To What Extent and in What Ways do Election Campaigns Matter?

The collapse of the traditional social ties, the advance of the mass media and the advent of political marketing have altered the structure and the direction of electoral campaigns. Present-day media-mediated electoral campaigns are hotly debated. On one side are those who claim that campaigns simplify political reality, manipulate voters, encourage voting apathy and in the long run contribute to democratic deficit. On the other side are those who claim that campaigns had to adapt to the new communication environment, that only the attractive, media-honed campaigns can attract voters’ attention and that the majority of campaigns on the whole are a positive influence on electoral participation and voters’ familiarity with political processes. This paper is an attempt to present the arguments of both sides and to answer how and to what extent electoral campaigns affect the democratic process

Komuniciranje o pandemiji COVID-19: medijsko praćenje stožera i uporaba strategija uvjeravanja u Hrvatskoj

In February 2020 Croatia was affected by the COVID-19 global pandemic. A challenging task of communicating the pandemic was assumed by the people associated with the Headquarters of Civil Protection of the Republic of Croatia. The goal of this study was to examine how three of them were covered in the media and to test if and how they were using pandemic-related strategies of persuasion to achieve public compliance. The findings indicate that the coverage of the key communicators during the first three months of the pandemic was overwhelmingly positive. Moreover, in the early stages of the pandemic none of the examined news sites was really pushing issues or angles that questioned pandemic-related policies or actions of the Headquarters. Examination of the rhetoric of the key coronavirus communicators has established that they have embraced persuasive strategies that are typical of pandemic communication, most notably the use of fear appeals, military metaphors and insistence on messages of \u27togetherness\u27 and conversely, \u27pandemic shaming\u27. The article concludes that professional credibility and favorable media representation of Croatian coronavirus envoys, along with adopted persuasive strategies, have probably encouraged people to trust their decisions and comply with restrictive measures that have suspended their freedoms and changed their life routines almost overnight.Hrvatsku je globalna pandemija COVID-a 19 pogodila u veljači 2020. Izazovni zadatak komuniciranja tema vezanih za pandemiju dobilo je četvero ljudi povezanih sa Stožerom civilne zaštite Republike Hrvatske. Cilj je ovog rada istražiti kako je troje članova bilo prikazano u medijima te jesu li i kako koristili strategije uvjeravanja uobičajene za stanja pandemija kako bi dobili pristanak javnosti. Nalazi istraživanja ukazuju na to da je izvještavanje o ključnim komunikatorima tijekom prva tri mjeseca pandemije bilo uvjerljivo pozitivno. Štoviše, u ranoj fazi pandemije nijedan od analiziranih portala nije inzistirao na temama ili perspektivama koje propituju politike ili mjere Stožera vezane za pandemiju. Analizom retorike ključnih ljudi koji su komunicirali o koronavirusu utvrđeno je da su oni prihvatili strategije uvjeravanja tipične za komuniciranje u pandemijama, ponajprije uporabu poruka straha, vojnih metafora i poruka koje inzistiraju na "zajedništvu" i "pandemijskom sramoćenju". Autorica zaključuje kako su pozitivna medijska prezentacija komunikatora i strategije uvjeravanja koje su koristili vjerojatno potaknuli ljude da vjeruju njihovom odlukama i pristanu na restriktivne mjere koje su suspendirale njihove slobode i gotovo preko noći promijenile njihove životne navike

Framing of the President: Newspaper Coverage of Milan Bandić and Ivo Josipović in the Presidential Elections in Croatia in 2010

Building on the idea of news framing which is assumed to have a certain influence on people’s perceptions of the world around them, the paper examines how the major newspapers in the country used certain frames to report about the two front-running candidates in the second round of the presidential elections in Croatia in 2010. The paper first examines if there were any differences between Ivo Josipović and Milan Bandić in terms of their visibility in newspaper reports. Secondly, the paper investigates if and how newspapers employed valenced frames to report about the candidates. Thirdly, the paper speculates how the news framing of the candidates may have affected the outcome of the elections. The results show that three valenced news frames dominated the news coverage about the candidates: success frame (winner – loser), suitability frame (suitable – unsuitable) and integrity frame (honest – dishonest). Although Milan Bandić was the most visible candidate, the press favoured Ivo Josipović, framing him as suitable for the position, honest and decent, and as the likely winner. On the other hand, Milan Bandić was framed predominantly as dishonest, unsuitable and the loser. The paper finally suggests that the news framing of the candidates may have contributed to the victory of Ivo Josipović

Odabir noževa u ovisnosti o vrsti podloge

U ovom završnom radu ukratko je opisan proces nastajanja ambalaže od valovitog kartona te su spomenuti materijali, strojevi i tehnologije koje se koriste u proizvodnji i preradi valovitog kartona. U eksperimentalnom dijelu rada ispitana su mehanička svojstva noževa, odnosno reznih linija za rezanje kutija te ovisnost odabira noževa o vrstama podloge koju režemo. Napravljena je određena naklada na različitim vrstama podloge i izmjereni su tragovi trošenja noža ovisno o položaju na štanci i vrsti podloge koja je rezana. Eksperimentalni dio proveden je u tvornici Model pakiranja d.d. – tvornica ambalaže od valovitog kartona. Ispitivanja su opisana detaljno i prikazana mjerenjima

Uvodna bilješka

Editors\u27 noteUvodna bilješk

Privatisation of Politics in Croatia: Analysis of the 2003 and 2007 Parliamentary Elections

In the light of the growing discussion on the increasing ‘privatisation of politics’ or ‘politicization of the politicians’ private personae’, this paper, looks at this process in the specific context of one new parliamentary democracy. Using con¬tent analysis, I examine the scope and the type of privatisation as it was advanced both by the parties and the media in 2003 and 2007 parliamentary elections in Croatia. Firstly, I investigate to what extent and in what ways party campaigns used certain private cues to communicate with the electorate, and secondly, I ask to what extent were the media interested in covering private traits of the candi¬dates or to carry any information concerning their personal lives. I differentiate between several forms of privatisation focusing more closely on the specific ‘humanisation’ techniques i.e. attempts of the party leaders to appear ‘human’ and in touch with ‘ordinary’ people. Finally, this paper discusses what accounts for the presence or absence of the private cues in Croatian public discourse: is manifesta¬tion of the phenomenon in Croatia as an emerging democracy any different from the one experienced by the old democracies; are there any differences between the two elections, and finally, what is the importance of the country’s specific political and social setting in explaining the ‘weight’ and the character of the phenomenon