FEMALE PUBLIC RELATIONS PROFESSIONALS’ PERCEPTIONS ON THE PORTRAYAL OF THE #METOO MOVEMENT IN CROATIAN MEDIA

Abstract

The #MeToo movement gained prominence in 2017 when the #MeToo hashtag went viral and woke up the world to the magnitude of the problem of sexual violence. It was the actress Alyssa Milano who made the first viral tweet accusing Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault. Since research on the #MeToo movement across cultural contexts is limited and mostly comes from Western countries, this research aims to explore the perceptions of six female public relations experts on the portrayal of the #MeToo movement in Croatian media. Thematic analysis has been conducted to analyse data from six interviews. The results show three main themes in the responses from the interviewees: media’s failure to protect the public interest, insufficient visibility of the #MeToo movement in Croatian media and the lack of expertise in the media.