Regional Medien Austria

Regional Medien Austria, commonly known as Regionalmedien Austria or RMA, is an Austrian media company focused on free local and regional journalism. The group publishes newspapers covering districts and provinces throughout Austria and operates digital services, most notably meinbezirk.at. Its publications combine reporting from readers’ immediate communities with broader provincial and national topics, while its advertising structure allows campaigns to be purchased at local, provincial, or nationwide levels. RMA was established in 2009 as a 50/50 joint venture between Styria Media Group AG and Moser Holding. The company operates through RMA AG and affiliated state-level companies, with editorial and commercial activities organized across local, regional, and national tiers. This structure supports both highly localized advertising and larger campaigns spanning multiple Austrian regions. The newspapers are distributed free of charge to households and are primarily financed by advertising rather than cover-price revenue. The group’s portfolio has included 129 local newspaper editions and associated magazine titles. Its newspaper network includes bz-Wiener Bezirkszeitung in Vienna; Bezirksblätter editions in Burgenland, Lower Austria, Salzburg, and Tyrol; and WOCHE editions in Carinthia and Styria. RMA also works with partner publishers, including Bezirksrundschau Oberösterreich and Regionalzeitungen Vorarlberg. Additional publications include der Grazer and several regional monthly magazines in Carinthia, as well as Mein Sonntag. Digital operations extend the print network through meinbezirk.at, which aggregates and presents local news from across Austria. Other digital properties and products have included grazer.at, rmk.at, the meinbezirk espresso mobile application, and the meinbezirk ePaper application. Through RMA Gesundheit, the group has also been associated with health-information services and formats such as gesund.at, minimed.at, the Hausarzt magazine, and MINI MED events. RMA’s scale is reflected in its distribution and audience figures. According to 2020 Austrian media-industry measurements cited by the company’s Wikipedia entry, its local weekly newspapers reached approximately 3.336 million readers, equivalent to 44.3 percent of the national audience. Austrian circulation auditing reported 3,374,561 copies distributed by RMA and partners in the second half of 2020. ÖWA Plus reported that meinbezirk.at reached an average of approximately 2.212 million unique users per month, or 33.6 percent of Austria’s population, during the cited measurement period. The company has maintained a broad physical presence, with 82 offices and approximately 800 regional employees reported in the reference material. Since March 2017, Georg Doppelhofer and Gerhard Fontan have been identified as members of its management board. RMA’s distinctive position is its combination of dense local coverage, free household distribution, regional advertising scale, and a digital platform that connects its newspaper network with online audiences.

Regionalmedien Austria was created in 2009 as an equal joint venture between Styria Media Group AG and Moser Holding. Its formation brought together regional newspaper activities and related media operations under a structure designed to provide local journalism and advertising coverage across Austria. The company developed a multi-level operating model. Newspapers and sales activities are managed locally in individual districts, regionally within the provinces, and nationally for advertisers seeking broad reach. This arrangement allows the group to preserve local editorial identities while presenting a unified commercial network. The publications are distributed free to households, with advertising serving as the principal funding source. RMA’s print network encompasses newspapers in Vienna and multiple Austrian provinces. Its portfolio has included the bz-Wiener Bezirkszeitung, Bezirksblätter titles in Burgenland, Lower Austria, Salzburg, and Tyrol, and WOCHE titles in Carinthia and Styria. The group also works with regional publishing partners in Upper Austria and Vorarlberg. Alongside the weekly newspaper editions, RMA has operated or brought together magazines such as der Grazer and a series of monthly regional titles in Carinthia. The company expanded its reach through digital publishing. meinbezirk.at became the principal online platform for local and regional news associated with the newspaper network. Other digital initiatives included grazer.at, rmk.at, the meinbezirk espresso mobile news application, and a meinbezirk ePaper application. RMA also developed a health-information area through RMA Gesundheit, associated with gesund.at, minimed.at, the Hausarzt magazine, and MINI MED events. By the 2020 measurement period cited in the available reference material, the group’s newspapers and partner publications had substantial national reach. Austrian Media Analysis reported approximately 3.336 million readers for the local weekly newspaper network, while Austrian circulation auditing recorded more than 3.37 million distributed copies in the second half of 2020. Online measurement for meinbezirk.at reported an average of approximately 2.212 million unique users per month. The organization has been described as operating 82 offices with about 800 regional employees. Its editorial model emphasizes independence at the newspaper level and reporting from the communities served, supplemented by provincial and nationwide news. Regular subject areas include health, mobility, business and careers, and building and living. From March 2017, Georg Doppelhofer and Gerhard Fontan formed the company’s management board, according to the cited reference material. RMA therefore represents a hybrid regional-media model: a large-scale advertising and distribution network built around locally oriented editorial brands and supported by digital platforms.

• 2020

  Large national print and digital reach recorded

  [1]Regionalmedien Austriaen.wikipedia.org

  Industry measurements cited for 2020 reported approximately 3.336 million newspaper readers, more than 3.37 million copies distributed by RMA and partners in the second half of the year, and approximately 2.212 million monthly unique users for meinbezirk.at.

• 2019

  Reported group financial results

  [1]Regionalmedien Austriaen.wikipedia.org

  Reference material reported gross revenue of €95.4 million and EBITDA of €13.9 million for 2019.

• 2017

  New management board identified

  [1]Regionalmedien Austriaen.wikipedia.org

  Georg Doppelhofer and Gerhard Fontan began serving together as the company’s management board, according to the cited reference material.

• 2009

  Regionalmedien Austria established

  [1]Regionalmedien Austriaen.wikipedia.org

  Regionalmedien Austria was formed as a 50/50 joint venture of Styria Media Group AG and Moser Holding.

A nationwide Austrian local-media network that combines free household-distributed newspapers, district-level journalism, regional advertising, and digital news services.

• Digital regional news platform

  meinbezirk.at

  The group’s principal online regional-news platform, meinbezirk.at publishes and aggregates local reporting from districts and provinces across Austria. It extends the reach of the print network, provides a digital destination for local information, and supports advertising opportunities connected to RMA’s regional publishing structure.

• Free regional newspaper

  bz-Wiener Bezirkszeitung

  A Vienna-focused newspaper brand organized around the city’s districts. The reference material identifies 23 district editions, reflecting RMA’s approach of combining a common regional publishing structure with highly localized editorial coverage and advertising.

• Free regional newspaper network

  Bezirksblätter

  A group of provincial and district newspaper editions covering Burgenland, Lower Austria, Salzburg, and Tyrol. The editions provide local reporting and are distributed free to households, with advertising as their principal revenue source.

• Free regional newspaper network

  WOCHE

  RMA’s WOCHE titles serve Carinthia and Styria through multiple local editions. They focus on community news, regional affairs, service content, and advertising, with the reference material identifying 12 editions in Carinthia and 18 in Styria.

• Regional newspaper

  der Grazer

  A Gräz-focused newspaper title included in the group’s broader media portfolio. The reference material describes it as a weekly publication issued on Sunday and separately identifies grazer.at as a related digital property.

• Mobile news application

  meinbezirk espresso

  A mobile news product designed for quick, swipe-oriented consumption of regional news. The reference material identifies versions for Android and iOS.

• Digital newspaper application

  meinbezirk ePaper

  An Android and iOS application providing digital access to RMA newspaper content in ePaper form, complementing the group’s free print distribution network.

• Health media and events

  RMA Gesundheit

  The group’s health-information activities include digital properties such as gesund.at and minimed.at, the Hausarzt magazine, and MINI MED events. These services broaden RMA’s editorial offering beyond general local news into consumer health information.

1. 1Regionalmedien Austriaen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Regionalmedien Austria corporate websiteregionalmedien.at