Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Austria's Media Industry and Media consumption

Since March 2020, the Austrian Gallup Institute has been conducting a continuous tracking study to examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on various areas of everyday life (Gallup Corona Mood Barometer). In cooperation with Medienhaus Wien, a dedicated survey series focusing on the COVID-19 crisis and media use was launched on 16 March 2020 as part of this project. The aim of the study is to analyze changes in news consumption during the pandemic and to assess the impact of COVID-19-related media coverage on the public perception of news media.

The present dataset comprises the 14th wave of this survey series. The analytical focus is on (1) potential shifts in the evaluation of journalistic quality standards and the societal relevance of journalism as a result of the crisis, (2) changes over time in the intensity of use of different media types and specific media outlets, and (3) developments in trustworthiness, relevance, and informational value of selected media brands (television, radio, newspapers, magazines, and social media) during the pandemic. The objective is to identify which news sources provide the greatest public value in times of crisis.