European Elections in Croatian Media: A Content Analysis of Press Reports About the 2013 European Elections in Croatia Cover Image

Izbori za Europski parlament u hrvatskim medijima: analiza sadržaja izvještavanja tiska o europskim izborima 2013. u Hrvatskoj
European Elections in Croatian Media: A Content Analysis of Press Reports About the 2013 European Elections in Croatia

Author(s): Marijana Grbeša, Tihana Tomičić
Subject(s): Media studies, Governance, Communication studies, Electoral systems
Published by: Fakultet političkih znanosti u Zagrebu
Keywords: European elections; European Parliament; Croatia; content analysis; newspapers;

Summary/Abstract: The first European elections, held in Croatia on 14 April 2013, were marked by the victory of the oppositional right-wing coalition, the new electoral system and an extremely low turnout. This paper examines the extent and ways the media in Croatia have covered the country’s first European elections. It builds on the discussion concerning the contribution of the reporting of the national media in EU member states and the ways it fosters the perception of the European elections as a “second-order national competition”. Analysis of the articles published in Jutarnji list, Večernji list and Novi list reveals that the patterns detected in Croatia to a great extent substantiate the findings from other EU countries, primarily in terms of the relatively low visibility of European elections in national newspapers and the dominance of domestic actors in news reports as compared to the presence of European actors. It also reveals that Croatian newspapers have completely failed in informing the citizens about the new electoral system and more importantly, about the role and the work of the European Parliament.

  • Issue Year: 5/2014
  • Issue No: 9
  • Page Range: 19-42
  • Page Count: 24
  • Language: Croatian