Richard Nixon in Salzburg, riots against the German “Schoolgirl Report”, the heroes’ reception for the ski racer Karl Schranz in Tyrol, kissing bans for more decency, the spread of the miniskirt, the way Vorarlberg men deal with migrant women and last but not least – as is so often the case – disputes between the Government and the ORF: That marks the year 1972 in Austria, which can also be seen as a turning point.
Bruno Kreisky, who has had an absolute majority in parliament since the election success of 1971, against Gerd Bacher – that was the match of the alpha animals in the country. Here is a chancellor who also wanted to use his new power for media policy. Since a director general of the ORF, who, on the basis of the broadcast referendum of 1966, relied on further independence of the ORF, and last but not least also wanted to develop federalism “as a sign of the times”, as he called it in an opening speech, in a modern way. The media match of 1972 may well be reminiscent of the present.
Gerd Bacher and the “bureaucrat baroque”
Example from “50 Pieces”
Mautner-Markhof and publisher television
In autumn 1971, before Kreisky could even think about intervening centrally in media policy as chancellor with an absolute backing, the industrialist Manfred Mautner-Markhof jun. went public with the suggestion that the ORF should lease both television channels to a consortium set up by the Austrian newspaper publishers. That, according to Mautner-Markhof, would promote a program “independent of ORF” – and open up new sources of income for newspaper publishers.
Bacher reacted to the advance immediately. In a speech to the American Chamber of Commerce, Bacher described himself as an enemy of monopolies, but he had to demand a special status for broadcasting. It is difficult to divide up a small market like Austria – back then, in Bacher’s words, television was “the launch vehicle for modern mass media society” – a sentence that would be phrased differently today. “I can’t imagine that anywhere in the economy a company owner would make their own systems available to the competition,” Bacher said to the industrialist.
In 1972 group dynamics arrived in Alpbach
Example from “50 Pieces”
In the spring of 1972, a delegation of newspaper publishers was seen arriving at the Federal Chancellery. Hanns Sassmann, who has been head of Styria for decades and president of the newspaper publishers’ association, wanted to propose media funding for newspapers to Kreisky – in view of the difficult economic situation of the publishers. Kreisky, as Helmut Andics, Viktor Ergert and Robert Kriechbaumer write in their “History of Austrian Broadcasting”, initially assured the publishers that they certainly did not want to allow the ORF to increase their fees. Kreisky promised that the relationship between the newspapers and the ORF would not be to the detriment of the publishers. The reply from the ORF came from the former newspaper journalist Hugo Portisch: an increase in fees would have a significantly less massive impact on publishers than an increase in times.
Environmental issues are booming for the first time
„50 pieces“
The match was referred by the Chancellor to the parity commission. However, Kreisky was left with the general suspicion that the ORF would position itself at its own expense, for example when the noticeable price increase in Austria in 1972 was discussed very strongly on television.
Kreisky and his “Bomberl”
At the SPÖ party conference in April 1972 in Villach, Kreisky wanted to burst what was then known as a “bomber” in front of the ORF general who was present there and who attended party conferences of all colors.
“I would like to put an idea up for public discussion,” said Kreisky in his speech, “whether the best way would not be to form a cooperative of all Austrian newspaper publishers and to give them the right to operate a second broadcasting station”. Until a third channel is created, the publishers could rent a room from the ORF in a special contract and a channel could be made available there. The ORF can in turn cover its deficit from the rental costs. With the gain of the second channel, a model of press promotion can be financed. Kreisky copied this model from the participation models in the supervisory bodies of public broadcasters in Sweden.
Salzburg doesn’t want sex clothes
„50 pieces“
The “Bomberl” does not ignite
Media specialists admittedly gave this model little chance. The fact that the publishers, who were not financially strong, could set up a competitive TV program seemed just as impossible as an agreement among the publishers on a cooperative model. There is said to have been a discussion between Bacher and Kreisky in Villach – but it was clear in 1972, when Bacher opened the state studios in Salzburg, Tyrol, Vorarlberg and Upper Austria, that the new chancellor would not deal with a “Bacher ORF” as he was known called back then, would resign.
If you look at the history of society, which the “50 Pieces” in the selection of the ORF archivist Silvia Heimader make clear, it becomes clear how traditional Austria was in terms of gender roles and the participation of women in public events. The new studios and the clear modern cut by architect Gustav Peichl first had to establish themselves in the mindsets.
The miniskirt has also arrived in the West
„50 pieces“
In Vorarlberg, for example, one saw that the miniskirt had already arrived in society, but a look at Salzburg makes it clear how traditional and value-conservative precisely those parts of society that wanted to articulate themselves publicly were positioned. In any case, the programming of the German “school girl report” led to a large counter-demonstration in Salzburg.
What the “50 Pieces” that ORF editor Willy Leitgeb smartly cut also makes clear: environmental issues were in the air. The oppressive air pollution, for example in metropolitan areas like Linz, was a media issue. And waste – it became a big issue in the shadow of the economic crises and further developments of the 1970s.