Is the ORF really in the Broadcasting Business?

Many businesses have already made the mistake: They defined their business totally wrong. And now also the ORF seems to repeat this mistake.

The railway companies in the U.S. thought to be in the railroad business instead of the transportation business. They were product/industry oriented instead of costumer oriented (see also Marketing Myopia from Theodore Lewitt). Are Americans still travelling a lot? Sure, you will say. But who is travelling the U.S. via railway nowadays? Hardly Anybody! Americans are still travelling, but just not by train.

The same failure of management now seems to happen within the ORF. People still want to get and stay informed but not anymore just via TV and Radio. In an article about politician’s power in the ORF and about its management, the Austrian news magazine Profil (magazine number 10, 40^th year of publication, March 2^nd, 2009) also talked about the fact of the declining consumer figures of the ORF. Especially young people are not consuming the ORF programme as heavily as a few years ago (cited in German: „Laut Studien der ORF-Medienforschung ist die durchschnittliche Zeit, die zwölf bis 29-jährige Österreicher täglich vor dem TV-Apparat verbringen, in den vergangenen vier Jahren um eine Viertelstunde auf nunmehr 90 Minuten gesunken. Im selben Ausmaß stieg die Nutzung des Internets und die Verfügbarkeit von Spielkonsolen. Die Generation Playstation kehrt der Glotze immer öfter den Rücken.“).

The problem seems to lie within the fact that everybody, also the ORF, is NOT AT ALL seeing itself as a PUBLIC INFORMATIONAL SERVICE, that also has the mission to give people orientation in cultural life and has an important life for social cohesion. It is paid by and legitimated by the public. It seems that the ORF fails to see the growing importance of new media to inform and get through to the AUSTRIAN public. A sufficient, well concepted and informing Internet presence is crucial for the future existence of our Austrian Informational Service.

(carina)

The World Is So Small! – More Austrian people in St. Petersburg

As you might already know, already in our first week we met two students from Austria, Julia and Maria, with whom we still keep hanging out. There just seems to be a “magical bond” between Austrian people in Russia.

So also today when meeting up with Geraldine Kraus, an Austrian lady (who I know because she comes from my hometown and because her daugther used to go to school with my mum and because she used to be the teacher of one of my aunts [uff! confused now?]), it was quiet comfortable to “hang out” with her, talk to her and walk around Saint Petersburg.

Why am I writing all this?

Feeling Austrian in Piter
First, I think it is quiet interesting, that when you are with either people from your “nationality” or at least with people who speak your language (also with Andrea, our roommate from Germany) there is some special bond. There is some weird comfortability, some closeness that sometimes is even kind of weird. Still sometimes this “speciality” is also quiet useful: There was never really anything like a big “HOMESICKNESS”, as I always had some people around me who felt I little bit like me, who I could talk to about my problems – without having to fear, that I would offend them, if I spoke about my problems with some facettes of Russian culture. And today there was also this genuine feeling, that even though I was in St. Petersburg, it felt like being in Austria, somewhere, in some city I don’t know yet (and where a lot of Russian tourists are).

Successful Austrians in Russia
Secondly, it was very interesting as Geraldine Kraus is a very interesting person and her reason for being in Piter is also quiet interesting and I would say, it has even some newsworthiness (still I put this fact to the end of my blog entry – I am very sorry for those who are journalistically interested in my/our blog-entries). Geraldine Kraus actually retired a few years ago but since about 2001 she used to be in touch with Russian schools. At home she used to do “Schulentwicklung” (development of eduction) and some day she also started to consult some Russian school close to Moskow about how to develop their school (system). Some years later also in the “Leningrad Area” (the area around St. Petersburg) she started to develop a programm for “school inspectors” or better to say for the education of school inspectors.

Well anyways, I think this is interesting, because in Austrian media it is always said that the Austrian school system is very bad, but then it is very interesting to speak to this lady and that she is telling me, that she actually also helped to develop (the school system) in other Eastern European countries. Sometimes Finnish and Austrian knowledge is brought to these countries and sometimes it is just Austrian knowledge. And so this really surprised me as the Finnish school system in Austrian media is very often mentioned as a rolemodel for the Austrian school system. – I am not going to comment on Austrian understanding of a good school system and the differences I have already experienced between U.S., Italian, Austrian and Russias school system because that would be too much for now. But I thought I had to share this knowledge about successful Austrians in Russia with you.

(carina)

I must comment on Austrian elections!

Austria is a small country, I know, but I never thought that other countries considered it that “unimportant”. It seems that Austrian elections are non-existent here in Russia. I have just talked to a Russian friend and he didn’t know that elections had just taken place in Austria. (But around five minutes ago, he was vividly talking on the phone about ANGELA MERKEL. I know Germany is a lot bigger than Austria, but I still have to get used to the fact, that Austria (or especially Austrian politics are) is not “too” important for Russia(ns).)

Acutally I think that it hasn’t really been in Russian news. I don’t know Russian that well yet, but I couldn’t find any prominent entries on homepages of Russian newspapers about elections in Austria.

Also on the ORF-Homepage, in a review of foreign newspapers writing about elections in Austria, no Russian newspaper was quoted or mentioned.

It is funny that, we (Anna, Andrea and I) just talked about newsworthiness in Russia yesterday. Russian newspapers are mainly writing about foreign countries, if Putin or other statesmen are visiting this country. A pity for the citizens over here, especially the ones who are not able to read foreign news online.

But nevertheless, the internet is working in Russia and there is no censorship on homepages as far as I know. I can read whatever I want to read and I can keep track of the happenings in Austria. – And no, I shouldn’t comment on the outcome of the elections in Austria – it’s ridiculous

(carina)