Ethical Standards of Croatian Media

Sunčica Findak (Suncica Findak) affair proved to be another litmus test of Croatian journalism. Intimate pictures taken by her former lover, Tudjman-era deputy education minister Miroslav Dorešić (Miroslav Doresic) were more intimate than I originally thought. I had the opportunity to compare the pictures with my expectations thanks to the article in "serious" Nacional which used material published in Imperijal, Croatian tabloid which gained much infamy during 1990s. Globus, while reporting of the affair, didn't use those pictures for illustration and actually expressed its disgust with the practice.

Prudishness and care for someone's privacy and dignity are something new for Croatian journalists, who had somewhat different standards in case of Goran Bregović (Goran Bregovic) ten years ago. Famous musician, who used to be biggest rock star in former Yugoslavia, left Sarajevo before the start of siege which was enough for Bosnian patriots to view him as a traitor. They invaded his home and found plenty of videotapes showing Bregović in very intimate situations with certain ladies. Photographs from those tapes (with strategic spots covered by black space) were published in Nedjeljna Dalmacija, one of supposedly more serious Croatian weeklies at the time.