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So Vienna Will Counteract the Media Crisis

Wiens Bürgermeister Ludwig fordert strengere Maßnahmen im Umgang mit Tech-Giganten.
Wiens Bürgermeister Ludwig fordert strengere Maßnahmen im Umgang mit Tech-Giganten. ©APA/HELMUT FOHRINGER
The Mayor of Vienna, Michael Ludwig, advocates for measures to stabilize the Austrian media landscape by demanding more responsibility from international tech giants and encouraging increased investments in local media to ensure media diversity and democratic core values.

The Mayor of Vienna, Michael Ludwig (SPÖ), calls for measures against the crisis in the domestic media landscape. Society and politics should not stand idly by when it comes to the future of media houses, he stated on Wednesday in a statement sent to the APA. He demanded that "tech giants" from the USA or China be held more accountable. At the same time, the city leader believes there should also be further funding initiatives.

"A vibrant and diverse media landscape is the most effective means against disinformation, against propaganda, but also to invigorate public debates based on fact-based research. Access to independent and quality-assured information is more important than ever," Ludwig expressed confidently. Not least, the media location Vienna is also a relevant economic factor, he emphasized.

Ludwig: "We should all pull together now"

Behind the negative reports from the industry are jobs and individual fates. "We should all pull together now and consider how we can secure the diverse media in Vienna and Austria in the long term," the mayor suggested. If this is not done, it will also have negative political implications for democracy, he warned. Central democratic pillars should not be left to the control of internet portals.

Criticism of Tech Giants

It is about finding solutions to create economic conditions for electronic media, but also for print media. He referred to the Vienna media initiative, but also called for steps in connection with the large online platforms. These would generate more than 2.5 billion euros in advertising revenue in Austria alone, without securing jobs, generating local value creation, or making a relevant contribution to the promotion and stabilization of Austrian media diversity.

He called for advertising funds to be increasingly invested in domestic media instead of online giants. These, not least through the increased use of artificial intelligence, spread non-quality-assured information. The large portals should be held accountable so that sustainable funding structures can be created at the same time to equip media for the current challenges in the digital sector, Ludwig demanded.

(APA/Red)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.

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