Public Relations in Croatia, 3
as Bosnia, Serbia, and Montenegro, Croatia has a fairly developed economic system. Croatia
hopes to enter the European Union in this decade.
To understand the development of public relations in Croatia, the researcher conducted
a three-part study. First, a survey instrument collected quantitative data to describe the current
status of the practice of public relations by non-governmental organizations (NGOs). NGOs are
important to study because as Hiebert noted, “today, many non-governmental organizations
have become effective communicators within the former Soviet bloc countries. They use
techniques of public relations to achieve public communication” (1992, p. 122). Second, in-
depth interviews were conducted with selected NGOs to further probe into public relations
practices such as communication tactics, research and evaluation, and media relations. Finally,
to better understand the public relations-media relationship, in-depth interviews were
conducted with journalists, media managers, and consultants of an international training
organization dedicated to media development in Croatia. The three data sets include both
qualitative and quantitative data and provide a systematic analysis of the current status of
public relations in Croatia.
Croatian public relations needs to be understood within the wider context of Eastern
Europe. While every nation in Eastern Europe has its own unique culture and social
relationships, these nations do share a common political, social and economic past —
communism. This shared experience will affect development of public relations in the region.
Indeed, the practice of public relations as an arbiter of organization-public relationships is new
to the nations of Eastern Europe. To contextualize the general situation of public relations in
Eastern Europe, the first part of this paper reviews the existing literature addressing the
development of public relations in the region. The literature points to some regional
commonalities in the practice of public relations. Personal relationships between public
Convention