| Summary: | In the paper we analyze a discrepancy between citizens’ perception about importance of political independence of local media and their clear understanding that local media are heavily dependent on local political elites. We interpret that contradiction in the context of local media empowerment for their democratic role, based on normative media theory of deliberative (civic) democracy and its assumption that the functioning of democracy requires an active involvement of citizens in public debate and that local media are highly important for the social communication in which citizens express their individual and collective views. The paper analyzes political (in)dependence of local media and local radio, as well as citizens´ attitudes, preferences and expectations regarding local radio programs content and their interest to participate in radio programs and their editorial policy. In empirical analysis, which supports our hypothesis, we use the data from the research conducted for the Agency for Electronic Media by Ipsos Puls in spring 2014.
In order to enable local media to fulfill their deliberative function much stronger and more profoundly, media policy debate should include models of community media which can open the space for further democratization of media landscape in Croatia.
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