Zoran Pucarić
Episode · #581
KUKA KULTURA KOMUNICIRANJA Zoran Pucarić
Guest Zoran PucarićHosted by Boris ŽivkovićMay 3, 2026
Zoran Pucarić
About this episode
What you'll hear in this conversation
“What doesn't kill you mutates and tries again,” Zoran Pucarić observes, updating the old adage for an era of constant disruption. This sets the tone for a candid discussion on how crises have reshaped communication, the evolving role of public relations, and the often-misunderstood dynamics of media today. As a seasoned communications expert and lecturer at LSPR, Pucarić offers a sharp perspective on how recent global and local upheavals have influenced public discourse, and the challenges faced by both organizations and the media in maintaining trust. Listeners will leave this conversation reconsidering how they consume information and how effectively their organizations navigate an environment of incessant change.
Insights from the conversation
What to take from this episode
01
Zoran Pucarić challenges the adage “what doesn't kill you makes you stronger,” suggesting instead that “what doesn't kill you mutates and tries again.” The lesson isn't that surviving a crisis automatically builds resilience; it's that each new challenge often requires a fundamentally different response.
02
Asked if recent crises have made people “better,” Zoran Pucarić responds with a blunt “the world is several times worse.” The idea that hardship inherently improves us is a comforting illusion; real personal or organizational growth demands deliberate effort and self-investment, not just survival.
03
The shift isn't that communication has suddenly become important, Pucarić points out, but that new tools have given everyone “their own multimedia.” The fixed schedules of old are gone; now, every individual generates and consumes information constantly, making communication a pervasive, always-on force.
04
In Croatia, “PR has become a synonym for everything bad,” Pucarić notes, often heard on the street as a pejorative “that's just PR.” When an entire profession is perceived as inherently misleading, its practitioners face an uphill battle to rebuild trust and redefine their ethical purpose.
05
External PR agencies, Pucarić explains, often serve as an “advocatus diaboli” during a crisis, offering an unemotional, objective perspective. Their value isn't just in additional capacity, but in the ability to challenge a company's internal assumptions and identify blind spots that an emotionally invested team might overlook.
06
Croatian media, Pucarić observes, are overwhelmingly dependent on advertising, which “influences editorial policy and quality of work.” When economic uncertainty shrinks marketing budgets, media outlets face the impossible choice between financial survival and maintaining editorial integrity, often compromising the latter.
07
The biggest challenge, Pucarić argues, isn't just fake news, but society's superficiality: people read headlines, not in-depth articles, and are “not informed” but merely “heard information.” This widespread consumption of partial truths fosters a collective inability to critically engage with complex issues.
08
Even fact-checkers, Pucarić points out, “sometimes know how to deal with their dissenters,” which inevitably raises questions about their impartiality. When the very institutions meant to verify truth appear biased, the public loses its last reliable reference point, deepening the crisis of trust.
09
A national broadcaster's news program stretching to “an hour and fifteen minutes” of “infotainment,” Pucarić argues, is a conscious decision to lower information quality for advertising slots. Public television, especially, has an obligation to prioritize quality and education over commercial pressures, a duty it too often forgets.