Zagreb, February 23, 1999 (IKA) – Assistant Professor Stjepan Malović, journalism instructor at the Faculty of Political Science in Zagreb and author of the books Introduction to Journalism and The Ethics of Journalism, discussed ethics in journalism, the current situation and the freedom of the Croatian media in an interview published in the February 28 issue of the Catholic weekly Glas Koncila. Malović#!s remarks also included the coverage of religious events in the domestic media: “This exclusively concerns protocol, not professional selection. An event is not assessed according to its importance but according to its importance and #!weight#! with reference to protocol. It can be easily seen that editors publish news according to a protocol list. It is not important what actually occurs on a holy day. We have disproportion. On the one hand, a great event that actually occurs is ignored, almost suppressed, while on the other hand, events are covered that are totally inessential for the Church, religion, public or media consumers, merely because someone of protocol significance has attended.” According to Prof. Malović, one of the major problems in the Croatian media is the presence of politics in nearly all areas with which the media is engaged. He also criticizes the absence of dialogue, i.e. a climate in which it is not possible to argue against an idea without simultaneously “drawing knives.” Recently, “yellow journalism” has become markedly present in the press, which according to Prof. Malović “is a consequence of market relations that are not genuine market relations,” i.e. the existence of a monopoly in the press and electronic media, together with the tastes and demands of the reading public. Nevertheless, he asserts that young journalists provide hope for better journalism and greater freedom of the media in Croatia. “As professionals, we are obligated to provide them with education and training, in order to enable them to respond to all the pressures awaiting them,” Malović pointed out. There are also problems regarding a shortage of literature. An increasing number of professional journalists are participating in educational activities. At workshops organized by the Croatian Journalism Association for “the elevation of the level of professional knowledge,” many journalists work on a volunteer basis. The Croatian Association of Catholic Journalists has organized courses for the professional training of young journalists since 1990.