Acta Univ. Bohem. Merid. 2025, 28(2):21-45 | DOI: 10.32725/acta.2025.00774

Framing ECoC České Budejovice 2028 coverage in media and professional public

Ludmila Novacká1, Matěj Pejsar1
Faculty of Economics, Department of Trade and Tourism, Studentská 787/13, České Budějovice, Czech Republic

The main aim of this study was to analyse the media coverage of the European Capital of Culture (ECoC) 2028 and to explore how professional and academic audiences perceive its anticipated impacts. Authors of article focused on extent and nature of media coverage of the ECoC 2028 project within the Czech media, and to explore public perceptions of the project. A mixed-methods approach was adopted, integrating both quantitative and qualitative methods. The study further presents an opinion of two focus groups evaluating the anticipated impacts of the European Capital of Culture (ECoC) programme. The first group comprised university students specialising in tourism management, while the second consisted of professional journalists and authors active in the field of tourism and hospitality. The findings from both research methods are surprisingly very similar. Only two extreme results from the media coverage were not confirmed in the focus groups.

Keywords: Tourism, Culture, European Capital of Culture, České Budějovice, Survey Mediatization, Focus groups
JEL classification: L82, Z10, Z19, Z32

Received: July 17, 2025; Revised: October 12, 2025; Accepted: December 5, 2025; Published: December 5, 2025  Show citation

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Novacká, L., & Pejsar, M. (2025). Framing ECoC České Budejovice 2028 coverage in media and professional public. Acta Universitatis Bohemiae Meridionalis, 28(2), 21-45. doi: 10.32725/acta.2025.007
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