Croatia: building democracy, free press

Check Out! International News Libraries

By Dana G. Williams
freedomforum.org

06.06.01

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Gordana Vilovic, librarian at The Freedom Forum Journalism Library in Zagreb since 1996. After finishing her political science degree at Zagreb University, Vilovic worked as a journalist at a local monthly newspaper, Maksimir, serving as editor in chief from 1985-1990. In 1992, she received a journalism degree from the university. After the war in Croatia began, Vilovic began working for the Red Cross and Red Crescent delegation in Croatia. There she provided analyses of Croatian media for the information department. She is pursuing a master's degree in media and foreign policy at Zagreb University.

Democracy and press freedom often go hand in hand, but it takes time for newly independent governments to shape idealistic goals into law. As Croatia builds its democracy, it also builds the ethics and standards of its news media.

"Right now the most controversial issue in Croatian media is the low level of professionalism," said Gordana Vilovic, librarian for The Freedom Forum Journalism Library in Zagreb. "Croatian journalists often have problems approaching a news story fairly and without bias because of the influence of political parties on the news media or because most journalists lack a college education that would teach them about such issues."

The Freedom Forum Journalism Library helps the Croatian press move toward independence and higher journalistic standards by serving as a resource and teaching tool for both novice and veteran journalists. Open since 1994, the library is located at the University of Zagreb in the political science building, which houses the university's journalism department.

The library might fairly be called cozy. As with most of The Freedom Forum international news libraries, a lot of activity and materials are squeezed into a small space. Because of its size and level of activity, it's not the usual silent and studious scene. The library serves as a forum for discussion and debate, as well as a research facility.

"The library is small, and students and professors who visit are always discussing current media and political issues in the world and in Croatia," Vilovic said.

Despite its small size, almost 1,200 people visited the library last year. The library is popular with local and foreign journalists, students, professors, Fulbright scholars and the public. The free Internet access and U.S. magazines are among the most sought-after resources in the library because they are still very costly for Croatians. The library also sponsors programs addressing some of the growing concerns in the Croatian media today, Vilovic said.

In a recent paper she co-authored with Stjepan Malovic, a professor and vice dean of the faculty of political science at the university, Vilovic observed that news media in Croatia are in constant flux. Information about who owns the media often changes from month to month. "Every piece of information becomes outdated, especially the data about staffing, ownership and printing runs," she said.

Many media organizations conceal information about their businesses, so the owner of the largest daily circulation newspaper might be completely unknown to the Croatian public. The result is that no one really knows who is making major decisions at news organizations and influencing content and coverage in Croatia.

Journalists using Freedom Forum Journalism Library in Croatia. The Freedom Forum works to support press freedom in 76 countries through programs at its four international centers (London, Hong Kong, Johannesburg and Buenos Aires); the resources of its 16 international news libraries around the world; annual media forums on four continents; and conferences, partnerships, scholarships and fellowships.

Political parties and special-interest groups often have obvious influence over particular newspapers, which makes it difficult for Croatian citizens to obtain unbiased news. To help address concerns about bias, the Zagreb library has made a special priority of issues of fairness, bias, and accepted journalistic standards for reporting.

The library has offered seminars, courses and workshops in conjunction with the International Center for Journalism Education and the Croatian Journalists' Association. These programs have touched on issues as basic as newswriting and as complex as the use of war propaganda in the media. Speakers have included local bureau chiefs, Croatian television executives, news editors, scholars and columnists.

The treatment of minorities, particularly the Serbs, by the Croatian media has been one of the major fairness issues discussed in these programs.

"During the last 10 years, Serbs, as the minority, were not treated as full citizens in the Croatian media, especially at the beginning of the war in Croatia," Vilovic said. "From 1991 to 1996, we found that Croatian media did not treat other nationalities in a decent way. Some media, mostly state-owned media, used hate speech in everyday reporting."

Although the situation improved after the war, Vilovic continues to make media ethics a priority in the classes she teaches at the library. To complement these discussions, the library published two books, Training for Better Media and Journalism Ethics, both of which are being used in college classrooms in Eastern Europe. Journalism Ethics, notes Vilovic, is the first book in Croatia on media ethics, Vilovic is co-author with Stjepan Malovic and Sherry Ricchiardi.

"I am always lecturing on journalism ethics for various educational events, using sources from the library," Vilovic said. "In the last few years, I have specialized in media, ethics and children's rights. I am currently trying to complete a project dedicated to media ethics." Vilovic and Malovic are analyzing five recent examples of poor ethical decision-making by the Croatian press. She will report their findings, along with two scholars from Bosnia and Herzegovina who are analyzing the press in their respective countries.

"I like the feeling of freedom I have in the library," she said. "The most satisfying part of my work is feeling that I can help someone find rare figures, information, special sites and books. I like it when I can serve visitors efficiently."

Note: The Media and Political Change: Europe, one of four international media forums being held this year by The Freedom Forum, will take place in Zagreb on June 27-30. These forums focus on challenges facing the news media as they try to report accurately on elections and political change in countries where governments are evolving. The Zagreb forum will feature an interview with Croatia's president, Stjepan Mesic, the opening of Blood and Honey: A Balkan War Journal photo exhibit, and panel discussions with prominent journalists on issues such as reporting crimes of war, public service broadcasting, and the Internet and ethnic conflict in the Balkans. For more information, contact Donna Fowler (U.S.) at 703/284-2887 or dfowler@freedomforum.org or Dr. Stjepan Malovic (Zagreb) at 385 1 4826 942 or smalovic@hnd.hr.

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