![Hrt dnevnik 250409](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3a/Hrt_dnevnik_250409.jpg)
The mass media in Croatia refers to
mass media
Mass media refers to a diverse array of media technologies that reach a large audience via mass communication. The technologies through which this communication takes place include a variety of outlets.
Broadcast media transmit information ...
outlets based in
Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capit ...
. Television, magazines, and newspapers are all operated by both state-owned and for-profit corporations which depend on
advertising
Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...
,
subscription
The subscription business model is a business model in which a customer must pay a recurring price at regular intervals for access to a product or service. The model was pioneered by publishers of books and periodicals in the 17th century, and ...
, and other sales-related revenues. The
Constitution of Croatia
The Constitution of the Republic of Croatia ( hr, Ustav Republike Hrvatske) is promulgated by the Croatian Parliament.
History
While it was part of the socialist Yugoslavia, the Socialist Republic of Croatia had its own Constitution under the ...
guarantees
freedom of speech
Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recogni ...
and Croatia ranked 63rd in the 2016
Press Freedom Index
The Press Freedom Index is an annual ranking of countries compiled and published by Reporters Without Borders since 2002 based upon the organisation's own assessment of the countries' press freedom records in the previous year. It intends to ...
report compiled by
Reporters Without Borders
Reporters Without Borders (RWB; french: Reporters sans frontières; RSF) is an international non-profit and non-governmental organization with the stated aim of safeguarding the right to freedom of information. It describes its advocacy as found ...
, falling by 5 places if compared to the 2015 Index.
In broadcasting, the government-funded corporation
Croatian Radiotelevision
''Hrvatska radiotelevizija'' (abbr. HRT), or Croatian Radiotelevision, is Croatia's public broadcasting company. It operates several radio and television channels, over a domestic transmitter network as well as satellite. HRT is divided into thr ...
(HRT) had a monopoly on nationally aired broadcasting until the late 1990s, although a number of local radio and TV stations began to sprung up since the 1980s. In the years following the fall of Communism and the subsequent liberalisation of the media market, HRT was reorganised with its infrastructure branch established as a separate company
Transmitters and Communications Ltd (OiV), and a system in which privately owned corporations can acquire renewable
broadcast license
A broadcast license is a type of spectrum license granting the licensee permission to use a portion of the radio frequency spectrum in a given geographical area for broadcasting purposes. The licenses generally include restrictions, which vary ...
s at the national and
county
A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
levels was adopted. The first national for-profit channel Nova TV was thus launched in 2000 and it was joined by RTL four years later in 2004. Both Nova TV and RTL are foreign-owned.
In print media, the market is dominated by the Croatian
Europapress Holding
Hanza Media (until July 1, 2016: Europapress Holding, or EPH) is the leading media company in Croatia and Southeast Europe, with 5 daily newspapers, more than 20 magazines, and 20 digital editions.
Hanza Media's consumer magazines are aimed at t ...
and Austrian
Styria Media Group
The Styria Media Group AG, often referred to as just Styria, is an Austrian media company founded in 1869 and based in Graz. The company is one of the largest media companies in Austria, Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, ...
companies which publish their flagship dailies ''
Jutarnji list'', ''
Večernji list
''Večernji list'' (also known as ''Večernjak''; ) is a Croatian daily newspaper published in Zagreb.
History and profile
''Večernji list'' was started in Zagreb in 1959. Its ancestor ''Večernji vjesnik'' ("Evening Courier") appeared for the ...
'' and ''
24sata''. Other widely read national dailies are ''
Novi list'' and the government-owned ''
Vjesnik
''Vjesnik'' () was a Croatian state-owned daily newspaper published in Zagreb which ceased publication in April 2012. Originally established in 1940 as a wartime illegal publication of the Communist Party of Croatia, it later built and maintained ...
''. The most popular current affairs weekly is ''
Globus
Globus is Latin for ''sphere'' or ''globe''. It may also refer to:
Business
* Globus Medical, a medical device company in Audubon, PA
* Globus (clothing retailer), an Indian clothing retail store
* Globus (company), a Swiss department store chai ...
'', along with a number of specialised publications, some of which are published by government-sponsored cultural institutions. In book publishing, the market is dominated by several major publishing houses such as
Školska knjiga
Školska knjiga (lit. ''Schoolbook'', ) is one of the largest publishing companies in Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domov ...
,
Profil
Profil may refer to:
*La Mouette Profil, a French hang glider design
*Profil (band), a French musical group
*''Profil (literary magazine)'', a Norwegian literary magazine
*''profil (magazine)'', an Austrian news magazine
* ''Profil (Russian magaz ...
,
VBZ,
Algoritam and
Mozaik and the industry's centrepiece event is the ''Interliber'' trade fair held annually in Zagreb and open to public.
Croatia's film industry is small in size and heavily assisted by the government, mainly through grants approved by the
Ministry of Culture Ministry of Culture may refer to:
*Ministry of Tourism, Cultural Affairs, Youth and Sports (Albania)
*Ministry of Culture (Algeria)
*Ministry of Culture (Argentina)
* Minister for the Arts (Australia)
*Ministry of Culture (Azerbaijan)
* Ministry of ...
with films often being co-produced by HRT. The ministry also sponsors
Pula Film Festival
Pula Film Festival ( hr, Pulski filmski festival) is an annual Croatian film festival, established in 1954. It is held in a Roman amphitheater known as the Pula Arena. Pula Film Festival is the oldest Croatian film festival and is usually held in ...
, the annual national film awards, as well as a variety of specialised international film festivals such as
Animafest and
ZagrebDox
ZagrebDox is an international documentary film festival taking place in Zagreb every year, in late February / early March. Launched in 2005, the festival is intended to provide audiences and experts insight into recent documentary films, stimulate ...
, which often feature programs showcasing works by local filmmakers.
Internet is in widespread use
in the country, with approximately 63% of population having an access from home in 2012.
History
In the early 1990s, the democratisation process was accompanied by the strong role of the
Croatian Journalists' Association
The Croatian Journalists' Association ( hr, Hrvatsko novinarsko društvo 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 ha ...
(HND/CJA) as well as of
Europapress Holding
Hanza Media (until July 1, 2016: Europapress Holding, or EPH) is the leading media company in Croatia and Southeast Europe, with 5 daily newspapers, more than 20 magazines, and 20 digital editions.
Hanza Media's consumer magazines are aimed at t ...
, the main publishing group. The latter recently faced a serious economic crisis also due to oversized ambitions. Similarly, cult-station
Radio 101 Radio 101 may refer to:
* Radio 101 (Croatia)
* Radio 101 (Latvia)
* Radio 101 (Malta)
NET FM is a Maltese radio station owned by Media.link Communications, the media arm of the Nationalist Party.
External links
*
References
Radio s ...
lately turned into a standard commercial broadcaster after a murky privatisation process.
[
]
Legislative framework
The Constitution of Croatia
The Constitution of the Republic of Croatia ( hr, Ustav Republike Hrvatske) is promulgated by the Croatian Parliament.
History
While it was part of the socialist Yugoslavia, the Socialist Republic of Croatia had its own Constitution under the ...
protects freedom of expression
Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recogni ...
and freedom of the press
Freedom of the press or freedom of the media is the fundamental principle that communication and expression through various media, including printed and electronic News media, media, especially publication, published materials, should be conside ...
, bans censorship
Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...
, and guarantees the rights of journalists to report and to access information. It guarantees the right to correction, if legal rights are violated by published news.[Nada Buric]
Croatia #National Media Policies
, EJC Media Landscapes (no date, 2009/2010)
The media in Croatia are regulated by the Law on Media, the Law on Electronic Media, the Law on Croatian Radio-Television and the Law on the Right to Access Information. The Croatian legislation, including media law, has been harmonized with EU Law in the process of EU accession. The EU's Television Without Frontiers Directive
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication Media (communication), medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of Transmission (telecommunications), television tra ...
has been transposed in Croatia within the Law on Electronic Media and the Law on Media; the provisions of the 2007 EU Audiovisual Media Services Directive
Audiovisual (AV) is electronic media possessing both a sound and a visual component, such as slide-tape presentations, films, television programs, corporate conferencing, church services, and live theater productions.
Audiovisual service pro ...
have been included in the 2009 amendments to the Law on Electronic Media, including licenses for specialised media channels and non-for-profit municipal televisions and radio stations.[
The Croatian Criminal Code and Civil Code contain the provisions about ]defamation
Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defini ...
and libel
Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defini ...
. The burden of proof about libel has been shiften on the prosecutor since 2005. In 2005, four journalists were convicted to suspended prison sentences for libel; prison sentences for libel were then abolished in 2006.[
]Hate speech
Hate speech is defined by the ''Cambridge Dictionary'' as "public speech that expresses hate or encourages violence towards a person or group based on something such as race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation". Hate speech is "usually thoug ...
in Croatia leads to a maximum 5 years prison sentence. Insulting "the Republic of Croatia, its coat of arms, national anthem, or flag" is also punished with up to 3 years of prison.Freedom House
Freedom House is a non-profit, majority U.S. government funded organization in Washington, D.C., that conducts research and advocacy on democracy, political freedom, and human rights. Freedom House was founded in October 1941, and Wendell Wil ...
Croatia report
on Press Freedom 2015
In 2013 the Croatian parliament passed an amendment criminalising "vilification", intended as systematic and deliberate defamation
Defamation is the act of communicating to a third party false statements about a person, place or thing that results in damage to its reputation. It can be spoken (slander) or written (libel). It constitutes a tort or a crime. The legal defini ...
of a person, institution or legal entity. This was seen as worrying by media professionals, and later confirmed when an investigative reporter was fined in 2014. As IREX notes, "a journalist can be prosecuted even if reporting only verified facts if the judge thinks that the published facts are not 'in the public interest'".[
The OSCE Media Freedom Representative ]Dunja Mijatovic
Dunja ( sr-cyr, Дуња) is a Serbo-Croatian feminine given name which is in fact homonymous with the vocabulary word for " quince." It derives from the Russian pet form of the Greek name Evdokia. It is a popular name in Serbia, Croatia, and ...
qualified the Croatian legal definitions of "insult" and "shaming" as "vague, open to individual interpretation and, thus, prone to arbitrary application", calling for decriminalisation by stating that "Free speech should not be subject to criminal charges of any kind".
Access to information
Access may refer to:
Companies and organizations
* ACCESS (Australia), an Australian youth network
* Access (credit card), a former credit card in the United Kingdom
* Access Co., a Japanese software company
* Access Healthcare, an Indian BPO se ...
in Croatia is well-defined right, though limited by a proportionality and public interest tests. An independent information commissioner monitors its compliance.[ There have been concerns about the mindset of the administration tending to reduce the public to a passive recipient of information.][ Journalists also lack training and resources to access information: only 7% of Croatian journalists ever asked for access to official documents.][
The right to obtain corrections for all those whose rights or interests have been violated by information is enshrined in the Media Law; liability is upon editors-in-chief. In case of lack of correction, civil proceedings can be started.][
Media ownership information disclosure is mandatory in Croatia. Yet, nominal ownership often do not equate with control: in Croatia's dire economic situation, several publishing groups are on a lifeline by few major banks, often foreign ones. Information of basic vital financial data is not yet publicly available.][
Media concentration is prevented by the Media Law, establishing a 40% ceiling for ownership of general information dailies or weeklies. Cross-ownership of national electronic media is allowed by the Law on Electronic Media, if it does not trespass a 25% threshold at every territorial (region, county, city) level. Holders of national broadcasting licenses are prevented from owning newspapers with a daily circulation of above 3,000 copies, or more than 10% shares of a news agency, and vice versa. Radio and television licenses are mutually exclusive.
Holders of national and regional licences are forbidden from owning more than 30% share in similar media or local dailies in the broadcasting area.][
License requirements for the media are deemed minimal, since they apply only to broadcast media making use of a limited public good (radio frequencies).][ Other media only need to register and declare their ownership structure.][
Minority-language media receive subsidies through the Fund for Media Pluralisation (3% of HRT subscription fee). The Italian-language daily ]La Voce del Popolo
''La Voce del Popolo'' () is an Italian-language daily newspaper published by ''EDIT'' (''EDizioni ITaliane'') in the Croatian city of Rijeka.
History and profile
''La Voce del Popolo'' was first published in October 1944. The paper was supported ...
has a 70-years history, while Serbian-minority weekly Novosti has a reach that goes well beyond its community.[
]
Status and self-regulation of journalists
Public reputation of press journalists is low: a 2008 survey found 54% of respondents considering journalists to be influenced by political or economic interests.[Nada Buric]
Croatia #Print Media
, EJC Media Landscapes (no data)
No license is required to work as a journalist in Croatia, and the government has no way to exclude anyone from practicing journalism. Yet, journalists are in a more and more dire professional condition, due to growing job insecurity linked to the degeneration of the general economic conditions in the country. Pressures have been mounting, while respect for ethical standards is in decline. Journalists "have no time, no money, no incentives, and, very often, not even the inner drive required to produce good journalists", as summed up by IREX.[ Investigative journalism is more and more rare, while most journalism tend to be "superficial, sensationalist, tabloid-style, and copy/past".][ ]Advertorials
An advertorial is an advertisement in the form of editorial content. The term "advertorial" is a blend (see portmanteau) of the words "advertisement" and "editorial." Merriam-Webster dates the origin of the word to 1946.
In printed publications, ...
and infotainment
Infotainment (a portmanteau of ''information'' and ''entertainment''), also called soft news as a way to distinguish it from serious journalism or hard news, is a type of media, usually television or online, that provides a combination of infor ...
are also on the rise. In lack of specialised journalists, "experts" are often consulted, but they tend to be always the same and to simply confirm the journalist's position, rather than offering a variety of positions.[
Journalists in Croatia have salaries in line with other professions, though often not regular, and around 20-20% lower than in 2007/2008. The average salary is of $1,200, but in the local media it can go down to half of that. Freelancing is not enough to earn a living, and young journalists often have to pick up second or third jobs too.][
The ]Croatian Journalists' Association
The Croatian Journalists' Association ( hr, Hrvatsko novinarsko društvo 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 ha ...
(CJA) has adopted a Code of Ethics. The Ethical Council of the association checks the compliance with the Code and inquires upon its violations, though it can only adopt public statements.[ The CJA Code of Ethics is deemed one of the best of its kind, and often used as a point of reference in other countries in transition. Yet, defamation and hate speech, particularly online, remain beyond acceptable standards.][
The autonomy of journalists is to be guaranteed by individual media's bylaws, but as of 2010 only Jutarnji List has adopted a self-regulation about it.][
]
Media outlets
Advertising revenues in the Croatian media are in line with international standards (around 55% of their income), though their distribution is skewed towards the television market (up 75% of the total, in spite of 40% global averages).[
]
Print media
Croatia has over 800 registered print publications, of which 9 national dailies and around the same number of weeklies and biweeklies.[
There are several major daily newspapers in Croatia, including '' Jutarnji list'', '']Večernji list
''Večernji list'' (also known as ''Večernjak''; ) is a Croatian daily newspaper published in Zagreb.
History and profile
''Večernji list'' was started in Zagreb in 1959. Its ancestor ''Večernji vjesnik'' ("Evening Courier") appeared for the ...
'', ''Slobodna Dalmacija
''Slobodna Dalmacija'' () is a Croatian daily newspaper published in Split.
The first issue of ''Slobodna Dalmacija'' was published on 17 June 1943 by Tito's Partisans in an abandoned stone barn on Mosor, a mountain near Split, while the city ...
'', and '' Novi list''.
* The tabloid 24 sata occupies the leading position in the daily market, soon since having been launched in 2005 by the Austrian publisher Styria
Styria (german: Steiermark ; Serbo-Croatian and sl, ; hu, Stájerország) is a state (''Bundesland'') in the southeast of Austria. With an area of , Styria is the second largest state of Austria, after Lower Austria. Styria is bordered to ...
. 24 Sata aimed for the youth market, with short stories and abundant photographs, being also sold at a lower price than its competitors.[
* Jutarnji list and ]Večernji list
''Večernji list'' (also known as ''Večernjak''; ) is a Croatian daily newspaper published in Zagreb.
History and profile
''Večernji list'' was started in Zagreb in 1959. Its ancestor ''Večernji vjesnik'' ("Evening Courier") appeared for the ...
counted upon 16% of market share each (2005), before the arrival of 24 Sata. In 2009, they had an estimated volume of 100,000 copies sold per day.
* Jutarnji list started in 1997, published by Europapress Holding
Hanza Media (until July 1, 2016: Europapress Holding, or EPH) is the leading media company in Croatia and Southeast Europe, with 5 daily newspapers, more than 20 magazines, and 20 digital editions.
Hanza Media's consumer magazines are aimed at t ...
(EPH), who one year later sold 50% to WAZ. EPH remains the main published on the Croatian market, with two daily newspapers, weeklies Globus and Arena and Croatian editions of Playboy and Cosmopolitan.
* Večernji list
''Večernji list'' (also known as ''Večernjak''; ) is a Croatian daily newspaper published in Zagreb.
History and profile
''Večernji list'' was started in Zagreb in 1959. Its ancestor ''Večernji vjesnik'' ("Evening Courier") appeared for the ...
, once the leading state-owned daily, was bought by the Austrian publisher Styria Media Group
The Styria Media Group AG, often referred to as just Styria, is an Austrian media company founded in 1869 and based in Graz. The company is one of the largest media companies in Austria, Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, ...
in 2000. It maintained the traditional A3 format but adapted to a more tabloid-style layout.
* Slobodna Dalmacija
''Slobodna Dalmacija'' () is a Croatian daily newspaper published in Split.
The first issue of ''Slobodna Dalmacija'' was published on 17 June 1943 by Tito's Partisans in an abandoned stone barn on Mosor, a mountain near Split, while the city ...
is the fourth best-selling national newspaper, owing to its strong dominance (more than 50% of readers) in the Dalmatia
Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see #Name, names in other languages) is one of the four historical region, historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of ...
n region.
* Novi list, another regional-based daily, dominates in Rijeka
Rijeka ( , , ; also known as Fiume hu, Fiume, it, Fiume ; local Chakavian: ''Reka''; german: Sankt Veit am Flaum; sl, Reka) is the principal seaport and the third-largest city in Croatia (after Zagreb and Split). It is located in Primor ...
and scores a 5% overall readership.
* Vjesnik
''Vjesnik'' () was a Croatian state-owned daily newspaper published in Zagreb which ceased publication in April 2012. Originally established in 1940 as a wartime illegal publication of the Communist Party of Croatia, it later built and maintained ...
used to be the leading newspaper in Yugoslav Croatia for six decades. As a state-owned company, it used to publish all national newspapers. Today it remains on the market, though with a very limited readership (1%, 5,000 copies in 2009).[
In addition to these there are several regional dailies which are available throughout the country even though they mainly present regionally focused content. Examples of these are '']Glas Istre
''Glas Istre'' () is a Croatian regional daily newspaper published in Pula which mainly covers stories of interest from the Istria region in the northwest of the country. Established in 1943 as a regional newsletter of the Yugoslav Partisans, the ...
'', ''Glas Slavonije
''Glas Slavonije'' () is a Croatian daily newspaper published in Osijek
Osijek () is the fourth-largest city in Croatia, with a population of 96,848 in 2021. It is the largest city and the economic and cultural centre of the eastern Croatian r ...
'', ''Zadarski list
''Zadarski list'' is a Croatian daily newspaper. It is the first daily newspaper published in Zadar.
''Zadarski list'' started on 3 November 1994 as a weekly. At that time, it was focused on the news from Zadar and the Zadar County
Zadar Coun ...
'', ''Dubrovački vjesnik'', etc.
There are also several specialized dailies. ''Sportske novosti
''Sportske novosti'' () is a Croatian daily sports newspaper based in Zagreb.
It was established on 9 August 1945 as ''Ilustrirane fiskulturne novine'' weekly newspaper. Several months later, on 10 December 1945, its name got changed to ''Narodn ...
'' and ''SportPlus'' provide sports coverage, while '' Business.hr'' and ''Poslovni dnevnik
''Poslovni dnevnik'' () is a Croatian daily business newspaper published in Zagreb. The newspaper, billed as the first Croatian business daily, was originally launched in March 2004. The print edition is published five times a week, Monday through ...
'' cover financial and business-related topics.
The most popular weekly news magazine
A news magazine is a typed, printed, and published magazine, radio or television program, usually published weekly, consisting of articles about current events. News magazines generally discuss stories, in greater depth than do newspapers or new ...
was ''Globus
Globus is Latin for ''sphere'' or ''globe''. It may also refer to:
Business
* Globus Medical, a medical device company in Audubon, PA
* Globus (clothing retailer), an Indian clothing retail store
* Globus (company), a Swiss department store chai ...
'', but during the last couple of years '' 7Dnevno'' gained more popularity and has a wider circulation. The Archdiocese of Zagreb
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Zagreb ( hr, Zagrebačka nadbiskupija, la, Archidioecesis Zagrebiensis) is the central archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Croatia, centered in the capital city Zagreb. It is the metropolitan see of Croatia, an ...
also publishes ''Glas Koncila
''Glas Koncila'' is a Croatian, Roman Catholic, weekly newspaper published in Zagreb and distributed throughout the country, as well as among Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatian diaspora.
Publishing history
The newspaper (whose title ...
'', a weekly magazine dedicated to presenting a Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
perspective on current events and widely distributed in churches. ''Vijenac
''Vijenac'' (English: '' The Wreath'') is a biweekly magazine for literature, art and science, established in December 1993 and published by ''Matica hrvatska'', the central national cultural institution in Croatia.
Historical background
The ...
'' and ''Zarez
''Zarez'' ( en, The Comma) was a Croatian biweekly newsprint magazine covering literature, arts, culture and current affairs.
History and profile
''Zarez'' was established in 1999 after a group of intellectuals decided to break away from the g ...
'' are the two most influential bi-weekly magazines covering arts and culture. In addition, there is a wide selection of Croatian editions of international monthlies, such as ''Cosmopolitan
Cosmopolitan may refer to:
Food and drink
* Cosmopolitan (cocktail), also known as a "Cosmo"
History
* Rootless cosmopolitan, a Soviet derogatory epithet during Joseph Stalin's anti-Semitic campaign of 1949–1953
Hotels and resorts
* Cosmopoli ...
'', ''Elle
''Elle'' (stylized ''ELLE'') is a worldwide women's magazine of French origin that offers a mix of fashion and beauty content, together with culture, society and lifestyle. The title means "she" or "her" in French. ''Elle'' is considered the w ...
'', ''Grazia
''Grazia'' (; Italian for ''Grace'') is a weekly women's magazine that originated in Italy with international editions printed in Albania, Argentina, Australia, Bahrain, Bulgaria, China, Croatia, Colombia, France, Germany. Greece, Indonesia, I ...
'', ''Men's Health
''Men's Health'' (''MH''), published by Hearst, is the world's largest men's magazine brand, with 35 editions in 59 countries. It is also the best-selling men's magazine on U.S. newsstands.
Started as a men's health magazine by Rodale, Inc. ...
'', ''National Geographic
''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...
'', ''Le Monde diplomatique
''Le Monde diplomatique'' (meaning "The Diplomatic World" in French) is a French monthly newspaper offering analysis and opinion on politics, culture, and current affairs.
The publication is owned by Le Monde diplomatique SA, a subsidiary com ...
'', ''Playboy
''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother.
K ...
'', ''Reader's Digest
''Reader's Digest'' is an American general-interest family magazine, published ten times a year. Formerly based in Chappaqua, New York, it is now headquartered in midtown Manhattan. The magazine was founded in 1922 by DeWitt Wallace and his wi ...
'' and ''Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...
''.
No reliable numbers about print media circulation are available; the law mandates for it but foresees no penalty for inaction.[ Daily newspapers receive a preferential tax treatment, with an extra-low VAT (5%, compared to usual 25%). This has also given rise to concerns of arbitrary preference when compared with other Croatian media (non-dailies and non-print).][
Seven years of economic recession took a strong toll from the Croatian print media. Some of Croatian editions of international monthlies, like '']GEO
Geo- is a prefix derived from the Greek word ''γη'' or ''γαια'', meaning "earth", usually in the sense of "ground or land”.
GEO or Geo may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''GEO'' (magazine), a popular scientific magazine ...
'', were shut down. Advertising income halved, while daily circulation figures, at 300,000, are one third of their late 1990s values. The print media industry lost 40% of jobs since 2007, and employment and revenues figures will likely not be back before 2025. According to IREX, this points to "a contracted advertising market and a media management incapable of coping".[
Press outlets in Croatia fight for a small advertising market, thus following a trend towards more tabloid-like media. Commercial pressure discourages investigative reporting, in favour of full-colour layout filled with photographs and ads, and submits media outlets to pressure from advertisers and their business interests, with concerns about self-censorship.][ Trivialisation of contents pushes trust in media even lower down, leading to a further drop in circulation. Stronger dependence on the main advertisers (retail chains, pharmaceutics companies, and mobile phone operations) hinders the editorial independence of the media, creating a "pyramid of fear": "Journalists fear they will lose their jobs. Editors fear they will lose their position with owners. Owners fear losing advertising income."][
Printing facilities in Croatia are apolitical, privately owned, and only managed for business purposes. The presence of over-capacity and of cheaper press facilities in neighbouring countries favours customers' positions.][
Distribution is unrestricted. Yet, the national print distribution system is under a nearly-complete ]monopoly
A monopoly (from Greek language, Greek el, μόνος, mónos, single, alone, label=none and el, πωλεῖν, pōleîn, to sell, label=none), as described by Irving Fisher, is a market with the "absence of competition", creating a situati ...
, as a single distributor ( Tisak) covers 90% of the market and is owned by the country's wealthiest individual, who also owns Croatia's biggest company, Agrokor
Agrokor () was a conglomerate, largely centered in agribusiness, with headquarters in Zagreb, Croatia. Founded in 1976 as a flower grower, it became a joint stock company in 1989, with 100 percent ownership held by founder Ivica Todorić. It grea ...
, which is also the biggest advertiser and biggest advertising agency. Although this has not give rise to political pressure concerns, business pressures have been felt, since the distributor wanted to keep profits constant during the economic crisis, when the whole sector was at a loss. This led to a situation in which "distribution is suffocating the print industry".[
Ownership concentration in the print media market is an issue, with Europa Press Holding (43% - 2011 data) and Styria Verlag (46%) controlling the bulk of the market.][
]
Publishing
Radio broadcasting
Croatia is served by a large number of radio stations (158 active radio stations: 6 nationally licensed, and 152 local and regional ones[), with eight channels being broadcast on a national level. Four of these are operated by HRT (HR1, HR2, HR3 and Glas Hrvatske), in addition to two religious channels (the Croatian Catholic Radio ( Hrvatski Katolički Radio, HKR) and Radio Marija) and two for-profit privately owned stations ( Otvoreni Radio and ]Narodni Radio
narodni was a Croatian radio station broadcast nationally which played exclusively domestic music. It was the most listened-to radio station in the country in 2014.
, it was one of three radio stations with national concessions, along with Otvor ...
, the second only broadcasting music in Croatian). Antena Zagreb
Antenna ( antennas or antennae) may refer to:
Science and engineering
* Antenna (radio), also known as an aerial, a transducer designed to transmit or receive electromagnetic (e.g., TV or radio) waves
* Antennae Galaxies, the name of two collid ...
, relaunched in 2008 from the capital, soon reached a wide audience.[Nada Buric]
Croatia #Radio
, EJC Media Landscapes (no date)
While state-owned radio stations focus on news, politics, classical music and arts, private radios followed the model of maximising music air time, mixed with short news on the hour. 40% of radio stations are deemed under state ownership, particularly local and municipal ones that receive funds from local budgets. Radio reporting has improved after the syndication
Syndication may refer to:
* Broadcast syndication, where individual stations buy programs outside the network system
* Print syndication, where individual newspapers or magazines license news articles, columns, or comic strips
* Web syndication, ...
of news broadcasts by Radio Mreža (Radio Network), a NGO providing free-of-charge news services for smaller radio stations.[
]
Television broadcasting
Television remains the predominant source of information for Croatian citizens. Virtually all households have a colour television set, while instead half of the population do not read newspapers or listen to the radio. Croatia has 31 terrestrial TV channels: 10 national ones, and 21 local and regional ones.[
Television also controls the widest share of the advertising market (77%, or 700 million euros, in 2009).][Nada Buric]
Croatia
, EJC Media Landscapes (no date)
The principal television station
A television station is a set of equipment managed by a business, organisation or other entity, such as an amateur television (ATV) operator, that transmits video content and audio content via radio waves directly from a transmitter on the earth ...
in Croatia is HTV, the television branch of the Croatian Radiotelevision
''Hrvatska radiotelevizija'' (abbr. HRT), or Croatian Radiotelevision, is Croatia's public broadcasting company. It operates several radio and television channels, over a domestic transmitter network as well as satellite. HRT is divided into thr ...
(HRT), which is entirely state-owned
State ownership, also called government ownership and public ownership, is the ownership of an industry, asset, or enterprise by the state or a public body representing a community, as opposed to an individual or private party. Public ownersh ...
and a member of the European Broadcasting Union
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU; french: Union européenne de radio-télévision, links=no, UER) is an alliance of Public broadcasting, public service media organisations whose countries are within the European Broadcasting Area or who ar ...
. It is required by law to promote Croatian and provide programming which caters to all social groups in the country, and is mainly funded by a compulsory license fee (collected in monthly installments from all citizens owning a TV set, with a very high - 96% - collection rate), covering 50% of its budget, with additional revenue coming from advertising
Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...
(though dropping from 40% of its budget in 2010 to less than 15% in 2015). HRT budget transparency is still wanting.[ HTV currently broadcasts four ]free-to-air
Free-to-air (FTA) services are television (TV) and radio services broadcast in unencrypted form, allowing any person with the FTA Receiver, appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen to the content without requiring ...
channels available throughout the country (HTV1
HRT 1 (HTV 1, ''"Prvi program"'') is the first Croatian television channel, operated by Hrvatska Radiotelevizija. It is a generalist channel, whose diverse programming lineup includes documentaries, history, school, mosaics, news, sitcoms, movies, ...
, HTV2
HTV2, officially Vie Channel - HTV2, is a general entertainment channel broadcast by Ho Chi Minh City Television, in cooperation with the private entertainment brand Vie Channel.
History
HTV2 was born and broadcast experimentally on October 10 ...
, HTV3 and HTV4 ).
The appointment of board members of the public service broadcaster HRT by simple parliamentary majority leaves it vulnerable to political influences and pressures.[ HRT has also been criticised for partisanship (including the arbitrary suspension of programs and politicised staff decisions][ ), lack of flexibility, lack of spots, and excessive subscription fees (1.5% of the average salary); its transition to a public service broadcaster, though, is still seen throughout the region as a successful model, ensuring a respectable audience and financial stability.][
HTV channels trace their roots to RTV Zagreb which was established in 1956 as a regional division of ]Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
's national broadcaster JRT JRT may refer to: Broadcasters
* Yugoslav Radio Television (1956–1992)
* Shikoku Broadcasting, Japan (founded 1952)
Languages
* JRT (programming language), a 1980s implementation of Pascal
* Chakato language, spoken in Nigeria (ISO 639-3:k ...
. Their second channel was launched in 1972 and following the breakup of Yugoslavia
The breakup of Yugoslavia occurred as a result of a series of political upheavals and conflicts during the early 1990s. After a period of political and economic crisis in the 1980s, constituent republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yu ...
in 1990 RTV Zagreb was renamed HTV. Conversely, the channels became HTV1 and HTV2, with HTV3 added in 1994. Although a small number of local stations began operating in the 1980s, HTV had a monopoly
A monopoly (from Greek language, Greek el, μόνος, mónos, single, alone, label=none and el, πωλεῖν, pōleîn, to sell, label=none), as described by Irving Fisher, is a market with the "absence of competition", creating a situati ...
on national broadcasting until 2000 - until when it was also under strict political control by the government.
That year HTV3 was shut down and its frequency was taken by the privately owned Nova TV which had won the first public tender for a national-level 10-year broadcast license
A broadcast license is a type of spectrum license granting the licensee permission to use a portion of the radio frequency spectrum in a given geographical area for broadcasting purposes. The licenses generally include restrictions, which vary ...
in 1999. In 2003 a tender for the fourth national channel was offered, and was won by RTL Televizija
RTL (previously known as RTL Televizija) is a Croatian free-to-air television network founded on 30 April 2004. It was owned by the RTL Group from 2004 to 2022. Since 1 June 2022, it is owned by the CME Group. The logo consisted of three prima ...
, the Croatian subsidiary of the Bertelsmann
Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA () is a German private multinational conglomerate corporation based in Gütersloh, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is one of the world's largest media conglomerates, and is also active in the service sector and ...
-owned RTL Group
RTL Group (for "Radio Television Luxembourg") is a Luxembourg-based international media conglomerate, with another corporate centre in Cologne, Germany. The company operates 68 television channels and 31 radio stations in Germany, France and ...
, which came on air in 2004. After competing in the 2003 tender and losing to RTL, the media company Central European Media Enterprises
Central European Media Enterprises Ltd. (CME) is a media and entertainment company that operates television channels in Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia. Until its acquisition by PPF Group N.V. in October 2020, ...
bought Nova TV in August 2004 for €
The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists o ...
24 million. In April 2010 Nova TV's license was renewed for another 15 years.
In addition, in September 2010 the Electronic Media Council granted two new 15-year broadcast licenses in a tender for specialised nationally aired channels, won by Nova TV and RTL. The two new channels (Doma TV and RTL2) are expected to launch by Christmas 2010, and licenses alone will cost them HRK 450,000 (circa €
The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists o ...
60,000) per year.
Public and commercial TV channels have converged lately: the lighter approach of commercial channels (with movies, soap operas, games and entertainment) has been increasingly matched by state-owned channels, while commercial channels themselves have improved their news and information programmes, denting the HTV earlier monopoly. Advertisers have also increasingly shifted towards commercial channels.[
Apart from the nationally aired channels, there is a number (around 20) of regional and local television stations which lease county-level licenses. Although they are all privately owned, they are also in part state-funded as the Electronic Media Act stipulates that a percentage of HRT license fees collected from citizens must be invested into the development of local media outlets through Electronic Media Agency's Fund for Promoting Pluralism and Diversification of Electronic Media (''Fond za poticanje pluralizma i raznovrsnosti elektroničkih medija''). In 2009, the fund granted a total of HRK 31.4 million (]€
The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists o ...
4.3 million) or 3 percent of license fees collected, to 21 local TV channels and 147 radio stations. In 2010 the largest individual grant among television stations was received by VTV, a local channel based in Varaždin
)
, image_photo =
, image_skyline =
, image_flag = Flag of Varaždin.svg
, flag_size =
, image_seal =
, seal_size =
, image_shield = Grb_Grad ...
(HRK 1.1 million), while Radio Istra, a local station covering Istria
Istria ( ; Croatian language, Croatian and Slovene language, Slovene: ; ist, Eîstria; Istro-Romanian language, Istro-Romanian, Italian language, Italian and Venetian language, Venetian: ; formerly in Latin and in Ancient Greek) is the larges ...
, was the largest radio recipient with HRK 182,000.
Local stations with the biggest viewership and budgets are generally the ones based in large and medium-sized cities, such as OTV and Z1 stations in Zagreb, STV and TV Jadran
TV Jadran is a Croatian commercial television station, licensed to broadcast in Split-Dalmatia County.
It was launched in Split, Croatia, in late 1993 under the name of CATV as cable-only station. Few years later it received a broadcasting licens ...
in Split
Split(s) or The Split may refer to:
Places
* Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia
* Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay
* Split Island, Falkland Islands
* Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua
Arts, enterta ...
, ČKTV in Čakovec
Čakovec (; hu, Csáktornya; la, Aquama; german: Tschakathurn) is a city in northern Croatia, located around north of Zagreb, the Croatian capital. Čakovec is both the county seat and the largest city of Međimurje County, the northernmost, sm ...
, RiTV in Rijeka
Rijeka ( , , ; also known as Fiume hu, Fiume, it, Fiume ; local Chakavian: ''Reka''; german: Sankt Veit am Flaum; sl, Reka) is the principal seaport and the third-largest city in Croatia (after Zagreb and Split). It is located in Primor ...
, etc.
Cable television
Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with broa ...
(CATV) is also a popular method of programming delivery in Croatia, and is available in several large cities throughout the country. The biggest cable provider is B.net, established in 2007, which is available in Osijek
Osijek () is the fourth-largest city in Croatia, with a population of 96,848 in 2021. It is the largest city and the economic and cultural centre of the eastern Croatian region of Slavonia, as well as the administrative centre of Osijek-Baranja ...
, Rijeka, Solin
Solin (Latin and it, Salona; grc, Σαλώνα ) is a town in Dalmatia, Croatia. It is situated right northeast of Split, on the Adriatic Sea and the river Jadro.
Solin developed on the location of ancient city of ''Salona'', which was the ca ...
, Split, Velika Gorica
Velika Gorica (; meaning "Great Vineyard/Forest") is the largest and most populous city in Zagreb County, Croatia. According to the 2011 census the city itself has a population of 31,341, while the municipality has a population of 63,517 inhabita ...
, Zadar
Zadar ( , ; historically known as Zara (from Venetian and Italian: ); see also other names), is the oldest continuously inhabited Croatian city. It is situated on the Adriatic Sea, at the northwestern part of Ravni Kotari region. Zadar serv ...
and Zagreb. As of 2010 some 250,000 households are subscribed to B.net's cable packages. Internet Protocol television
Internet Protocol television (IPTV) is the delivery of television content over Internet Protocol (IP) networks. This is in contrast to delivery through traditional terrestrial, satellite, and cable television formats. Unlike downloaded media, ...
(IPTV) is also gaining ground in recent years, with most ISP
An Internet service provider (ISP) is an organization that provides services for accessing, using, or participating in the Internet. ISPs can be organized in various forms, such as commercial, community-owned, non-profit, or otherwise private ...
s offering a wide selection of channels very similar to cable packages.
A basic cable or IPTV package in Croatia traditionally includes:
*major Croatian channels (HTV1, HTV2, HTV3, HTV4, Nova TV and RTL)
*a mix of major networks from neighbouring countries (Bosnian OBN, FTV and Hayat, Serbian RTS SAT
RTS Svet (Serbian Cyrillic: РТС СBEТ, or RTS WORLD ( sr, РТС СBEТ/); Satellite program of RTS (/ )) is a Serbian satellite television channel. It is operated by RTS.
Audience
The channel is aimed at Serb
The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, ...
, Slovenian SLO1 and SLO2, Italian Rai 1
Rai 1 () is an Italian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by state-owned public broadcaster RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana. It is the company's flagship television channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream and general ...
and Rai 2
Rai 2 is an Italian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by state-owned public broadcaster RAI – Radiotelevisione italiana. It is the company's second television channel, and is known for broadcasting ''TG2'' news bulletins, talk ...
, Austrian ORF1
ORF 1 (''ORF eins'') is an Austrian public television channel owned by ORF. It was the first television channel in Austria, started in 1955.
ORF 1 is one of four public TV channels in Austria. It is funded by a mixture of advertising revenue an ...
and ORF2
ORF 2 (''ORF zwei'', formerly FS2) is an Austrian public television channel owned by ORF. It was launched on 11 September 1961 as a technical test programme. Today it is one of the four public TV channels in Austria.
ORF 2 is available vi ...
)
*a selection of local TV stations (OTV, Z1, ČKTV, STV, TV Jadran, etc.)
Analogue terrestrial television was switched off in Croatia on 5 October 2010 for national TV stations, although some local stations still broadcast analogue signal. HRT first started transmitting in digital programming in 1997 (in DVB-S
Digital Video Broadcasting – Satellite (DVB-S) is the original DVB standard for Satellite Television and dates from 1995, in its first release, while development lasted from 1993 to 1997. The first commercial applications was by Star TV in Asia ...
) and has since entirely switched its TV channels (HTV1, HTV2, HTV3 and HTV4), and three radio stations (HR1, HR2 and HR3) to digital format. The DVB-T
DVB-T, short for Digital Video Broadcasting – Terrestrial, is the DVB European-based consortium standard for the broadcast transmission of digital terrestrial television that was first published in 1997 and first broadcast in Singapore in Febr ...
format was first introduced in early 2002. The nine nationally broadcast free-to-air
Free-to-air (FTA) services are television (TV) and radio services broadcast in unencrypted form, allowing any person with the FTA Receiver, appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen to the content without requiring ...
channels (HTV1, HTV2, HTV3, HTV4, RTL, Nova TV...) were carried via a network of nine main transmitters built by the state-owned company Transmitters and Communications Ltd (''Odašiljači i veze'' or OiV; formerly a branch of HRT), completed in 2007 and covering about 70 percent of the country. The analogue switch-off process took place gradually region by region during 2010, starting with Istria
Istria ( ; Croatian language, Croatian and Slovene language, Slovene: ; ist, Eîstria; Istro-Romanian language, Istro-Romanian, Italian language, Italian and Venetian language, Venetian: ; formerly in Latin and in Ancient Greek) is the larges ...
and Rijeka
Rijeka ( , , ; also known as Fiume hu, Fiume, it, Fiume ; local Chakavian: ''Reka''; german: Sankt Veit am Flaum; sl, Reka) is the principal seaport and the third-largest city in Croatia (after Zagreb and Split). It is located in Primor ...
in January and ending with Zagreb
Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...
on 5 October 2010 when the entire country was converted to the DVB-T digital format.
Subsidies to the local broadcast media come from the Fund for Electronic Media Pluralisation, funded by the 3& of HRT subscription fees. The Fund finances "productions of public interest" of up to $120,000 for a total annual budget of 6 to 7 million $, with some aspects of positive discrimination towards minority-language media. It has lately become a lifeline for a good part of the local broadcast media.[
]
Cinema
Croatian cinema had big successes during Socialist Yugoslavia. After enduring hardship in the 1990s, cinema came back in the 2000s. Croatian cinema produced 6 to 9 feature movies each year, presented at festivals such as the Motovun Film Festival
The Motovun Film Festival is an annual film festival established in 1999 and held in the small town of Motovun, Croatia. It usually takes place over five or six days in late July or early August.
Overview
Motovun Film Festival is entirely dedic ...
, Zagreb Film Festival
Zagreb Film Festival (ZFF) is an annual film festival held since 2003 in Zagreb, Croatia. Focusing on promoting young and upcoming filmmaker, the festival is widely considered to be one of the most important and influential cultural events in Croa ...
and Pula Film Festival
Pula Film Festival ( hr, Pulski filmski festival) is an annual Croatian film festival, established in 1954. It is held in a Roman amphitheater known as the Pula Arena. Pula Film Festival is the oldest Croatian film festival and is usually held in ...
, as well as the ZagrebDox
ZagrebDox is an international documentary film festival taking place in Zagreb every year, in late February / early March. Launched in 2005, the festival is intended to provide audiences and experts insight into recent documentary films, stimulate ...
festival of documentaries.[
The Croatian Audiovisual Centre was established in 2008 as the strategic public agency for the audiovisual sector, tasked with professional training and the financing of production, distribution and promotion of audiovisual works.][
]
Internet
The Internet country code top-level domain
A country code top-level domain (ccTLD) is an Internet top-level domain generally used or reserved for a country, sovereign state, or dependent territory identified with a country code. All ASCII ccTLD identifiers are two letters long, and all t ...
for Croatia is and is administered by CARNET
A carnet may refer to:
in international law:
*A legal authorisation, usually in the context of document allowing the importation of certain goods to countries without paying customs duty. Three types exist:
** ATA Carnet, for temporary importation ...
(Croatian Academic and Research Network). Registrants are classified into a number of different groups with varying rules of domain registrations. Some verifiable form of connection to Croatia - such as being a Croatian citizen or a permanent resident, or a company registered in the country - is common to all of the categories except for the subdomain
In the Domain Name System (DNS) hierarchy, a subdomain is a domain that is a part of another (main) domain. For example, if a domain offered an online store as part of their website example.com, it might use the subdomain shop.example.com .
Ov ...
. Third level domains () are allowed to be registered by anyone in the world as long as they provide a local contact. As of 2009, half of Croatian households had access to internet, and 40% to broadband.[ New regulations plan to provide at least 1 Mbit/s broadband also in the rural areas; initial-level internet packages remain affordable, at around $40/month.][ 69% of the population used internet in 2014.][
the most visited websites are the Croatian version of ]Google
Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. ...
followed by news websites Net.hr and Index.hr
Index.hr is a Croatian tabloid online newspaper, launched in December 2002 and based in Zagreb. It was founded by Matija Babić and was originally designed as a news aggregation website, providing news content from Croatia, Serbia and Bosnia ...
and online editions of printed dailies '' Jutarnji list'' and '' 24sata''. As of December 2014, Croatia had 170 registered web portals, although many of them resort to "copy/paste journalism", mirroring contents.[
Around 60% of the population is active on Facebook and Twitter. Social media have proved a platform for off-line social engagement in Croatia, with the first "Facebook protests" organised by high school students in Autumn 2008, and other events leading to the removal of corrupted local politicians, e.g. in ]Sisak
Sisak (; hu, Sziszek ; also known by other alternative names) is a city in central Croatia, spanning the confluence of the Kupa, Sava and Odra rivers, southeast of the Croatian capital Zagreb, and is usually considered to be where the Posavin ...
. Two of the main appealing political groups for the young voters, the environmentalists of ORaH
Orah (Serbo-Croatian for "walnut") may refer to:
Places
Bosnia and Herzegovina
* Orah, Bileća, a village in Bileća, Republika Srpska
* Orah, Rudo, a village in Rudo, Republika Srpska
* Orah, Ravno, a village in Ravno, Federation of Bosnia and ...
and the anti-eviction Živi zid
The Key of Croatia ( hr, Ključ Hrvatske) is a populist political party in Croatia, formed out of an anti-eviction group of the same name. The party changed its name on 21 May 2022 from its then name Human Shield the group opposes foreclosures by ...
, are strongly based on the internet.[
In late 2013, Wikipedia in Croatian (''Wikipedija na hrvatskom jeziku'', also ''hr:wiki'') received attention from international media for promoting ]fascist
Fascism is a far-right, Authoritarianism, authoritarian, ultranationalism, ultra-nationalist political Political ideology, ideology and Political movement, movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and pol ...
, right-wing
Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, authorit ...
worldview as well as bias against Serbs of Croatia
The Serbs of Croatia ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, separator=" / ", Срби у Хрватској, Srbi u Hrvatskoj) or Croatian Serbs ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, separator=" / ", хрватски Срби, hrvatski Srbi) constitute the largest national minority in Croa ...
and Anti-LGBT propaganda by the means of historical revisionism
In historiography, historical revisionism is the reinterpretation of a historical account. It usually involves challenging the orthodox (established, accepted or traditional) views held by professional scholars about a historical event or times ...
and by negating or diluting the severity of crimes committed by the Ustaše
The Ustaše (), also known by anglicised versions Ustasha or Ustashe, was a Croats, Croatian Fascism, fascist and ultranationalism, ultranationalist organization active, as one organization, between 1929 and 1945, formally known as the Ustaš ...
regime (see Croatian Wikipedia
The Croatian Wikipedia ( hr, Wikipedija na hrvatskome jeziku) is the Croatian version of Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, started on February 16, 2003.
This version has articles and a total of edits have been made (live count). It has regi ...
).[Trolls hijack Wikipedia to turn articles against gays](_blank)
''Gay Star News'' this version has more than 200,000 articles, making it the 40th largest edition of Wikipedia.
Concentration of media ownership
Legal framework
The international standards in the field of media pluralism
Media pluralism defines the state of having a plurality of voices, opinions, and analyses in media systems (internal pluralism) or the coexistence of different and diverse types of medias and media support (external pluralism).
Media pluralism i ...
and diversity applied in Croatian media policy are those developed by the Council of Europe
The Council of Europe (CoE; french: Conseil de l'Europe, ) is an international organisation founded in the wake of World War II to uphold European Convention on Human Rights, human rights, democracy and the Law in Europe, rule of law in Europe. ...
, which defines pluralism and diversity in terms of structural (ownership) diversity in the media market and in terms of pluralism of ideas and cultural diversity.
After the year 2000, Croatia introduced a new set of media legislation, including measures to control mono-media and cross-media ownership concentration. The Media Law (2004) limits concentration in the printed media, while the Law on electronic media (2003) limits cross-media ownership.
Limiting concentration of media ownership
Concentration of media ownership (also known as media consolidation or media convergence) is a process whereby progressively fewer individuals or organizations control increasing shares of the mass media. Contemporary research demonstrates in ...
was one of the main objectives of the new media legislation adopted in 2003. In addition, in Croatia the issue of concentration is regulated by the Law on the Protection of Market Competition, a general law that in Article 18 forbids any kind of concentration that can endanger market competition.
A specific provision in the Media Act limits ownership concentration with regard to press outlets only: it is limited to media outlets whose market share in terms of total sold copies exceeds 40 percent.
National and regional licenses prevent licenses from having more than 30 percent share in similar media or in local daily newspapers in the broadcasting area.
The Law on Electronic Media, passed in 2003 and amended in 2007, 2008 and in 2009, to complete the transposition of the EU Audiovisual Directive
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
[ allows cross-media ownership of national electronic media, if the ownership does not exceed 25 percent. National broadcasting license excludes ownership in any daily newspapers with circulation above 3.000 or ownership of more than 10 percent in any news agency and vice versa.][ It also prevents advertising agencies holding more than 10 percent of shares in advertising agencies to hald shares in television or radio outlets.][ The law also defines the meaning of "connected/affiliated parties", meaning individuals connected through family, marriage, relatives, shareholders, etc. that are taken into consideration when determining media concentration.][
The 2009 amendments to the Law on Electronic Media extended the anti-concentration measures also to the Internet and other distributors/providers as well as to non-linear services, such as on-demand TV.][
The Agency for the Protection of Market Competition monitors and reviews all planned concentration in the media sector, regardless of the total revenue of the companies.][ Also the Council for Electronic Media must be notified of every change in the ownership structure.][ If the Agency finds a case of improper concentration, the broadcaster will be given a period of time to bring the structure within legal limits. In case of non-compliance, the Council for Electronic Media can revoke the concession.][
]
Media concentration in practice
Concentration of power held by a few main commercial players is among the main problems affecting media ownership in Croatia.[
According to the Media Pluralism Monitor (MPM) 2015, concentration of media ownership in Croatia scores a medium level of risk (49%).] The MPM report also finds out that legal safeguards preventing the concentration of media ownership are well monitored and implemented in the audiovisual and radio sector, but are not equally effective with regard to concentration in the print sector. Concentration can also be prevented via merger control rules, but the Agency for market competition protection does not regularly perform active monitoring. Even if it has started to conduct self-initiated investigations in cases of suspect ownership concentration, it usually continues mostly to react to companies' reports.[
Data on Croatia's media market and shares also shows that there are some issues with media ownership concentration. For instance, market share analysis shows that the main market sectors (audiovisual, radio, digital content providers) are highly concentrated, meaning that the top four media companies have more than 50% of the market.][
As for concentration of cross-media ownership, according to the MPM 2015, indicators shows a low level of risk.][ According to the Monitor, the authorities in charge of monitoring compliance with the rules do not use their powers in preventing concentration in all relevant cases.][
Media concentration in Croatia occurs in semi-legal ways, in the grey areas that are not properly regulated, typically in sectors that are not related to the media.][ In addition, new ways of concentration are practiced in order to diminish the costs and increase power, such as in the case of radio networks.][
Large media are widely owned by foreign owners: this is, for instance, the case of the television market (''RTL'', ''Nova''), press (''WAS'', ]Styria Media Group
The Styria Media Group AG, often referred to as just Styria, is an Austrian media company founded in 1869 and based in Graz. The company is one of the largest media companies in Austria, Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, ...
), and partly the internet market (''Deutsche Telecom''). The radio market is, on the contrary, mainly in domestic ownership.[ Press distribution and advertising, which keeps all commercial media alive, is mainly controlled by Tisak - the largest chain of newsstands in the country controlled by Croatian business ]Agrokor
Agrokor () was a conglomerate, largely centered in agribusiness, with headquarters in Zagreb, Croatia. Founded in 1976 as a flower grower, it became a joint stock company in 1989, with 100 percent ownership held by founder Ivica Todorić. It grea ...
.[
]
Media organisations
News agencies
The Croatian state still owns the main news agency, HINA
Hina may refer to:
People and deities
* Hina (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name
* Hina (chiefess), a name given to several noble ladies who lived in ancient Hawaii
* Hina (goddess), the name assigned to ...
(''Hrvatska Izvještajna Novinska Agencija''), founded in 1991 and providing 300 news items daily to all media in the country. HINA has adapted to market conditions, providing competitive and affordable wires for the national media. Several international news agencies operate in Croatia, including Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
(AP), Agence France Press
Agence France-Presse (AFP) is a French international news agency headquartered in Paris, France. Founded in 1835 as Havas, it is the world's oldest news agency.
AFP has regional headquarters in Nicosia, Montevideo, Hong Kong and Washington, D.C ...
(AFP) and Reuters
Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world.
The agency was estab ...
,[ but they remain prohibitively expensive for the local services.][
Other agencies are IKA (Informative Catholic Agency, owned by the Croatian Episcopal Conference) and ]STINA Stina is a feminine given name, common in the Nordic countries, and may refer to:
* Stina Aronson (1892–1956), Swedish writer
*Stina Berg (1869–1930), Swedish actress
* Stina Bergman (1888–1976), Swedish writer, translator, and screenwriter
* ...
, a regional private agency, specialized in diversity and minority reporting.[
The law requires all private commercial broadcastees to produce their own news programming. This has led to crisp and infotainment news, but also reaches bigger audiences. Local radios and TVs, though, that have not found the commercial potential of news, have complained against the obligation.][
Radijska Mreža, an independent radio news agency, broadcasts news daily and free-of-charge for regional radio stations.][
]
Trade unions
The ''Hrvatsko novinarsko društvo'' (HND), or Croatian Journalists' Association
The Croatian Journalists' Association ( hr, Hrvatsko novinarsko društvo 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 ha ...
(CJA), associates nearly all Croatian journalists (more than 3,000, of whose 60% in Zagreb). Founded in 1910, as one of the oldest professional associations in Croatia, it adhered in 1992 to the International Federation of Journalists
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is the largest global union federation of journalists' trade unions in the world. It represents more than 600,000 media workers from 187 organisations in 146 countries.
The IFJ is an associate ...
. The HND works together with the Trade Union of Croatian Journalists to protect journalists' labour and social rights.[
The HND has an almost unparalleled continuity in the region.; in the early 1990s it was pivotal in fostering the democratisation process and the respect of human rights in the country.][ Yet, its membership has been in decline, as the print media industry has lost 40% of its jobs during the crisis, while old and new journalists have been recruited based on part-time or freelance contracts, thus not meeting HND membership requirements.][
In 2015, '']Hrvatski novinari i publicisti
Croatian (; ' ) is the standard language, standardized Variety (linguistics)#Standard varieties, variety of the Serbo-Croatian pluricentric language used by Croats, principally in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Serbian province of Vojv ...
'' (HNiP) or Croatian Journalists and Publicists, was formed. The association has a small membership and has gained attention for its right-wing sentiments, one of its famous acts being the support of the former Croatian culture minister Zlatko Hasanbegović
Zlatko Hasanbegović (; born 14 June 1973) is a Croatian politician and historian who has served as a member of the Croatian Parliament since 2016. He served as Ministry of Culture and Media (Croatia), Minister of Culture in the cabinet of Tihomi ...
, after Hasanbegović was criticised by the Simon Wiesenthal Center
The Simon Wiesenthal Center (SWC) is a Jewish human rights organization established in 1977 by Rabbi Marvin Hier. The center is known for Holocaust research and remembrance, hunting Nazi war criminals, combating anti-Semitism, tolerance educat ...
for his comments on Croatia's history during World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
The '' Hrvatska udruga radija i novina'' (HURIN), or Croatian Association of Radio Stations and Newspapers, gathers 140 radio stations and 30 regional newspapers. The 16 largest publishers are members of the ''Udruga novinskih izdavača'' (Association of Newspaper Publishers), itself part of Croatian Employers' Association. Together with HURIN it covers about 80 percent of employees in Croatian media.[
NGOs that work for better media professional standards include ''Gong'' and ''B.a.B.e.''][
Publishers and editors are also united in associations, such as the Association of Publishers, the National Association of Television Stations, the Croatian Association of Radio and Newspapers, and the associations of commercial TV stations and of web portals.][
]
Regulatory authorities
The Croatian Parliament has a Committee for Information, ICT and Media, in which media issues are debated. The Committee takes part in legislative drafting about print and electronic media.[
The National Agency for Telecommunications of Croatia included a Telecommunications Users Council, to mediate out-of-court disputes between users and providers of telecommunications services. The Users Council also works as advisory body on consumers' rights protection. In 2009 the Agency disbanded the Users Council and directly took over its tasks.][
The main regulatory body for broadcasting is the government's Electronic Media Agency through its Electronic Media Council (''Vijeće za elektroničke medije'' or VEM), which is in charge of reviewing and granting all television and radio broadcast licenses and ensuring that programming is in line within the legal framework set in the ]Croatian Parliament
The Croatian Parliament ( hr, Hrvatski sabor) or the Sabor is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of Croatia. Under the terms of the Croatian Constitution, the Sabor represents the people and is vested with legislative power. The Sabor ...
's Electronic Media Act. This makes it the local equivalent of similar regulatory agencies such as the Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...
in the United States.
The Council for Electronic Media releases the broadcasting licenses, according to the Electronic Media Law; any change in ownership structure must be reported by publishers to the council, as well as to the Agency for the Protection of Market Competition. The council can issue warnings, file charges, make recommendations, and support self-regulation.[
Frequency allocation by the Agency has been transparent for some time; its main challenges still concern the independence of its members from the political arena (particularly in terms of their appointment) and the lack of expertise of its stuff, leading it to underestimate the need for alternative web radios too.][
]
Censorship and media freedom
The Constitution of the Republic of Croatia bans censorship.
In its recent history, Croatia has experienced most of the problems which are common in post-socialist states, including self-censorship, threats against journalists, pressure by advertisers and political actors, etc.
A common practice for exerting pressure over journalists in Croatia is to issue transfers, demotions and public warnings to editors and journalists for political reasons. Several distinguished journalists have had to move from one media outlet to another due to these pressures while unemployment among journalists is increasing. Many of these cases occurred in some of the most influential Croatian media outlets, i.e. the Croatian Public Television (HRT) and EPH/WAZ. Journalists that have moved to less prominent outlets have faced fewer restrictions with less pressure and censorship. Also, many journalists have left their profession at all, opting not to work in the field of media due to increasing pressure and restrictions and decreasing professionalism.
According to the organisation Index on Censorship
Index on Censorship is an organization campaigning for freedom of expression, which produces a quarterly magazine of the same name from London. It is directed by the non-profit-making Writers and Scholars International, Ltd (WSI) in association w ...
, since 2013 threats and attacks against journalists have been less serious. The Croatian Association of Journalists and the Organisation for Security Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) have asked to end impunity for crimes committed against journalists since they led to self-censorship, one of the primary threat to media freedom. One of the main factor leading to self-censorship in Croatia is libel laws.
Croatia ranked 63rd in the 2016 Press Freedom Index
The Press Freedom Index is an annual ranking of countries compiled and published by Reporters Without Borders since 2002 based upon the organisation's own assessment of the countries' press freedom records in the previous year. It intends to ...
report compiled by Reporters Without Borders
Reporters Without Borders (RWB; french: Reporters sans frontières; RSF) is an international non-profit and non-governmental organization with the stated aim of safeguarding the right to freedom of information. It describes its advocacy as found ...
, falling by 5 places if compared to the 2015 Index and halting the positive trend since 2009. Freedom House
Freedom House is a non-profit, majority U.S. government funded organization in Washington, D.C., that conducts research and advocacy on democracy, political freedom, and human rights. Freedom House was founded in October 1941, and Wendell Wil ...
ranks Croatia as "Partly Free", 80th over 199 countries, after Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...
and Montenegro
)
, image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Podgorica
, coordinates =
, largest_city = capital
, official_languages = M ...
and before Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...
and the Republic of Macedonia
North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Yugoslavia. It ...
.[
Although by now "a truly internalized value",][IREX]
Croatia
Media Sustainability Index
The International Research and Exchanges Board’s (IREX) 'Media Sustainability Index'' (MSI) is a tool to evaluate the global development of independent media. The MSI is one of the most important indices "to assess how media systems change over ...
2015 freedom of speech
Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recogni ...
in Croatia suffers from a certain fatigue in times of deep economic crisis, after many consecutive years of recession. New legislative measures, such as the 2013 norm on "vilification", seem to go in the wrong direction. Paradoxically, international pressures have eased after Croatia's accession to the European Union, and media freedom in the country is today deemed in a worse condition than in 2013.[
The ]European Federation of Journalists
The European Federation of Journalists is the European regional organisation of the International Federation of Journalists. It is the largest organisation of journalists in Europe, representing about 320,000 journalists in 71 journalists’ orga ...
, in cooperation with Croatia's HND and SNH associations, have established in July 2015 the Croatian Center for the Protection of Freedom of Expression to provide legal protection to journalists.
Attacks and threats against journalists
Crimes against journalists have declined in the recent years. Although no Croatian journalist has lost her/his life lately, threats against journalists persist. Yet, courts have lately started taking verbal threats more seriously too.[ 2015 marked a deterioration of the situation, with 14 cases reported between May and August alone, compared to the 24 cases in May 2014/May 2015.][Croatia: Unsolved threats and assaults underscore rapid deterioration of media freedom]
Index on Censorship, 28 August 2015
In 2011 the Association of Croatian Investigative Journalists (ACIJ) published a White Paper with 70 stories of censorship and intimidation against journalists since the early 1990s. Impunity
Impunity is avoidance of punishment, loss, or other negative consequences for an action. In the international law of human rights, impunity is failure to bring perpetrators of human rights violations to justice and, as such, itself constitutes a d ...
remains a big issue, due to lack of follow-up to police reports, prosecutors accusating assailants for minor charges (e.g. disturbance to peace rather than assault), and lack of investigations in the crime orchestrators rather than only in the hitmen. Journalists working on war crimes, organised crime and corruption have been particularly at risk.
* In 2008 two journalists, Ivo Pukanić
Ivo Pukanić (21 January 1961 – 23 October 2008) was a Croatian journalist. He was best known as editor-in-chief of the once influential Croatian political weekly ''Nacional''. In 2008, Pukanić was assassinated by members of Croatian and Serbi ...
and Niko Franjić were killed in a car bomb attack. The same year, Dušan Miljuš, an investigative journalist, was subject to an attempted murder.
* In 2010 the far-right Autochthonous Croatian Party of Rights
The Authentic Croatian Party of Rights ( hr, Autohtona-Hrvatska stranka prava or A-HSP) is a far right, and social conservative political party founded in Koprivnica, in 2005, after the merging of Croatian Rightists and Croatian Right Movement. ...
(A-HSP) publicly burned a copy of the minority publication '' Novosti''.
* In March 2014 the effigy of journalist Vinko Vuković was burned at the Omiš
Omiš (, Latin and it, Almissa) is a town and port in the Dalmatia region of Croatia, and is a municipality in the Split-Dalmatia County. The town is situated approximately south-east of Croatia's second largest city, Split. Its location is wh ...
carnival after he had reported on corruption in the town.[ A similar event happened one year later in ]Proložac
Proložac is a municipality in Split–Dalmatia County, Croatia. In the census of 2011 it had a population of 3,802, in the following settlements:
* Donji Proložac, population 1,511
* Gornji Proložac, population 346
* Postranje, population 1, ...
, targeting ''Slobodna Dalmacija
''Slobodna Dalmacija'' () is a Croatian daily newspaper published in Split.
The first issue of ''Slobodna Dalmacija'' was published on 17 June 1943 by Tito's Partisans in an abandoned stone barn on Mosor, a mountain near Split, while the city ...
'' reporter Ante Tomić. Tomić had already been attacked for his works.
* In June 2014, journalist Drago Pilsel
Drago Carlos Pilsel (born 21 September 1962) is an Argentine Croatian journalist and human rights activist.
Early years
Drago Pilsel was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina to a politically engaged family. His parents were Croatian immigrants who came ...
received a death threat after reporting about Dario Kordić
Dario Kordić (born 14 December 1960) is a Bosnian Croat former politician from the Croatian Democratic Union, military commander of the Croatian Defence Council (HVO) between 1992 and 1994, vice president of the Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosn ...
, a war criminal who had recently been released from prison.[
* In August 2014, the journalist and activist Domagoj Margetić was assaulted and beaten by a group of persons near his house in ]Zagreb
Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...
.[ The case was characterised by the prosecutor as attempted murder][
* In October 2014 a drug dealer in ]Rijeka
Rijeka ( , , ; also known as Fiume hu, Fiume, it, Fiume ; local Chakavian: ''Reka''; german: Sankt Veit am Flaum; sl, Reka) is the principal seaport and the third-largest city in Croatia (after Zagreb and Split). It is located in Primor ...
was sentenced to eight months in prison for a death threat against a local journalist.[
* The same month, ]Karlovac
Karlovac () is a city in central Croatia. According to the 2011 census, its population was 55,705.
Karlovac is the administrative centre of Karlovac County. The city is located on the Zagreb- Rijeka highway and railway line, south-west of Zagre ...
-based investigative journalist Željko Peratović (winner of the 2014 Croatian Journalists Association award for investigative journalism) was physically attacked at his home and hospitalized with head injuries. Three suspects are investigated. The OSCE Media Freedom representative condemned the events.[Journalists attacked, threatened in Croatia and Macedonia]
, 29 May 2015 Peratovic had been sued by the Interior Ministry in 2010-2011 for its reports on war crimes investigations.
*In July 2015, the graphic designer of '' Hrvatski tjednik'' was physically assaulted by two men who tried to choke him on a wire and threatened him with a gun to his head within the newspapers' premises in Zadar
Zadar ( , ; historically known as Zara (from Venetian and Italian: ); see also other names), is the oldest continuously inhabited Croatian city. It is situated on the Adriatic Sea, at the northwestern part of Ravni Kotari region. Zadar serv ...
. The assault led to destruction of the newspapers' premises. The HND head Lekovic decried the event as an attack on the freedom of expression. H-Alter journalist Hrvoje Simicevic was also assaulted.[
* Death threats were addressed in 2015, among others not made public,][ to Katarina Maric Banje, journalist for '']Slobodna Dalmacija
''Slobodna Dalmacija'' () is a Croatian daily newspaper published in Split.
The first issue of ''Slobodna Dalmacija'' was published on 17 June 1943 by Tito's Partisans in an abandoned stone barn on Mosor, a mountain near Split, while the city ...
'', Drago Pilsel, editor-in-chief of the ''Autograf'' website, Domagoj Mikić, journalist with Nova TV, and Sasa Lekovic, president of the Croatian Journalists' Association. All the cases have remained unsolved.
Political and economic interferences
Cases of political pressures, censorship
Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...
and self-censorship
Self-censorship is the act of censoring or classifying one's own discourse. This is done out of fear of, or deference to, the sensibilities or preferences (actual or perceived) of others and without overt pressure from any specific party or insti ...
are still reported in Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capit ...
. While physical integrity of journalists is not at stake, more subtle political and business pressures and the lack of job security still hinder the editorial independence of the Croatian media and foster self-censorship
Self-censorship is the act of censoring or classifying one's own discourse. This is done out of fear of, or deference to, the sensibilities or preferences (actual or perceived) of others and without overt pressure from any specific party or insti ...
among their journalists. The appointment of board members of the public service broadcaster HRT by simple parliamentary majority leaves it vulnerable to political influences and pressures.[
* In May 2014, ]Index.hr
Index.hr is a Croatian tabloid online newspaper, launched in December 2002 and based in Zagreb. It was founded by Matija Babić and was originally designed as a news aggregation website, providing news content from Croatia, Serbia and Bosnia ...
was scrutinised by the authorities after it had critically reported on Croatia's financial issues, in a move that was deemed punitive.[ An Index.hr journalist also had problems receiving information from the ]Split
Split(s) or The Split may refer to:
Places
* Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia
* Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay
* Split Island, Falkland Islands
* Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua
Arts, enterta ...
mayor in May 2014 after he had published critical articles on the town administration.[
*In October 2015, the president of the ]Croatian Football Federation
The Croatian Football Federation ( hr, Hrvatski nogometni savez, HNS) is the governing body of association football in Croatia. It was originally formed in 1912 and is based in the capital city of Zagreb. The organisation is a member of both FIF ...
(HNS), Davor Šuker
Davor Šuker (; born 1 January 1968) is a Croatian football administrator and former Association football, footballer who played as a Striker (association football), striker. He served as president of the Croatian Football Federation from 2012 t ...
, banned the representatives of ''Index.hr
Index.hr is a Croatian tabloid online newspaper, launched in December 2002 and based in Zagreb. It was founded by Matija Babić and was originally designed as a news aggregation website, providing news content from Croatia, Serbia and Bosnia ...
'' from a press conference in Zagreb, confiscating one of their mobile phones. Index.hr had already been banned from HNS sport and press events, since the Federation was not pleased with the media reporting on the appointment of Ante Cacic as coach. The HND condemned the behaviour and reiterated the call to lift the ban on Index.hr professionals.
*In October 2015, two op-eds by Damir Pilic, long-time columnist of ''Slobodna Dalmacija
''Slobodna Dalmacija'' () is a Croatian daily newspaper published in Split.
The first issue of ''Slobodna Dalmacija'' was published on 17 June 1943 by Tito's Partisans in an abandoned stone barn on Mosor, a mountain near Split, while the city ...
'', were dismissed by the editorial board, possibly because of inconsistency with the editorial line of the newspaper, increasingly leaning towards the right in the contest of the upcoming general elections. The op-eds concerned the internal politics of the HDZ party, and Europe's influence on the USA/Russia disputes.
Media ownership in Croatia still carries several issues. Tycoons use editorial policy as a long-arm of their own business interests, while journalists try to anticipate their wishes, thus resorting to self-censorship
Self-censorship is the act of censoring or classifying one's own discourse. This is done out of fear of, or deference to, the sensibilities or preferences (actual or perceived) of others and without overt pressure from any specific party or insti ...
and partisan journalism.
* In late 2014 a major publisher changed ownership, being acquired by a wealthy lawyer. The leading media company's daily a couple of days ago published a laudatory interview with Zagreb
Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...
mayor Milan Bandić
Milan Bandić (22 November 1955 – 28 February 2021) was a Croatian politician and the longest-serving List of mayors of Zagreb, mayor of Zagreb, the capital of Croatia. Bandić was mayor almost continuously from 2000 to 2021, except during the ...
, omitting that he had just been released from prison on a 4 million dollars bail, paid privately by his lawyer - the publisher's new owner.[
The Catholic Church, the war veterans and the biggest advertisers are still deemed "sensitive topics" in Croatian journalism. International politics gets limited coverage - and mostly reactive - while social issues (unemployment, depopulation, lack of use of EU funds) do not receive enough coverage either.][
* In January 2016, a journalist from the '' Novosti'' magazine was sanctioned by the ]Croatian Journalists' Association
The Croatian Journalists' Association ( hr, Hrvatsko novinarsko društvo 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 ha ...
for a satirical version of the national anthem
A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European n ...
, published a couple of days after the Veterans' Day.
Those local media that are partly owned by local governments receive benefits in kind, such as free office spaces. In turn, they tend not to be critical of the authorities they live off.[ Local media also benefit from a norm requiring local governments to invest at least 15% of their advertising budgets in local commercial media.][
* In October 2015 Journalists have protested against obstruction of their work by police forces in the context of the refugee crisis. The Croatian border police had prevented a number of journalists, including from ]Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera ( ar, الجزيرة, translit-std=DIN, translit=al-jazīrah, , "The Island") is a state-owned Arabic-language international radio and TV broadcaster of Qatar. It is based in Doha and operated by the media conglomerate Al Jazeera ...
, Reuters
Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world.
The agency was estab ...
and Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
, from reporting from the border area. Some equipment had been initially confiscated. Two journalists from AFP and Reuters have accused the police of physically attacking them; the authorities claimed they had entered the country illegally.
Civil defamation lawsuits
According to the Croatian Journalists' Association (HND), as of April 2014 there were more than 40 pending criminal cases against journalists for defamation and insult.[
* The private RTL television station was sued by ]Zagreb
Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...
mayor Milan Bandić
Milan Bandić (22 November 1955 – 28 February 2021) was a Croatian politician and the longest-serving List of mayors of Zagreb, mayor of Zagreb, the capital of Croatia. Bandić was mayor almost continuously from 2000 to 2021, except during the ...
after it broadcast an interview in 2013 in which PM Zoran Milanović
Zoran Milanović (; born 30 October 1966) is a Croatian politician serving as President of Croatia since 19 February 2020. Prior to assuming the presidency, he was prime minister from 2011 to 2016 and president of the Social Democratic Party f ...
accused Bandić of corruption. In September 2014 the Zagreb municipal civil court found RTL guilty and ordered it to pay 50,000 kuna (ca. $8,400) to Bandic.[
* Slavica Lukić was the first Croatian journalist to be convicted for "vilification" after the new provision was inserted in the Criminal Code in 2013. She had reported that the medical company Medikol faced economic troubles, notwithstanding state subsidies. She was fined 26,000 kuna ($4,700).][
]
Smear campaigns
* In March 2014, government officials publicly tried to discredit journalist Danka Derifaj Danka may refer to:
*A family affiliated with a Buddhist temple in Japan, or '' danka''.
People with the given name
*Danka Barteková (born 1984), Slovak skeet shooter
*Danka Kovinić (born 1994), Montenegrin professional tennis player
*Danka Pod ...
after she had reported on patronage and nepotism in the local administration of Jastrebarsko
Jastrebarsko (; hu, Jaska), colloquially known as Jaska, is a town in Zagreb County, Croatia.
History
Antiquity
In 1865, remnants of a Roman settlement were uncovered in Repišće, Klinča Sela, a village in Jastrebarsko metropolitan area ...
.[
]
Freedom on the internet
* A citizen was arrested and fined in July 2014 in Đakovo
Đakovo (; hu, Diakovár) is a town in the region of Slavonia, Croatia. Đakovo is the centre of the fertile and rich Đakovo region ( hr, Đakovština ).
Etymology
The etymology of the name is the gr, διάκος (diákos) in Slavic form đ ...
for offending and patronizing police officers on Facebook. The OSCE Media Freedom representative stigmatised the event, calling for legislative review to decriminalise insult and libel, calling it "unacceptable to arrest, fine or imprison people for their views, regardless of how, when and where they are expressed".OSCE RFoM
July 2014
See also
*Telecommunications in Croatia
Telecommunications in Croatia covers fixed and mobile telephones, radio, television, and the Internet.
Telephones
* Main lines in use: 1.9 million (2009).
* Mobile cellular: 6.0 million (2009).
* Mobile Network operator, operators:
**T-Hrvatski ...
*List of radio stations in Croatia
The following is a list of radio stations in Croatia.
National coverage HRT
* Hrvatski radio - 1. program
* Hrvatski radio - 2. program
* Hrvatski radio - 3. program
Private radio stations
* Hrvatski katolički radio
* bravo!
* Otvoren ...
*List of newspapers in Croatia
Below is a list of newspapers published in Croatia.
List of publications
;National dailies
*'' 24sata'' (est. 2005, based in Zagreb; number one tabloid in the country in terms of circulation)
*'' Jutarnji list'' (est. 1998, based in Zagreb)
*'' ...
*List of magazines in Croatia
List of magazines in Croatia is an incomplete list of magazines published in Croatia.
Contemporary
Magazines
*'' BUG'' (1992), monthly computer magazine
*''Drvo znanja'' (1998), monthly youth magazine
*''Globus'' (1990), weekly newsmagazine
*' ...
*List of Croatian language television channels
This is a list of television channels that broadcast in Croatian.
Croatia
{{main, Television in Croatia
Bosnia and Herzegovina
* RTV Herceg-Bosne - from Mostar, seen in Bosnia and Herzegovina
* Posavina TV - from Brčko, seen in Posavina
* ...
References
Further reading
*
External links
Croatia
at the Reporters Without Borders
Reporters Without Borders (RWB; french: Reporters sans frontières; RSF) is an international non-profit and non-governmental organization with the stated aim of safeguarding the right to freedom of information. It describes its advocacy as found ...
website
Croatia
at PressReference.com
{{Europe topic, Media of
Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capit ...
Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capit ...