖ, became the largest party, claiming just under 29% of the vote. Though a coalition was ultimately formed which excluded the FPÖ from government, the party's victory at the polls was unprecedented and raised fresh concerns about the threat a future far-right administration could pose to the country's media freedom environment.

The FPÖ has repeatedly attacked independent journalists, branding reporters as part of the so-called “liberal elite” or a “globalist establishment.” They’ve even revived the Nazi-era slur Lügenpresse (lying press). The party has been particularly hostile toward Austria’s public broadcaster, ORF, pledging to abolish household-based broadcasting fees by the end of 2026 and replace them with direct state funding—a move that critics warn would weaken ORF's institutional independence and allow greater government control.

In this episode of Media Freedom in Focus, we discuss the FPÖ’s smear campaigns against journalists and the broader state of media freedom in Austria with Lina Paulitsch, a journalist at Falter, one of the country’s leading independent weekly magazines.

 

Guest: Lina Paulitsch, journalist at Falter (Austria) .

Producer and Host: Teona Sekhniashvili, Europe Network and Advocacy Officer at International Press Institute (IPI)

Editor: Kasperi Kainulainen, Helsingin Sanomat Foundation Fellow at International Press Institute (IPI) 

 

Other episodes in this series:

MFRR in focus: The state of Poland’s public service media

Press freedom in peril: navigating elections and political turmoil in Poland, Slovakia and Bulgaria

Earth Day reflections: Italy’s climate reporting dilemma

Media Freedom in Focus: Untangling media capture in Greece

MFRR Podcast: The battle over the future of Poland’s politicized public media