PRESS CONCENTRATION AND MEDIA POLICY IN SMALL COUNTRIES - AUSTRIA ANDIRELAND COMPARED

This article deals with the newspaper industry in small states with a big, more powerful neighbouring country where the same language is spo ken. Austria and Ireland are used as examples to show the similarities within the different frameworks, the chosen newspaper sector displayi ng typical characteristics of traditional market failure and providing output with strong political relevance. Therefore public policy measu res are even more important than in other industries. An economic anal ysis of the developments in the newspaper industry (in the two countri es especially) is given, followed by a survey and interpretation of re cent economic policies as well as media policy options. With an overvi ew of the changes in the newspaper industries in Austria and Ireland a s a starting point, the article aims to explore whether and what can b e done to hinder or even unravel the observed concentration processes.