Istraživanje medijskih sadržaja o hrvatskim braniteljima na internetskim portalima provedeno je u prvoj dionici projekta Analiza društvenih faktora koji utječu na kvalitetu života braniteljske ...populacije – smjernice za budućnosti tijekom 2021. i 2022. godine. Cilj istraživanja bio je ustanoviti koji društveni akteri imaju mogućnost iznošenja stavova i mišljenja o braniteljskoj populaciji u digitalnoj javnoj sferi te analizirati glavne obrasce sudova koje iznose kao i učinak takve javne komunikacije na socijalnu konstrukciju mišljenja i stavova o braniteljskoj populaciji. Istraživanje je provedeno metodom analize sadržaja, a teorijski utemeljeno u modelu javnih arena. Analizirali su se sadržaji objavljeni na jedanaest internetskih portala u razdoblju od 1. siječnja 2016. godine do 31. prosinca 2020. godine. Rezultati su pokazali da su političari na vlasti dominantni akteri koji najčešće govore o braniteljima i 88,3% njihovih sudova bilo je pozitivno intonirano. Sami branitelji su na trećem mjestu, nakon skupine novinara, što ukazuje na dobru poziciju branitelja u javnoj areni. Također, u većini (84,7%) analiziranih elektroničkih publikacija pronađeni su eksplicitni vrijednosni sudovi aktera prema braniteljima, čime se potvrdio visok socijalni i politički kapital te skupine. Od analiziranih skupina povezanih s braniteljima (pojedinac, obitelj, branitelji…) najviše se komentiralo “branitelje općenito“ (61,5%), iz čega zaključujemo da se o braniteljima u medijskom prostoru govori kao o svojevrsnom fenomenu, a manje kao o heterogenoj društvenoj skupini unutar koje različiti pojedinci i skupine imaju specifične probleme i potrebe, što pokazuje da ti specifični problemi branitelja nisu dobili prostor unutar javne medijske arene te se putem mreže operativaca (političara na vlasti) nisu mogli prenijeti ni u druge javne arene, poput političke, koja ima moć poboljšati socijalni status braniteljske populacije.
The research of media content on Croatian veterans on web portals was carried out in the first section of the project Analysis of social factors that affect the quality of life of the defending population – guidelines for the future during 2021 and 2022. The aim of the research was to determine which social actors have the opportunity to express views and opinions about the veterans in the digital public sphere and to analyze the main patterns of courts they present, as well as the impact of such public communication on the social construction of opinions and attitudes about the veterans. The research was conducted using the method of content analysis, and theoretically based in the model of public arenas. The contents published on eleven web portals between 1 January 2016 and 31 December 2020 were analysed. The results showed that politicians (from govermental area) are the dominant actors who most often talk about veterans and 88.3% of their courts were positively intoned. The veterans are in third place, after a group of journalists, which indicates a good position of veterans in the public arena. Also, in the majority (84.7%) of the analyzed electronic publications, explicit value courts of the actors towards veterans were found, which confirmed the high social and political capital of this group. Of the analyzed groups related to veterans (individual, family, defenders…), the most commented were “veterans in general” (61.5%), from which we conclude that veterans in the media space are referred to as a kind of phenomenon, and less as a heterogeneous social group within which different individuals and groups have specific problems and needs. We concluded that these specific problems of veterans did not get space within the public media arena and could not be transferred to other public arenas, such as the political one, which has the power to improve the social status of the defenders.
Manipulacija jezikom u političke svrhe Rebernik, Dejana
Media, culture and public relations (Online),
03/2023, Volume:
13, Issue:
1-2
Journal Article, Paper
Peer reviewed
Open access
U ovom članku istražujem poveznice između političke moći i jezika. U politici jezik ima posebnu ulogu - može postati instrument politike. Manipulacijom jezikom i diskursom moguće je manipulirati ...političkim stavovima građana i tako ostvariti političke ciljeve. Nacionalsocijalisti su to proveli u djelo u Njemačkoj prije i tijekom Drugog svjetskog rata. Na osnovu analize nacionalsocijalističke propagande u Njemačkoj prije i za vrijeme Drugog svjetskog rata u ovom se članku izvode zaključci u pogledu manipulacije jezikom u političke svrhe.
This article explores the connection between language and political power. Language is attributed a special role in politics: it may become its instrument. Manipulation with language and discourse enables manipulation with citizens' political attitudes, making it possible for politicians to fulfil their political goals. The National Socialists made use of such manipulation in Germany in the period before and during the World War II. This article analyses the elements of propaganda used by the National Socialists in Germany in the period before and during the World War II and presents conclusions on the manipulative potential of language.
Zahvaljujući procesu globalizacije, razvojem tehnologija dolazi do razvoja medija koji imaju važnu ulogu u oblikovanju čovjekova života i društva općenito. Medijima se često pripisuje moć oblikovanja ...pojedinčeve svakodnevnice, a posebno svakodnevice mladih, kao društvene skupine koja odrasta i razvija se u digitalnom dobu. Ipak, u sociološkoj teoriji ne postoji usuglašenost oko učinaka koje mediji proizvode, kao ni metodološka usuglašenost u konceptualizaciji i operacionalizaciji istraživanja povjerenja u medije. Zbog toga je u istraživanju korišten mješoviti pristup te metode ankete i intervjua kako bi se dobili što bolji podaci o problemu istraživanja. Napravljena je analiza podataka iz zadnjega vala anketnoga istraživanja Europske studije vrijednosti (2017. godine). Europska studija vrijednosti je međunarodni znanstveni projekt, u koji je uključeno i Hrvatsko katoličko sveučilište. Uzorak su bili mladi od 18 do 35 godine iz 34 europske zemlje (n=16772), uključujući i Hrvatsku (n=455). U intervjuima je sudjelovalo 10 sudionika iste dobne skupine iz Zagreba i Zlatara. Rezultati pokazuju da mladi u Hrvatskoj imaju više povjerenja u društvene mreže, a manje povjerenja u tisak nego njihovi vršnjaci iz europskih zemalja te da ne postoji povezanost povjerenja u tisak i društvene mreže s veličinom grada iz kojega dolaze ispitanici. Rezultati kvalitativnoga istraživanja su pokazali da je zbog lake dostupnosti, aktualnosti, multimedijalnosti i mogućnosti arhiviranja sadržaja, internet medij koji mladi najčešće koriste. Oni na njemu i prate i konzumiraju uglavnom zabavne sadržaje te više slušaju i gledaju nego što čitaju. Sudionici u vrste medija i medijske sadržaje upisuju različita značenja vezana uz povjerenje (sažetost, potpis autora, reference, provjerljivost informacija i dr.) i nepovjerenje (senzacionalizam, lažne vijesti, dezinformacije, jednostranost i dr.), stoga se u našem istraživanju djelomično potvrđuje teorija o racionalnosti publika. Naime, sudionici ne sudjeluju javno u raspravama i komentarima, a vijesti i komentare na sadržaje dijele samo s bliskim osobama te pokazuju pasivnost prema proglašivačkoj i tekstualnoj formi zbog odbojnosti prema virtualnom nasilju. S obzirom na to da im mediji služe uglavnom za zabavu, oni ih koriste i kada nemaju povjerenje u njih.
According to the process of globalisation, the development of technologies leads to the development of media that play an important role in shaping human life and so-ciety in general. The media are often credited with the power to shape an individual’s everyday life, and especially the everyday life of young people, as a social group that grows and develops in the digital age. However, in sociological theory, there is no consensus on the effects that the media produce, as well as methodological con-sensus in the conceptualization and operationalization of confidence in the media. Therefore, we used a mixed approach: survey and interview method to obtain thebest possible data on the research problem. We made an analysis of data from the 2017 European Values Study survey. The European Values Study is an international scientific project, in which the Catholic University of Croatia is involved. The sample were young people from 18 to 35 years of age from 34 European countries (n=16772), including Croatia (n=455). In the qualitative part of the research, we interviewed 10 participants of the same age group from Zagreb and Zlatar. The results show that young people in Croatia have more confidence in social networks, and lack of confidence in the press than their peers from European countries, and there is no connection between confidence in the press and social networks with the size of the city/town from which the respondents come. Due to the easy accessibility, actuality, multimedia and the possibility of archiving content, the Internet is the medium most used by participants of qualitative research. They consume mostly entertaining content and listen and watch more than they read. Participants enter different meanings in media types and media content related to confidence (brevity, author’s signature, references, verifiability of information, etc.) and lack of confidence (sensationalism, fake news, disinformation, one-sided reporting, etc.), so our research confirms partly the theory of audience rationality. However, participants do not publicly participate in discussions and comments, and they share news and comments on content only with close people. They don’t show enunciative productivity and textual productivity due to their aversion to virtual violence. Since the media is mostly for entertainment, they use it even when they don’t trust them.
Stupanj demokratičnosti jednog društva može se procijeniti na različite načine, a jedan je od njih analiza načina funkcioniranja medijskog sustava, zakonskih okvira, načina formiranja i principa ...djelovanja tijela i institucija kojima je povjerena uloga regulatora u području medija. Opisujući medijski pejsaž Srbije s posebnim naglaskom na medijske zakone i način izbora članova regulatornih tijela za medije u razdoblju 2000. – 2021., rad problematizira pitanja regulacije i deregulacije kao sredstava za uređenje medijske sfere, odnosno pokušava utvrditi jesu li samoregulacija i koregulacija najdemokratičniji modeli uređenja medijske prakse. Političke promjene koje su se dogodile 2000. godine u Srbiji utjecale su na unaprjeđenje medijske produkcije i prakse, počevši od usvajanja novih zakonskih akata, u prvom redu Zakona o radiodifuziji (2002). Taj zakon postavio je inovativan, proeuropski i demokratski okvir uređenja medijske sfere predvidjevši izbor nezavisnoga regulatornog tijela, Saveta republičke radiodifuzne agencije, koje je imalo vrlo velike ovlasti na području uređenja medijske sfere. Posebno je bitna činjenica da su većinski predlagači članova ovog tijela bili predstavnici civilnog sektora. Nakon 2012. godine, u Srbiji dolazi do jačanja autoritarnih političkih elita i populističkih trendova čime jačaju politički i ekonomski pritisci na medije, koji se smatraju protivnicima ili opozicijom. Novim setom medijskih zakona koji su usvojeni 2014., uključujući i Zakon o elektronskim medijima, uređenje medijske sfere povjereno je Regulatornom telu za elektronske medije (REM) i njegovom Savetu. Novo tijelo nije unaprijedilo područje medija, već je došlo do suprotnog. Neovisnost regulatornog tijela bila je više formalna nego neophodna, simulirano je poštovanje demokratskih principa i pritisci na izbor članova postali su sve češći. Također, ovo tijelo radilo je u necjelovitom sastavu, a marginaliziran je udio civilnog sektora u izboru članova. Iz spomenutih razloga možemo zaključiti kako je Srbija u posljednjih sedam godina značajno regresirala u pogledu uređenja područja elektroničkih medija i nezavisnosti regulatornih tijela. Premda su zakonska rješenja korektno izvedena, njihova je primjena obilježena nedosljednošću i simulacijom. Ovaj trend dovodi do lošeg položaja medija, ugroženosti nezavisnih regulatornih tijela i generalno ljudskih prava i sloboda, što je utvrđeno i u brojnim izvještajima međunarodnih institucija.
The degree in which a society has been democratised can be evaluated in different ways. One of the approaches is based around the analysis of the ways media system operates, legal framework, manner of establishing and principles behind the operation of bodies and institutions entrusted with the role of regulators in the field of media. Describing the media landscape in Serbia, with special emphasis on media laws and the manner of electing members of media regulatory bodies in the period between 2000 and 2021, the paper problematises the issue of regulation and deregulation as a mean of managing the media sphere. Moreover, the paper tends to determine whether selfegulation and co-regulation are the most democratic models of regulating media practice. Political changes in Serbia in 2000 affected the improvement of media production and practice, which began with the adoption of new legislation, primarily the Law on Broadcasting (2002). This law set an innovative, pro-European and democratic framework for media regulation as well as the constitution of an independent regulatory body - the Council of the Republic Broadcasting Agency, which had large jurisdiction in the field of media regulation. It is particularly important to state that representatives of the civil sector were the majority that nominated the members of this body. After 2012, authoritarian political elites and populist trends flourished in Serbia, increasing political and economic pressure on the media, which were seen as opponents or opposition. With the new set of media laws adopted in 2014, including the Law on Electronic Media, the regulation of media sphere has been entrusted to the Regulatory Body for Electronic Media (REM) and its Council. The newly established body did not improve the media sphere, but instead quite the opposite happened. Regulatory body had moreformal than essential independence, respect for democratic principles was simulated and pressures on the election of members became more frequent. This body worked in an incomplete composition, and the share of the civil sector in the election of members was marginalised. For the above-mentioned reasons, we can conclude that in the last seven years Serbia has significantly regressed in terms of regulating the field of electronic media and the independence of regulatory bodies. Although the legal solutions were executed satisfactorily, their application was marked by inconsistency and simulation. This trend leads to the poor position of the media, and represents a threat to independence of regulatory bodies and human rights and freedoms in general, which is stated in numerous reports of international institutions.
Svako novo komunikacijsko sredstvo oblikuje novu komunikacijskuparadigmu zbog čega Katolička Crkva otvoreno, ali s oprezom,prihvaća svako „čudesno iznašašće tehnike” i iskorištavanjegovu snagu i ...potencijale kako bi vršila, jačala i unaprjeđivalasvoje apostolsko djelovanje. Danas, u vrijeme epidemije koronavirusaona je mnoga obavijesna sredstva pretvorila u „suvremenepropovjedaonice”. Ovaj rad donosi rezultate istraživanja i odgovorna pitanje kako su reagirale pojedine župe u Splitsko-makarskojnadbiskupiji u vrijeme mjere lockdowna, odnosno jesu li župniciotvorili crkvu u virtualnom prostoru. Osim toga, pregledom odabranihpovijesnih dokumenata i kratkom analizom pokušalo se pokazatida su oni svakako imali dobro uporište i razlog da se otvorenovim komunikacijskim tehnologijama u vrijeme epidemije. Naime,brojni crkveni dokumenti, oni koji datiraju od II. vatikanskog koncilapa do najnovije poruke pape Franje povodom Svjetskog danadruštvenih komunikacija, zaređene osobe i vjernike laike medijskisu opismenjivali i kontinuirano poticali da iskoriste to „divnooruđe” za novo iskustvo zajedništva, dijeljenja, slavlja i evangelizacije.Za istraživanje su korištene metode analize sadržaja i komparacije.Podatci su preuzeti iz Tiskovnog ureda Splitsko-makarskenadbiskupije te s internetskih stranica i društvenih mreža svakeod župa Nadbiskupije. Potom su sumirani i analizirani te se komparacijskommetodom došlo do traženih rezultata.
A new means of communication shapes a new communicationparadigm, which is why the Catholic Church openly, butwith caution, accepts every “miraculous invention of technology”and uses its strength and potential to carry out, build up andimprove its apostolic work. Today, at the time of the coronavirusepidemic, many media have been turned into “modern pulpits.”This paper presents the results of the research and the answer tothe question of how some parishes in the Split-Makarska Archdiocesereacted during the lockdown, i.e. whether the parishpriests opened the church in a virtual space. Furthermore, anoverview of selected historical documents and a brief analysistries to show that they certainly had a good foothold and a reasonto open up to new communication technologies at the timeof the epidemic. Namely, numerous church documents, thosedating from the Second Vatican Council until the latest messageof Pope Francis on the occasion of the World Day of Social Communications,have continuously encouraged the ordained personsand lay faithful to become literate in the media and to usethis “wonderful tool” for a new experience of communion, sharing,celebration and evangelization. Content analysis and methodsof comparison were used for this research. The data weretaken from the Press Office of the Split-Makarska Archdioceseand from the websites and social networks of each of the parishesof the Archdiocese. These data were then summarized andanalysed, and the required results were obtained by the methodof comparison.
Poremećaji jedenja eskaliraju u zapadnim, razvijenim zemljama 1960-ih godina kada započinje i njihovo sistematično proučavanje. Posljednjih desetljeća postaju globalni fenomen, što se povezuje sa ...širenjem zapadnih kulturnih obrazaca i ideala ljepote. Poremećaji jedenja su višestruko uzrokovani i nastaju djelovanjem bioloških, psiholoških i sociokulturnih faktora. Razvoj poremećaja jedenja najčešće se događa u adolescenciji, kada mladi postaju okupirani izgledom i tijelom. U radu im se pristupa iz sociološke perspektive, fokusiranjem na utjecaju sociokulturnih čimbenika rizika. Vršnjačke grupe, obitelj i mediji mogu utjecati na razvoj nezadovoljstva izgledom tijela i tjelesnom masom. Vršnjaci su važna referentna grupa. Brojna istraživanja su potvrdila da pritisak vršnjaka može biti motiv razvoja poremećaja jedenja. Odnosi u obitelji, obiteljsko okruženje i roditeljska očekivanja mogu utjecati na percepciju tjelesne mase i prehrambene navike djece. Medijski pritisak razvidan je kroz prezentaciju mršavog izgleda koji osigurava prihvaćenost i uspješnost. Posljednjih godina istraživanja se usredotočuju na utjecaj društvenih mreža. Societalne mjere u razdoblju pandemije COVID-19 negativno su utjecale na poremećaje jedenja. S obzirom na prirodu poremećaja jedenja prilikom tretmana, pojavljuju se etičke dileme. U Hrvatskoj su poremećaji jedenja društveno zanemareni i nedovoljno istraženi, s nepoznatim dimenzijama učestalosti i rasprostranjenosti. Procjene o broju osoba s poremećajem u Hrvatskoj se razlikuju, međutim, postoji slaganje o eskalaciji ovog poremećaja i spuštanju dobne granice. Poremećaji jedenja ugrožavaju zdravlje i ostvarenje životnih ciljeva osobe te najčešće negativno utječu na odnose u društvenim grupama u kojima se osoba kreće. Na razini društva poremećaji jedenja su značajan zdravstveni problem koji dugoročno opterećuje zdravstveni i socijalni sustav i odražava se na humani kapital. U zaključku se poremećaji jedenja promatraju u društvenom kontekstu.
Eating disorders escalated in Western, developed countries in the 1960s, which is when systematic studies on them began. In recent decades, eating disorders become a global phenomenon, which is linked with the spread of Western cultural patterns and beauty ideals. Eating disorders have multiple causes - they stem from biological, psychological, and sociocultural influences. Eating disorders mostly develop during adolescence, when young people become preoccupied with their appearance and body image. This paper uses the sociological approach with a focus on sociocultural risk factors. Peer groups, family, and media can influence dissatisfaction with body appearance and body weight. Peers are an important reference group. Numerous studies have confirmed that peer pressure can be a motive for the development of eating disorders. Family relationships, family environment, and parental expectations can influence the perception of body weight and children’s eating habits. Media pressure is evident through the presentation of a thin appearance that ensures acceptance and success. In recent years, research has focused on the influence of social media. Societal measures during the period of the COVID-19 pandemic negatively affected eating disorders. Considering the nature of eating disorders, ethical dilemmas arise during treatment. In Croatia, eating disorders are socially neglected and insufficiently researched, with unknown dimensions of frequency and prevalence. Estimates of the number of people with the disorder vary, however, there is agreement on the escalation of eating disorders and the lowering of the age limit. Eating disorders threaten the health and achievement of a person’s life goals, and most often negatively affect relationships in social groups in which an individual interacts. At the societal level, eating disorders are a significant health problem that burdens the health and social system in the long term and affects the human capital. In conclusion, eating disorders are viewed in a social context.
Kompetencije nastavnika za medijsko obrazovanje Maksimović, Jelena; Osmanović Zajić, Jelena; Milišić Jadrić, Antonija
In medias res,
09/2020, Volume:
9, Issue:
17
Journal Article, Web Resource
Peer reviewed
Open access
In the modern age, competencies for media education have become an integral feature of a successful teacher. Nevertheless, the topic of media literacy of teachers in our area has not yet been ...thoroughly researched. For this reason, the aim of the research was to examine media literacy and teacher competencies for media education. The research used a five - level scale of assessment of Teacher Competence for Media Education (KNMO) consisting of 31 items. The first segment of the assessment scale referred to the examination of teachers’ competencies for the use of media, the second segment referred to the purpose of using the media and the third to the readiness of teachers to improve their own competencies for media education. The research involved 152 teachers (in the area of Nis, Dimitrovgrad, Zajecar, Merošina and Oblačina) whose attitudes were analyzed in relation to the subject area (natural / technical and social sciences), age, (up to 35 and more than 35) , years of work experience (up to 10; from 10 to 20 and more than 20) and professional training in the field of media education. The results of the research showed that 75% of the respondents consider themselves a media - competent person and that teachers most positively assess their own competencies for the use of e - mail, Word, internet sites; computers; media devices such as camera, camcorder, radio and television and Power point presentation. Teachers expressed a lower level of confidence in their own competencies for the use of media resources when it came to the use of Excel and social networks such as Facebook and Instagram. The results of the research also showed that teachers in our area most often face difficulties in the tendency to create a blog about their own educational work and the application of educational software in working with students. When it comes to the purpose of use, the results of the research showed that teachers most often use media in order to find teaching materials and prepare activities to be implemented in working with students, and least often to communicate with parents of students. The results of the research show that on the one hand the respondents believe that more attention should be paid to media education of teachers, and on the other hand they do not follow the news in the field of information and communication technologies, they do not frequently get acquainted with internet sites useful for media literacy, they rarely follow blogs created by other teachers for the purpose of media education or read professional literature that can contribute to their competence to apply the media in teaching. Also, the results of the research show that teachers believe that the exchange of experiences with colleagues contributes the most to the development of competencies for the application of media technologies. When it comes to the independent variable - subject area, the results show that teachers of natural / technical sciences assess their own media competencies more positively and that they follow the news in the field of information and communication technologies more often than teachers of social sciences and humanities. Also, the research shows a tendency that with the increase in the years of work experience of teachers, the degree of positive assessment of one’s own competencies for the use of media resources and the degree of readiness for acquiring media education decreases. When it comes to the independent variable related to professional development in the field of media education, the results of the research showed that teachers who have been professionally trained in the field of media application assess their own media competencies more positively and show a higher degree of readiness for further professional development in relation to teachers who have not been educated in the media through seminars, workshops and courses.
U doba kada internet još nije postojao, 60 - tih godina prošloga stoljeća, Marshall McLuhan iznosi poznatu sintagmu „svijet je globalno selo“, a nove su komunikacijske i medijske tehnologije trebale ...putem međuovisnosti transformirati svijet u međuplanetarno selo. Međutim, McLuhan možda nije niti slutio da će ubrzani tehnološki napredak omogućiti komunikaciju bez „fizičkog posrednika - čimbenika“, te da će utilitarna i instrumentalna dimenzija komunikacije prepustiti mjesto kulturno - društvenoj dominaciji i manipulaciji. U numeričko doba, i Foucaultov pojam „bio - politike“ kao sustava potpunog nadzora i reguliranja tijela i života pomoću znanosti, tehnologije, na prvi pogled glasi kao povijesno konzumirani pojam koji pripada prošlosti moderne, bio - političkim i represivnim društvima. Numerička kontrola danas se temelji na dubokom porivu individualnog i narcističkog egzibicionizma unutar novog društva izloženosti.
Tema rada je tretman političkoga tjednika Danas Predsjedništva Centralnoga komiteta Saveza komunista Hrvatske u prvoj godini njegova izlaženja, tijekom 1982. i 1983. Danas je počeo izlaziti u drugoj ...polovini veljače 1982., a već pola godine poslije postao je krupan politički problem. Tjednik se pojavio u razdoblju opće krize, s kritičkim, na trenutke i provokativnim pristupom izazvao je okoštalu i ostarjelu partijsku elitu odlučnu da brani svoj nedodirljivi položaj. U vrlo kratkom vremenu ustalio se na nakladi od oko 120.000 prodanih primjeraka, što svjedoči o njegovoj privlačnosti širokoj čitalačkoj populaciji, a s druge strane i utjecaju, što je zapravo zabrinjavalo partijski vrh. Pojavom Danasa počelo je nastajati kritičko javno mnijenje u socijalističkoj Hrvatskoj, što je dotad u većoj mjeri bila značajka Slovenije i Srbije. U obračun s tjednikom partijski vrh krenuo je u ljeto 1982. i privremeno ga je primirio početkom sljedeće godine. To je učinjeno smjenom glavnoga i odgovornoga urednika te dovođenjem novoga s mlađim pomoćnicima koji su bili na službenoj partijskoj liniji. Rezultat promjena bio je i drastičan pad naklade, što je tjednik doslovno svelo na životarenje i marginalan utjecaj.
The subject of this paper is the way the weekly Danas was treated by the Presidency of the Central Committee of the League of Communists of Croatia in the first year of its publication, during 1982 and 1983. Danas started being published in the second half of February 1982 and half a year later the periodical turned into a huge political issue. The newspaper appeared at a time of a general crisis; with its critical approach, at times even provocative, it frustrated the hardened and obsolete party elite which was determined to defend its hitherto inviolable position. Within a short period of time, the weekly attained a circulation of 120,000 copies, which testifies to its wide appeal as well as to its influence, which in fact distressed the party leadership. With the appearance of Danas, a critical public opinion started to come into being. The party leadership started to deal with the weekly in the summer of 1982 and temporarily discontinued it at the beginning of the following year. This was done by the replacement of the editor-in-chief with a new one, along with young associates who were willing to toe the party line. The result of the changes was a drop in circulation, which literally reduced the weekly to eking out an existence and having only marginal influence. The penalization of Danas was in fact an example of shutting down any public opinion unacceptable to the party leadership, through the principle of democratic centralism and its concrete implementation in practice. It was actually a conflict within the party in which lower-ranking communists lost out.