In a new study, a research team, which included researchers from the University of Fribourg, examined the political advertisement scandal in Austria and showed that the tabloid OE24 mentioned former Chancellor Sebastian Kurz much more frequently after the alleged collusion. The study was recently published in the prestigious journal The International Journal of Press/Politics.

Researchers from the Universities of Fribourg (Switzerland) and Vienna conducted an extensive study and investigated whether and to what extent government advertisements influenced the reporting of the tabloid OE24. The study focuses on the allegation that former Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz and his confidants purchased positive reporting through collusive agreements.

Sebastian Kurz more frequently mentioned
The researchers analyzed 222,000 news articles from 18 Austrian media between 2012 and 2021. The results show that Sebastian Kurz was mentioned between 50 and 100% more often in the online newspaper OE24 after 2016 than would have otherwise been expected without collusion (based on a comparison with trends in other media). This change in reporting is particularly noticeable after the alleged collusion with the media group Österreich. In addition, the tone used when reporting on Kurz’s political rivals tended to be more negative, although these effects were less pronounced.

Methodology
The study combined content analysis with econometric methods. A difference-in-differences procedure was used to investigate causal relationships between the alleged collusion and the reporting on Sebastian Kurz in OE24. “Bluntly speaking, the procedure is based on a comparison of the trends between reporting in OE24 versus other media over time in order to determine the potential effect of the alleged collusion,” explains Professor Martin Huber from the University of Fribourg. “Even with different definitions of the comparative media, the results always showed that the amount of reporting on Sebastian Kurz in OE24 rose sharply in the period after the alleged collusion.”

No legal implications
Although the study shows significant differences in reporting, the authors emphasize that they are not making any statements about the legality of the alleged collusion. “We have identified striking patterns that could be consistent with the allegations and that do raise questions, but we have not provided any evidence of corruption,” explains communication studies expert Jakob-Moritz Eberl from the University of Vienna.

Relevance for free media
The results highlight how vitally important it is to protect media independence from political influence. “This particular case in Austria emphasizes once again just how fragile media independence can be in democracies. Clear regulations and greater transparency about government spending on advertisements are therefore needed to minimise risks of political influence on the media and to protect journalistic independence,” states Eberl.

Original publication
Balluff, P., Eberl, J.-M., Oberhänsli, S. J., Bernhard, J., Boomgaarden, H. J., Fahr, A., and M. Huber (2024): The Austrian Political Advertisement Scandal: Patterns of “Journalism for Sale”. The International Journal of Press/Politics. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/19401612241285672

University of Vienna’s press release (german)