Original scientific paper
(Im)partiality in Electoral Campaigns on Croatian Televisions: Balance and Diversity
Zrinjka Peruško
orcid.org/0000-0002-7990-0997
; Fakultet političkih znanosti, Sveučilište u Zagrebu, Zagreb, Hrvatska
Abstract
The article analyzes the characteristics of the 2007 Croatian parliamentary election reporting on Croatian television. The data were collected by content analysis of prime time evening news on televisions with national coverage – Dnevnik at 19:30 HTV1, Dnevnik at 19:15 Nova TV, and Vijesti at 18:30 RTL Television. All news broadcasts aired during the official campaign and on the Election Day – Novem¬ber 3 to 25. 2007 – were included. 22 broadcasts of 27,8 hours included 1196 news items which were analyzed. 171 items directly relating to elections make the relevance sample for the analysis of the characteristics of the campaign, especially bias.
The research did not show the existence of bias in election reporting at the level of the television system according to the criteria of balance of coverage of political parties or members, media statements, or reflexive diversity. Small advantage was given to the main opposition party SDP (Social Democratic Party) on RTL Televi¬sion, and to the party in government HDZ (Croatian Democratic Union) at HTV and Nova TV. The analysis showed a significant role of non-party actors (espe¬cially Catholic Church as the single most active non-political actor) in setting the news agenda for this election.
Keywords
election campaign; Croatia; content analysis; television news; bias; balance; reflexive diversity; public service television; commercial television
Hrčak ID:
31318
URI
Publication date:
10.12.2008.
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