Comparison of media coverage on Croatian and Serbian portals about Novak Djokovic's stay in Australia in 2022

Ovaj rad se temelji na istraživanju provedenom putem analize sadržaja na hrvatskim i srpskim internetskim portalima tijekom boravka teniskog igrača Novaka Đokovića u Australiji početkom 2022. godine. Za svrhu analize korišteno je ukupno 354 analitičke jedinice, obuhvaćajući vremenski okvir od 4. do 16. siječnja 2022. godine. U radu su objašnjeni ključni pojmovi poput virusa Covid-19, Grand slam turnira, konkretno Australian Opena, kao i povezanost između politike i sporta, te istaknuti senzacionalizam i pristranost kao izazove suvremenog novinarstva. Cilj istraživanja je bio analizirati prisutnost pristranosti u sportskom novinarstvu. Dodatno, istraživanje je imalo za svrhu istražiti postoji li i u kojoj mjeri razlika u izvještavanju istog događaja u dvije različite države. Kroz primjenu analize sadržaja, uspješno su dobiveni odgovori na ključna istraživačka pitanja. Rezultati istraživanja jasno su ukazali na postojanje razlika u načinu izvještavanja, pri čemu su takve razlike pripisane pristranosti u novinarskom izvještavanju. Ovaj rad doprinio je boljem razumijevanju pristranosti u sportskom novinarstvu, istovremeno pružajući uvid u varijacije u izvještavanju istog događaja u različitim medijskim kontekstima.This paper is based on the research conducted through the analysis of content on the Croatian and Serbian web portals during the stay of tennis player Novak Đoković in Australia at the beginning of the year 2022. In total 354 analytical units were used for the purpose of the analysis, spanning from January 4th to January 16th of the year 2022. Key terms such as COVID-19, Grand Slams (especially the Australian Open) and the connection between politics and sports are explained in the paper. Also, sensationalism and lack of objectivity are highlighted as the challenges of modern-day journalism. The aim of the research was to analyse the presence of bias in sports journalism. Aditionally, the purpose of the research was to examine if there is (and to what extent) the difference between reporting the same event in two different countries. Through implementation of content analysis, the answers to key research questions were successfully obtained. Results of the research have clearly shown the existence of differences in the methods of reporting, and those differences can be attributed to the lack of objectivity in news reporting. This paper has contributed to a better understanding of biasness in sports journalism, simultaneously offering insight into the variations of reporting the same event in different media backgrounds