For their two already published studies, the two lecturers at FH JOANNEUM have intensively studied the tracing of advertising media from public authorities. Based on data that must be published every quarter by political units such as federal ministries and companies in the sphere of influence of the public sector, such as provincial energy suppliers, Heinz Wassermann, lecturer at the Department of Media & Design, and Peter Salhofer, lecturer in the degree programmes “Information Management” and “Software and Digital Experience Engineering”, have published two provincial studies in Salzburg and Carinthia.
Countless hours have gone into collecting and processing the data. The big goal is an Austria-wide study. However, before this wish comes true, they are slowly but surely working through the provinces. The latest publications by the tenacious researchers have also made waves in the media. The two yearbooks for politics of the provinces of Salzburg and Carinthia, in which the studies of the two teachers also appear, summarise publications of studies on politics and history of one year.
“There is hardly any investment outside the state borders, especially in regional media”, says Heinz Wassermann and emphasises that this is what is particularly interesting to him about the results. Relatively large sums flow to the ORF, but it is not clear how the budgets of the individual sub-organizations are distributed, he said. Among other things, it became known that public institutions spend over 9.8 times more money per capita than the same institutions in Germany.
Currently, the two researchers are looking for a funder for their desired Austria-wide study. The feeling of having published successfully is “something very special” for Wassermann.
Written by Fabian Hasler, Katharina Wakonig and Ellen Warth, students of the Bachelor’s programme “Journalism and Public Relations (PR)”.