An Analysis of Croatian News Sites Reporting on 2019 Presidential Elections in Croatia

Novinarski rad tijekom izbora ima izravan utjecaj na javno mnijenje. S obzirom na to da izborno izvještavanje predstavlja jedan od stupova demokracije, ono je od svih područja novinarstva najviše regulirano. Pri tome su od velike važnosti profesionalna načela na kojima bi svaki novinar morao temeljiti svoj rad. Budući da je razvoj digitalne tehnologije omogućio lakši pristup informacijama, publika sve više prihvaća online medije kao glavni izvor informacija. Zbog velike brzine prijenosa informacija koje je omogućio internet, online okruženje donijelo je nove izazove za novinarsku struku. U radu se analiziraju glavna obilježja izvještavanja hrvatskih portala tijekom predsjedničkih izbora 2019./2020. godine. Istraživanje je pokazalo da hrvatski portali, unatoč dodjeljivanju nejednakoga medijskog prostora kandidatima i sklonosti negativnim naslovima, i dalje bilježe pozitivan trend u kvaliteti izbornog izvještavanja karakterističan za hrvatske medije od ulaska Hrvatske u Europsku uniju.Reports submitted by journalists during general elections have a direct influence on public opinion. Since reporting in the time of elections represents one of the pillars of democracy, it is the most regulated field of journalism in all aspects. The professional principles on which every journalist should insist in his work are of utmost importance. Since the development of digital technology provides easier access to information, the general public now sees online media as the main source of information. Due to high speed of information distribution provided by the Internet, the online environment has brought along new challenges for journalism as a profession. This study analyzes the main features of report writing seen on Croatian news sites during the 2019/2020 presidential elections. Research has shown that despite the fact that all candidates did not get equal treatment in the media, and an obvious inclination toward negativity in headlines, Croatian news sites are still experiencing a positive trend in quality of reporting during election campaigns, which is quite specific for the Croatian media since the country joined the European Union