CROATIAN JOURNALISM OF TRANSITION: THE TEST OF MATURITY AT THE BEGINNINGS OF THE DIGITAL AGE

Text topic: Contemporary Journalism - Trends

Text author: Nada Zgrabljić Rotar

The journalistic profession may find itself faced with a new challenge at the beginning of the digital age. During the last two decades, since the establishment of the Republic of Croatia and the beginning of the process of transition, journalism has significantly affected the sociopolitical context, but has also itself been formed by the political and social circumstances. The elements that primarily effect the process of the transition of profession are media policy, market conditions, the legislative model of public service, self-regulation, safety of journalists, education of journalists, civil society and the availability of new technologies. This paper, in the context of those parameters, views Croatian transition journalism through four chronological phases of development: journalism of the authoritarian presidential state and non-consolidated democracy, journalism under the optimism of the rise of civil society, journalism of market dictatorship and the corporative media industry and journalism of digital culture. Each phase meant progress in the development of democratic standards and freedom of profession, while the new age comes with some serious demands for the profession. Although on-line journalism is an expression of modern technology and the new age, the future and quality of the profession still depend on the respect and application of the fundamental values of the profession.