Inoslav Bešker (30 January 1950 – 29 June 2023) was a Croatian and Italian journalist and academic.Bilješka o piscu, in: Bešker, Inoslav, ''Mediteran u književnosti'', Zagreb, 2021: 231. Bešker started his journalistic career in 1967. From 1989 he worked as a correspondent from

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

for ''

Vjesnik ''Vjesnik'' () was a Croatian state-owned daily newspaper published in Zagreb. Originally established in 1940 as a wartime illegal publication of the Communist Party of Croatia, it later built and maintained a reputation as Croatia's newspaper ...

'', ''

Večernji list (also known as '; ) is a Croatian and Bosnian-Herzegovinian daily newspaper published in Zagreb and Mostar. History and profile was started in Zagreb in 1959. Its predecessor ' ('Evening Courier') appeared for the first time on 3 June 1957 in ...

'',

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

, Radio 101, ''Danas'',

Croatian Radiotelevision ''Hrvatska radiotelevizija'' ( HRT), or Croatian Radiotelevision, is a Croatian public broadcasting company. It operates several radio and television channels, over a domestic transmitter network as well as satellite. HRT is divided into three ...

, and ''

Globus GLOBUS is a radar system in the town of Vardø in Vardø Municipality, Finnmark county, Norway. It is operated by the Norwegian Intelligence Service (NIS) and its official uses are primarily space observation and Arctic airspace monitoring for Nor ...

''. From 2000 he was a correspondent and columnist for ''

Jutarnji list () is a Croatian daily newspaper based in Zagreb. It was published on 6 April 1998 by EPH (Europapress holding, owned by Ninoslav Pavić), which eventually changed its name in Hanza Media after being bought by Marijan Hanžeković. The newspap ...

'' and since 2016 for ''Globus'' and ''

Slobodna Dalmacija (, where "Free" is an adjective) is a Croatian daily newspaper published in Split. History was first issued on 17 June 1943 by Tito's Partisans in an abandoned stone barn on Mosor, a mountain near Split, while the city was occupied by the I ...

''. Bešker had a degree in journalism from the

University of Zagreb The University of Zagreb (, ) is a public university, public research university in Zagreb, Croatia. It is the largest Croatian university and one of the oldest continuously operating universities in Europe. The University of Zagreb and the Unive ...

. He obtained a PhD in Comparative

Slavic studies Slavic (American English) or Slavonic (British English) studies, also known as Slavistics, is the academic field of area studies concerned with Slavic peoples, Slavic peoples, languages, literature, history, and culture. Originally, a Slavist or ...

from the

University of Milan The University of Milan (; ), officially abbreviated as UNIMI, or colloquially referred to as La Statale ("the State niversity), is a public university, public research university in Milan, Italy. It is one of the largest universities in Eu ...

in 2001. He taught

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

at the

University of Split The University of Split (, ) is a university located in Split, Croatia. It was founded in 1974. and is organized in 13 faculties and 124 faculty programmes. As of 2009, a total of approximately 40,000 students have graduated, and a total of 337 ...

. He also taught

at University of Naples "L'Orientale",

Sapienza University of Rome The Sapienza University of Rome (), formally the Università degli Studi di Roma "La Sapienza", abbreviated simply as Sapienza ('Wisdom'), is a Public university, public research university located in Rome, Italy. It was founded in 1303 and is ...

University of Bologna The University of Bologna (, abbreviated Unibo) is a Public university, public research university in Bologna, Italy. Teaching began around 1088, with the university becoming organised as guilds of students () by the late 12th century. It is the ...

, and

Communication studies Communication studies (or communication science) is an academic discipline that deals with processes of human communication and behavior, patterns of communication in interpersonal relationships, social interactions and communication in differ ...

at the

and University of Dubrovnik. His research interests included

Morlachs Morlachs ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Morlaci, Морлаци; ; ) is an exonym used for a rural Christian community in Herzegovina, Lika and the Dalmatian Hinterland. The term was initially used for a bilingual Vlach pastoralist community in the mountain ...

in European literature,

onomastics Onomastics (or onomatology in older texts) is the study of proper names, including their etymology, history, and use. An ''alethonym'' ('true name') or an ''orthonym'' ('real name') is the proper name of the object in question, the object of onom ...

of Croatia, toponomastics of the

Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

heortology Heortology or eortology is a science that deals with the origin and development of religious festivals, and more specifically the study of the history and criticism of liturgical calendars and martyrologies. Etymology The noun ''eortology'' ...

and

anthropology of religion Anthropology of religion is the study of religion in relation to other social institutions, and the comparison of religious beliefs and practices across cultures. The anthropology of religion, as a field, overlaps with but is distinct from the f ...

. His most important books in the field of journalism include: ''Istraživačko novinarstvo'' (

Investigative journalism Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, such as serious crimes, racial injustice, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend m ...

, Zagreb, 2004), ''Iza vatikanskih zidina'' (Behind the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Geography * Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy * Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City * Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome * Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...

walls, Zagreb, 2013), the biographies of the Popes

John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

and

Francis Francis may refer to: People and characters *Pope Francis, head of the Catholic Church (2013–2025) *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Francis (surname) * Francis, a character played by YouTuber Boogie2 ...

; in the field of comparative literature and imagology: ''I Morlacchi nella letteratura europea'' (The

in the European literature, Rome, 2007), ''La musa violenta'' (The violent Muse, Rome, 2007), ''Mediteran u književnosti'' (The Mediterranean in literature, Zagreb, 2021); in the field of anthropology of religion: ''Blagdani'' (Holidays, Zagreb, 2020), and ''Svetost i zločin'' (Holiness and crime, Zagreb, 2022). In 2003 Bešker received a Journalist of the Year award by the

Croatian Journalists' Association The Croatian Journalists' Association ( or HND) is a Croatian association based in Zagreb aimed at promoting freedom of the press and free speech in journalism. The association was founded in December 1910 and has over 3,000 members. It arranges ...

and in 2007 a Life Achievement Award from the same organization. He was a laureate of The

MIDAS Midas (; ) was a king of Phrygia with whom many myths became associated, as well as two later members of the Phrygian royal house. His father was Gordias, and his mother was Cybele. The most famous King Midas is popularly remembered in Greek m ...

''Otto von Habsburg'' Prize for Journalism in Minority Protection and Cultural Diversity in Europe. Bešker died on 29 June 2023, at the age of 73.

References

1950 births 2023 deaths Journalists from Zagreb Croatian columnists Croatian expatriates in Italy Faculty of Political Sciences, University of Zagreb alumni Academic staff of the University of Bologna Journalists from Split, Croatia Academic staff of the University of Naples "L'Orientale" {{Europe-journalist-stub