//RESEARCH/UNESCO media development indicators

RESEARCH

UNESCO Media Development Indicators in Croatian Media Landscape and Policy (2008-2009)

Media development indicators are among the most important recent achievements of the UNESCO Intergovernmental program for the development of communication (IPDC), adopted in March 2008. The application of the indicators of media development will facilitate investment and projects in media development activities. For the transition and newly consolidated democracies (and Croatia can be seen to belong to both groups) the value of the indicators is in the accurate understanding of the state of media development and the steps needed by public policies and in self-regulation of the media and further development of the journalistic profession.

The long term objective of our project of Implementing UNESCO media development indicators in Croatia is in building up the structure for regular monitoring of media development in Croatia, particularly media pluralism and diversity, contributing to the sustainable media development and its contribution to good governance

The adjustments of the Croatian media systems to a democratic political system with free market economy started with the transition in the nineties, but the consensus to embrace the pluralistic paradigm was reached only after 2000. With the acceptance of Croatian application for membership in the EU, Croatian media policy entered its third phase, increasingly aware of the globalization and integration context.

Pluralism and diversity of the media is today one of the most important issues of Croatian media development. While the basic issues of the freedom of expression have been mainly solved (although this issue is constantly re-examined in Croatia as in other countries, in relation to the competition with the right to privacy, the responsibility of the media, etc.), and the issue of media pluralism and diversity recognized as one of main foci of media policy, the implementation and monitoring of the state of media pluralism is not well developed.

Pluralism and diversity of media companies is a necessary ingredient of a well developed media system. In addition to structural diversity (of owners, companies, types of media, different territorial outreach - from local to national), diversity and pluralism need to be reflected within media programs, in order to enable the development of a democratic society.

The application of the indicators of media development in Croatia will enable accurate understanding of the state of media development and the steps needed by public policies and in self-regulation of the media and further development of the media system and the journalistic profession.

Project framework:

  • The analysis of the Croatian media landscape by the application of the indicators of media development. This activity will allow the testing of the availability of data and its quality (statistical and other) which answer to the specific criteria in the indicators of media development. This phase will also test the indicators from a methodological standpoint, and relate the findings to other methods of media development analysis.


  • An international conference "UNESCO Media development indicators: Monitoring media development in Croatia" will be held in Zagreb on 25 September, 2009. The results of the analysis of the Croatian media landscape and the experience of the implementation of the indicators will be presented. The conference participants will be academics, researchers, the media, policy-makers and other interested experts from Croatia and abroad, especially the immediate region. The conference will initiate a debate on the state of development of the media and their role in the society, on the steps needed in ensuring regular and systematic data collection on the Croatian media landscape, on the possible intervention of public policy in the insurance of the democratic role of the media.
  • A book will be published with the results of the analysis of the UNESCO indicators of media development in the Croatian mediascape, and the experiences in their implementation.

Project is led by Professor Zrinjka Peruško , with participation of leading Croatian media scholars.

For more information on the UNESCO Media Development Indicators please visit this page.