Thomas R. Schmidt

This research explores the influence of American journalistic norms, routines and practices on Austrian journalism between 1945 and the 1990s. Archival research and oral history interviews will document how Austrian journalists experienced different phases of American influence beginning with training by American government officials between 1945 and 1955 to the adoption of American news formats such as investigative, narrative, and alternative journalism. Illuminating how U.S. influence on Austrian journalism was embraced, resisted and negotiated by various reporters, editors and publishers will not only document the institutional evolution of Austrian journalism but will also shed light on the cultural history of transatlantic relations between Austria and the U.S.