Serbian students’ perception of the contemporary media coverage of critical situations

Since the very birth, the media has exerted a huge impact on masses, which only became more obvious in the contemporary information society, especially given the rapid development of technology and social networks. After a brief theoretical overview, the authors present the results of the sociological survey conducted in two public universities of the Republic of Srpska, which aimed at identifying student estimates of the mass media’s manipulative potential in general and student opinions towards the media coverage of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine in particular. The authors designed the survey sample in such a way as to represent students of social sciences and humanities (different educational profiles within these two professional fields) due to the very nature of their studies and to the better knowledge of issues under study by definition (content of courses and requirements to competences in the future professional field). The survey was conducted online, the questionnaire was posted on the Google platform, which allowed not only to share the link but also to receive feedback. The authors wanted to get empirical data proving the fact that the media has a significant influence on the formation of attitudes and value systems of the wider public, including the younger generation represented by the student youth. Given that the Russian-Ukrainian conflict has lasted for more than two years, it allows to get a deeper insight into the public perception of such critical issues as not just based on the media coverage or the first emotional reactions after the outbreak of the conflict. The authors wanted to know whether students feel/believe that the media (in general or specific media companies) tend to biased reporting, and what media channels students prefer to get much-needed information. The authors emphasize the need for objective reporting in crisis situations, including various conflicts. Crisis situations are always a great challenge for any media in the perspective of complying with ethical standards of reporting and the pressure of media owners and political forces. The article aims at revealing students’ attitudes towards the causes of such biased reporting and topics that the media is likely to cover in an objective manner.