Newspapers in Croatia
The 1990 Constitution guarantees freedom of expression and printing and prior
censorship is prohibited. In contrast, there have been threats and violence
against journalists who have investigated corruption, war crimes and organized
crime.
In 2008, the editor of the political magazine Nacional, Ivo Pukanić
(1961–2008), was murdered by a car bomb in Zagreb that also killed the
magazine's marketing manager. Six men linked to the Croatian mafia were
sentenced to murder.
The dominant news agency is the state of Hina (Hrvatska izvještajna
novinska agencija), founded in 1990 and criticized for a nationalist
perspective and to go the affairs of the former government party HDZ.
Television is the dominant medium and the state public service company HRT (Hrvatska
Radiotelevizija), founded as a radio station in 1926, reaches its four
channels with the most viewers. During the years 1990-99, HDZ used the channels
for government propaganda and appointed CEOs associated with the party. The
business is financed with advertising and license fees.
In 2013, there are six private nationwide TV channels and about twenty
regional stations. The analogue terrestrial network closed down in 2011.
Radio is the second most widely used medium and there are six nationwide
channels, of which HRT has four, as well as over a hundred local and regional
stations.
The public service exception is most TV and radio channels owned by
foreigners. The same goes for many of the major newspapers and magazines.
Foremost is the German media groups such as WAZ Mediengruppe and Styria Media
International who have invested in the country.
Internet access has increased significantly in recent years. The most common
is ADSL connection, but more and more are connecting via mobile broadband. About
70% use the internet regularly.
Facebook, Google and YouTube top the list of the most visited sites in 2013,
but five domestic sites are in the top ten list. The largest of them is
Index.hr, a news site founded in 2002 by journalist Matija Babić (born 1978) and
mainly focused on celebrity gossip and sensational journalism.
About 37% of the population over the age of 12 had accounts on Facebook in
2013. (Sweden: 52%.)
There are three mobile operators in Croatia and coverage is good. The 3G
network is under development and only comprehensive in the major cities. There
are three mobile operators and the largest is T-Hrvatski Telekom, controlled by
Deutsche Telekom. The other two are Vip, owned by Telekom Austria, and Tele2,
which is part of the Swedish Kinnevik sphere.
The daily press has been hit hard by the economic crisis but also by changing
media habits. The largest is the sensation tablet 24sata, founded in 2005 with
an edition of about 130,000 items. (2013). Other major nationwide newspapers are
the conservative Večernji list, founded in 1959 and the left-liberal Jutarnji
list, founded in 1998. The state-owned Vjesnik, founded in 1940, was closed in
2012.
Among the weekly newspapers, the women's magazine Gloria is the largest,
followed by OK! which focuses on teenagers and Story, a celebrity magazine.
Since the previously mentioned Nacional was closed down in 2012, Globus, founded
in 1990, is the leading news magazine. Globus is regarded as unpolitical and the
magazine is known for its burgeoning journalism. The magazine is owned by the
Croatian newspaper group Europapress Holding which, among other things. also
publishes Croatian editions of Cosmopoltan and Playboy.
Culture
Croatian culture has been influenced by the
powers that have ruled parts of the country over the
centuries - Austria, Hungary and Italy. With the
so-called Illyrian movement in the 19th century a
uniform Croatian literature emerged. The aim of the
movement was to create a united South Slavic kingdom
with a common culture.
Until the First World War, modern Croatian literature
emerged with authors such as Antun Gustav Matoš and the
symbolist poet Vladimir Vidrić. From the outbreak of war
in 1914 and until his death in 1981, Miroslav Krleža,
with his often socially critical authorship, was a
dominant figure. Writers who were noted after the 1991
dissolution of Yugoslavia include Vjekoslav Kaleb, Petar
Šegedin and poet Jure Kaštelan. A number of writers who
took a stand on Croatia's politics during the wars of
the 1990s were forced to leave the country. This
includes Slavenka Drakulić, known for his book Balkan
Express, which deals with the wars of the former
Yugoslavia. The same theme concerns Dubravka Ugrešić in
the Museum of the Unconditional Surrender.
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Countryaah:
Latest population statistics of Croatia, including religious profiles and major languages spoken as well as population growth rates in next three decades.
The naive peasant painting, often on glass, has
gained international attention. Since the 1930s, artists
from the so-called Hlebine school, such as Ivan
Generalić, have portrayed everyday life in the Croatian
countryside.
2017
December
Near confrontation in Piran Bay
December 30
Slovenian police boats patrol the Gulf of Piran, and thus act in accordance
with the arbitration dispute with Croatia, which would come into force the day
before (see June 2017). According to the judgment, Slovenia
considers itself entitled to reject Croatian fishing boats - but they are
protected by Croatian police boats. The Slovenes threaten to fine the Croats,
but these do not consider the arbitration to be legitimate. Slovenia has
threatened to block Croatia's entry into the EU passport Schengen as long as
Zagreb refuses to follow the verdict.
October
New diplomatic quarrel between Serbia and Croatia
October 4th
A summit scheduled to be held in Zagreb in October-November between the
Presidents of Croatia and Serbia, Kolinda Grabar Kitarović and Aleksandar Vučić,
has been postponed indefinitely. The reason is the statue of the Major of the
then Yugoslav People's Army, Milan Tepić, unveiled on September 29 in Belgrade.
Rather than surrender to Croatian troops during the 1991 war, Tepić let a
Yugoslav weapons depot in the city of Bjelovar, Croatia, blow up in the air,
killing himself and 12 other soldiers and threatening many civilian lives. The
Croatian Foreign Ministry reacted with an upset note, accusing Serbia that the
country "is still not ready to settle its role in the bloody collapse of
Yugoslavia"; Serbian Foreign Minister Ivica Dačić responded by calling this
"anti-Serbian hysteria".
August
Bridges with Bosnia and Herzegovina
August 31st
Prime Minister Andrej Plenković explains that Croatia intends to continue
construction of the Pelješac Bridge, which will facilitate relations between the
country's southern and northern parts, despite objections from
Bosnia-Herzegovina. The neighboring country had the day before sent a letter of
protest to both Croatia and the EU, claiming that it must first resolve
remaining border issues between the countries. Thus, new life is brought to life
in what has been a matter of dispute between them ever since the bridge
construction began in 2007. Bosnia has always maintained that the Pelješac
bridge would make it difficult for ships to enter Neum, the country's only port.
Trade war averted
August 11th
After the Croatian government withdrew a decision to increase customs
controls on imports of fruit and vegetables from neighboring countries by more
than 200 percent, a trade war in the Balkans could be averted. This happened
after the trade ministers from Bosnia-Herzegovina, Macedonia, Montenegro and
Serbia after a Sarajevo meeting submitted a joint written protest to both
Croatia and the European Commission.
July
Severe forest fires
July 17
Prolonged heat and drought cause severe forest fires to erupt in several
directions and threaten resorts along the Adriatic coast. The worst affected
area around the country's second largest city, Split, where many are without
electricity and water. Residents are forced to keep doors and windows closed so
as not to let in smoke and several villages have been evacuated.
June
Statement in boundary dispute
June 29
The Permanent Arbitration Tribunal (PCA) in The Hague comes with its opinion
in the protracted dispute over how the sea border should be drawn in the Piran
Gulf between Slovenia and Croatia (see Foreign Policy and Defense). The Court is
largely on Slovenia's line. However, Croatia has understood that it will not
accept the court's ruling after it has emerged that Slovenia previously had
unauthorized talks with one of the judges in the court. Croatia has made it
clear that it wants to continue negotiating on its own with Slovenia. The EU has
called on both parties to accept the ruling.
New government is formed
June 9
HDZ forms a new government with the small Liberal Democratic Party HNS, which
was previously part of the alliance led by the Social Democratic SDP. Seven new
ministers are appointed, two of whom belong to HNS.
May
Disbelief against the Minister of Finance
May 4th
Finance Minister Zdravko Marić manages with hardly any margin of confidence
in the opposition brought by the opposition accusing him of a severe debt crisis
in the grocery group Agrokor. Before entering politics, Marić held a high
position in Agrokor, a company that accounts for 15 percent of the country's
GDP.
April
The government is cracking down
April 28
The government is definitely collapsing when Prime Minister Plenković
dismisses the fourth and final minister of the coalition partner Most. The other
three Most Ministers were allowed to leave the day before, after unexpectedly
announcing their intention to support a declaration of confidence in Finance
Minister Zdravko Marić.
Sanader sentenced to prison
April 7
Former Prime Minister Ivo Sanader is sentenced to four and a half years in
prison for receiving bribes in connection with a real estate deal in 2009. Since
the penalty is less than five years, Sanader does not have to start serving it
until the verdict has been set in a higher court. Sanader, who was head of
government in 2003-2009, denies all charges (see also October 2015
and June 2016).
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