Die österreichische Tagespresse der Ersten Republik

Opinion-leading media as indicators of a democracy at risk: The press and the rise of National Socialism between 1927 and 1932

“…This is because the analysis of structural characteristics of a system must be necessarily based on the whole system. The capitals’ press provides access to the broadest range of newspapers on offer in the period under study, while local newspaper markets represent only a part of the media supply in the capital (Schirmer, 1992; Melischek and Seethaler, 2019). In the 1920s and 1930s, about 30 newspapers were published daily in Berlin and over 20 in Vienna (Appendix Tables 1 and 2), with a total circulation of, on average, 2.6 and 1.3 million copies, respectively (Melischek and Seethaler, 2000).…”

“…Changes in media technologies – in this case, typesetting machines and rotary press, which allowed the production of high-circulation newspapers – and more liberal press laws from the last third of the 19th century onwards had expanded citizens’ opportunities for participation in the public sphere (Seethaler, 2013). In the early 1930s, about 20 million copies were sold daily to 68.9 million Germans and nearly 1.8 million copies to 6.7 million Austrians (Fulda, 2009; Melischek and Seethaler, 2019). One can therefore assume that there was a newspaper in almost every household.…”

“…On the other hand, the mass-press-induced industrialization and professionalization of the media supported a more market-driven type of journalism that insisted on serving the audience’s information needs. Even if an ideological orientation was not wholly thrown overboard, journalists were willing to (re)package information in a way that suits the audience’s (shifting) demands and expectations (Eksteins, 1975; Engelmann, 2004; Melischek and Seethaler, 2019).…”