In the course of its accession to the EU, Croatia had to meet EU media and information society requirements. This led to significant development of the Croatian media system. However, there remained a number of areas that could be further enhanced and problems to be identified in the media policy framework and its implementation. The Media Development Indicators (MDIs) Assessment was undertaken with the goal of further improvement and analysis of media development in Croatia.

The analysis of the status of pluralism, diversity and freedom in the Croatian media system, using the UNESCO MDIs as a methodological template, was completed in 2011 by a team of researchers at the Centre for Media and Communication Research, Faculty of Political Science, University of Zagreb.

This Report describes the capacity of the Croatian media to work in a democratic regulatory environment and in a free but concentrated market. It reveals that the infrastructure available in Croatia is technologically developed and increasingly digitalized. However, it also highlights problems that remain with regard to the democratic contribution of the media and transparency and accessibility of data regarding the media system, the precarious position of journalists, as well as still existing issues of independence of the media from economic or political power hubs.