Naslov
Civil Society, Media and the Public Sphere: The Croatian Case

Autori
Popović, Helena

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Ocjenski radovi, magistarski rad

Fakultet
Central European University

Mjesto
Budimpešta

Datum
14.06

Godina
2005

Stranica
70

Mentor
Prof. dr. Fuchs, Martin

Neposredni voditelj
Prof. dr. Dor, Daniel

Ključne riječi
civil society; media; public sphere; civic engagement; democracy

Sažetak
This pilot research focuses on the interplay between the media and civil society in Croatia. As civil society is a sphere of free civic engagement, its role in participating in public debates is crucial as a democratic institution. However, in a post-socialist context, these practices are still underdeveloped. As research shows, civil society faces several problems, one of which is communication and the presentation of ideas in the public sphere. In resolving this problem, the media have an important function, due to their facilitating role in mediating messages of different social agents. The question is: why are civil society agents underrepresented in the Croatian media? In order to answer this question, I conducted a focus group discussion with ten media representatives reporting on civil society activities, or closely involved in civil society issues in Croatia. The findings show that media representatives conceived the role of the media as crucial in facilitating public debates, they even questioned the possibility of the existence of a public sphere without the media. However, the overall importance of civil society as a democratic institution, and the input of civil society agents in the public debate were not recognized, with the exception of a few non-governmental organizations visible in the public sphere. The research also shows that concepts and generalizations as well as the attempt to apply them accordingly are contextual and can, thus only partially provide explanations of dynamics occurring in specific social settings.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Sociologija

POVEZANOST RADA