Zrinjka Peruško is professor of sociology and teaches communication and media studies at the Faculty of Political Science, University of Zagreb, Croatia.
Peruško is founder and Chair of its Centre for Media and Communication Research. She holds a PhD (in sociology) from the Faculty of Philosophy at the University of Zagreb. Her research expertise covers media systems democratization dynamics and media cultures in Central and Eastern Europe. She has received research funding from the Croatian Ministry of Education, Science and Sport, the Council of Europe, Open Society Institute (Budapest), Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (Croatia), UNESCO (Paris), the Croatian Foundation for the Development of Civil Society (Zagreb), and was involved in major international research networks funded by the EU COST initiative and UNESCO.
Her publications include Assessment of Media Development in Croatia, based on UNESCO Media Development Indicators (UNESCO, Paris, 2011) and Croatian Media System (according to the UNESCO Media Development Indicators) (in Croatian, Zagreb: FPZ, 2011), as well as earlier books (all in Croatian) on Democracy and the Media (Zagreb: Barbat, 1999), Media and Civil Society (Zagreb: Jesenski Turk, 2008), Introduction to Media (Zagreb: Jesenski Turk, 2011). Several articles on CEE & SEE media systems will be published in 2013 (Comparing Post-Socialist Media Systems (in Croatian), Politička misao, Vol. 50, No. 2, 2013; Media Pluralism Policy in a Post-socialist Mediterranean Media System: The Case of Croatia. Central European Journal of Communication, Vol. 6, no. 2.; Rediscovering the Mediterranean Characteristics of the Croatian Media System. East European Politics and Societies and Culture, 2013). She has also published book chapters and journal articles on media policy, television and the public interest, media concentration and pluralism, and media bias. Her current research focuses on comparative understanding of the southeast European media systems development. Her new research interest is in the relationship between popular television and politics.
Peruško was member of the Advisory Panel on Media Diversity (2000-2004), the Group of Specialists on Media Diversity of the Council of Europe (2005-2008) which she chaired in 2006 and 2007, Croatian representative to the UNESCO International Program for Development of Communication (IPDC) (2000-2003, 2005-2008), 2011-2015), Croatian National Commission for UNESCO (2004-2010). She is expert member of the Committee on Information, Informatization and the Media of the Croatian Parliament (2004-2007, 2013-2015), and serves as expert for the Media division of the Council of Europe. She is member of ICA, ECREA, Croatian Sociological Association, Croatian Political Science Association, Centre for Law and Democracy Miko Tripalo, and associate member of ORBICOM.
Center for Intercultural Dialogue 