Pregledni rad

https://doi.org/10.37458/ssj.7.1.4

MEDIA FRAMING OF WAR REFUGEES IN CROATIAN ONLINE MEDIA: A CASE STUDY OF UKRAINE AND GAZA

Marija Jozović
Marko Roško orcid.org/0000-0002-7526-847X ; University of Dubrovnik, Faculty of Media and Public Relations
Marijana Musladin orcid.org/0000-0002-6596-202X ; University of Dubrovnik, Faculty of Media and Public Relations

Sažetak

The objective of this paper is to analyze how Croatian online media frame war-related displacement by comparing coverage of refugees linked to the escalation in Ukraine (2022) and the Gaza Strip (2023). The study uses media-framing theory and interprets the coverage through a security-science distinction between two representations: refugees as populations exposed to endangerment, and refugees as potential sources of societal endangerment. This analytic distinction clarifies whether displacement is recognized as a security problem of protection or of control. A comparative content analysis was conducted on N=370 articles from the Index.hr, Jutarnji.hr, Večernji.hr, and Dnevno.hr, collected in the first 30 days after each escalation. The results show a pronounced visibility asymmetry, with Ukraine receiving far more coverage (N=342) than Gaza (N=28). Ukraine-related reporting is overwhelmingly humanitarian, with an occasional security layer focused on governance and institutional capacity. Gaza-related reporting is sparse, still predominantly humanitarian, and more closely anchored in conflict updates. Across both cases, explicit portrayals that cast refugees as a source of societal endangerment are empirically marginal. When “security” appears, it most often refers to administrative risk management or to the broader conflict-security context, rather than to a sustained attribution of threat to refugees.

Ključne riječi

media framing, Croatia, refugees, Ukraine, Gaza

Hrčak ID:

348059

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/348059

Datum izdavanja:

25.4.2026.

Posjeta: 0 *