Social Construction of Serbian Civilian War Victims in Croatia in the 90s: Media Frames Analysis

Cilj samog rada je utvrditi na koji način su srpske civilne žrtve bile reprezentirane u tisku, te koje su okvire tiskani mediji koristili u svojem izvještavanju, posljedično konstruirajući stvarnost hrvatskog društva 1990ih. Polazišna točka rada je teorijska osnova funkcije medija u konstrukciji društvene stvarnosti, i uloga medijskih okvira u tome. Hrvatska je svoje prve dane neovisnosti započela u ratnim okolnostima. Raspad jugoslavenske federacije, kolaps komunističkog režima i rat su drastično povećali potrebu za novim definicijama stvarnosti koje bi združile mladu naciju. Najučinkovitiji kanal kroz koji se nova društvena stvarnost formirala su bili masovni mediji. Identitet suverene hrvatske države se u medijima gradio na polarnostima, stavljajući Hrvatsku u zapadni civilizacijski krug koji je u oprečnosti s bizantskim. Hrvatska je bila okarakterizirana kao žrtva i heroj, dok je Srbija bila neprijatelj, agresor i terorist. Tako formirana društvena stvarnost je u sebi sadržavala isključiv medijski diskurs koji nije ostavljao prostora za nepristrano ratno izvještavanje. Ratno stanje u zemlji je neminovno pogodilo i civilno stanovništvo. Ovaj rad analizira novinske članke koji su izvještavali o nekima od najpoznatijih slučajeva stradavanja srpskih civila. Najzastupljeniji okvir koji su mediji koristili pri izvještavanju o srpskim civilnim žrtvama je bilo nepristrano iznošenje činjenica, no opseg samog izvještavanja o srpskim civilnim žrtvama je bio nedovoljan obzirom na pravi razmjer njihovog stradanja. Javni diskurs se promijenio početkom novog stoljeća, priznavajući odgovornost koju je Hrvatska imala u patnji svog srpskog stanovništva.The goal of the thesis is to determine how were the Serbian civilian victims represented in the press, and which frames did the press used in its reporting, consequently constructing the reality of Croatian society of the 1990s. A theoretical basis which is the starting point of the thesis is the function of media in the construction of social reality, and the role media frames have in it. Croatia has started its first days of independence in war circumstances. The breakup of the Yugoslavian Federation, the collapse of the communist regime and war have drastically increased the need for new definitions of reality that would unite the young nation. The most effective channel through which the new reality was formed where the mass media. The identity of a sovereign Croatian state was built in the media on polarities, placing Croatia in the Western civilization, as opposed to the Byzantine circle. Croatia was characterized as a victim and a hero, while Serbia was the enemy, aggressor, and terrorist. Social reality constructed in that way had a media discourse that was rather exclusive, and which did not have space for an unbiassed war reporting. War state in the country has inevitably struck the civilian population. This thesis analyses newspaper articles that reported some of the most well-known cases of the suffering of Serbian civilians. The most represented frame which the media used in its reporting about Serbian civilian victims was unbiassed stating of facts, but the extent of the reporting about Serbian civilian victims was insufficient in terms of the actual range of their suffering. Public discourse changed with the beginning of the new century, acknowledging the responsibility Croatia had in the hardship of its Serbian population