The mass media in Croatia refers to mass media outlets based in Croatia. Television, magazines, and newspapers are all operated by both state-owned and for-profit corporations which depend on advertising, subscription, and other sales-related revenues. The Constitution of Croatia guarantees freedom of speech and Croatia ranked 63rd in the 2016 Press Freedom Index report compiled by Reporters Without Borders, falling by 5 places compared to the 2015 Index.
In broadcasting, the government-funded corporation Croatian Radiotelevision (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 in 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 licenses at the national and county levels was adopted. The first national for-profit channel, Nova TV, was 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 and Austrian Styria Media Group companies, which publish their flagship dailies Jutarnji list, Večernji list and 24sata. Other widely read national dailies are Novi list and the government-owned Vjesnik. The most popular current affairs weekly is Globus, along with a number of specialized 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, Profil, VBZ, Algoritam and Mozaik; 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, with films often being co-produced by HRT. The ministry also sponsors the Pula Film Festival, the annual national film awards, and a variety of specialised international film festivals such as Animafest and ZagrebDox, which often feature programs showcasing works by local filmmakers.
Internet is in widespread use in Croatia, with approximately 63% of the population having access from home in 2012.
History In May 1990, following Franjo Tuđman's election victory, he and his ruling Croatian Democratic Union party began a takeover of radio and television stations in Croatia. In June 1990, the Parliament of Croatia renamed the country's national broadcaster from Radio Television Zagreb () to Croatian Radiotelevision (). The HDZ-majority Croatian Parliament soon appointed party loyalists to top managerial and editorial positions at the broadcaster. During this time, government-owned media was used to foment ethnic hatred in the midst of the Yugoslav wars. Publications were closed for political reasons under the pretext of privatization or restructuring.
Following Tudjman's death in 1999 and the defeat of the HDZ in the 2000 elections, media began to be liberalized.
In the early 1990s, the democratization process was accompanied by the strong role of the Croatian Journalists' Association (HND/CJA) as well as of Europapress Holding, the main publishing group. The latter recently faced a serious economic crisis also due to oversized ambitions. Similarly, cult station Radio 101 lately turned into a standard commercial broadcaster after a murky privatisation process.
Legislative framework The Constitution of Croatia protects freedom of expression and freedom of the press, bans censorship, 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 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 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 provisions about defamation and libel. The burden of proof about libel has been shifted to 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 in Croatia leads to a maximum five-year prison sentence. Insulting "the Republic of Croatia, its coat of arms, national anthem, or flag" is also punishable with up to three years in prison.Freedom House, Croatia report on Press Freedom 2015
In 2013 the Croatian parliament passed an amendment criminalizing "vilification", intended as systematic and deliberate defamation 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'".
OSCE Media Freedom Representative Dunja Mijatovic characterized 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".OSCE RFoM, 2014
Access to information in Croatia is a well-defined right, though limited by 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 does not equate to control: in Croatia's dire economic situation, several publishing groups are on lifelines extended 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 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 considered 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 ever rarer, while most journalism tends to be "superficial, sensationalist, tabloid-style, and copy/paste". Advertorials and infotainment 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 (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 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, Slobodna Dalmacija, 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. 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 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 (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, once the leading state-owned daily, was bought by the Austrian publisher Styria Media Group in 2000. It maintained the traditional A3 format but adapted to a more tabloid-style layout.