At least as far as online media consumption is concerned, Austrians can be identified as laggards.  This is the result of a study by the renowned Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at Oxford University, which was the subject of a report in the news magazine Profil on October 23.

In none of the 18 countries compared is print as popular as in Austria: Specifically, 35% name television as the most important medium, followed by print products with 25% and online media with 24%.  In all other countries surveyed, online media have already overtaken print media and are more often described as the "most important news source. In the U.S., for example, only five percent still consider print to be the most important source of news.

It is also a fact that younger Austrians declare online as the most important news source, while print is for older people.  The study authors also recognized that the strong Austrian print market is eroding more slowly than that in other countries.  However, the study authors conclude that "there is still too little drive to innovate for some media houses."