For communications, brands and public affairs. I turn complex media coverage into clear evidence about visibility, narratives and reputation—with the depth your next decision deserves.
Map the sources covering your issue and compare their roles within the observed media landscape.
For communications leaders, brands and public-affairs teams navigating a complex media environment. Each engagement starts with the decision you need to make.
Understand your coverage, recurring issues and source mix alongside a relevant peer group. Separate publishing volume from recorded engagement.
Examine recurring themes, frames and claims. See how language differs across sources, with reviewed examples that explain the patterns.
Reconstruct the observed timeline of a launch, controversy or major event. Identify coverage spikes, recurring claims and signs of amplification.
Put developing issues in context through a regular, analyst-reviewed briefing. Focus on meaningful shifts within an agreed scope and cadence.
Commission a focused study or establish an ongoing research relationship. Scope follows the question and available coverage.
What changes when you look beneath the headline? These studies turn media records into a clearer view of the issue—and the next question to ask.
The Rimac brief compares the story in the media with the discussion beneath it.
Support is more prevalent than criticism in the sampled media coverage. In the comments, criticism is more prevalent. Reading the two together reveals a communication question a headline count would miss.
Are you answering the story in the news—or the arguments people raise underneath it?
Share of relevant texts expressing each stance
Weighted, model-coded estimates; manual validation pending. A text can express both stances. Recorded content, not public opinion.
Luka Šikić, Dvije rasprave o Rimcu, pp. 2 and 6. Archive: 1 January 2021–10 September 2026; 35,413 texts and posts, plus 20,640 linked comments. The chart uses the report’s relevant coded media and comment samples, not the full archive.
Stance was coded by a language model using a written protocol and supporting quotations. Repeat coding measures consistency, not accuracy; manual sample validation is pending. Confidence intervals use a stratified, clustered bootstrap and do not capture all collection or classification uncertainty. Collection windows vary by platform.
Published studies and recent research.
Published study · 2026
Croatia’s euro adoption: administrative framing becomes less prevalent, while social framing gains ground in the analysed sample.
236 articles · December 2022–January 2023.
“Administrative” abbreviates technological-administrative. Other frames omitted.
Policy transitions, launches and changes in the way an issue is discussed.
Davor Trbušić, Stela Lechpammer & Luka Šikić · Communication Today.
Published study · 2025
An analysis of 543 native advertisements across six Croatian portals examines headline techniques, sources and industry patterns.
543 ads · December 2021–May 2022.
Other: numbers, emotion, vague pronouns and reverse narrative. Descriptive shares, not performance lift.
Content audits, publisher comparisons and a more informed creative brief.
Davor Trbušić, Luka Šikić & Dražen Maleš · Journal of Economics and Business.
Public research draft · September 2026
The five most frequent sources account for 23.9% of captured publications explicitly mentioning the Croatian National Bank.
33,235 publications across 281 outlets.
January 2021–August 2026. Counts within the captured corpus.
Source prioritisation, institutional coverage reviews and comparative briefings.
Luka Šikić · HNB Media Attention.
Author review and independent validation pending.
Research subjects are not presented as clients or endorsements. Each example retains its own period, sample and publication status.
How do Croatian media cover your sector? Explore company visibility, recurring themes and the questions they raise. The Merkat Media report series connects the wider media picture with your next communication decision.
Explore the sector reports A Merkat Media series · Analysis by Luka Šikić, PhDAutumn 2026 · September 2025 – August 2026
Read the summaries and original Croatian reports. Each report defines its own scope, sources and methodological notes.A focused research process, with direct access to the analyst responsible for the work.
Agree on the decision, entities, time period and comparison group. Check what the data can answer before setting the scope.
Combine statistical analysis and text methods with close reading. Check important patterns against source material and coverage conditions.
Receive an executive memo, visual evidence and a personal briefing. Discuss implications, uncertainties and questions worth pursuing next.
Luka Šikić, PhD
Assistant Professor of Statistics and Data Science
Croatian Catholic University, Zagreb
I bring statistical depth and a close reading of the media to the same question.
My work connects quantitative methods with economics and digital media. I use econometrics, machine learning and text analysis to investigate patterns—and the context that makes them meaningful.
You work directly with me from the initial question to the final discussion. My academic work includes leading DigiKat at the Croatian Catholic University.
Academic profile & selected publications →The documented archive spans Croatian web portals, social platforms, video platforms and forums, beginning in 2021, with collection continuing today. Available sources, text and metrics vary by platform and period. Every study defines its own coverage and analysis cut-off.
It measures patterns in observed public content and available engagement data. It is not a representative opinion poll. Estimated reach, text sentiment and platform reactions each describe different signals and are interpreted separately.
Yes, where coverage and measurement are sufficiently comparable. Source availability, collection changes, gaps and partial periods are checked before interpreting a trend.
A defined research question, an executive memo, supporting charts and evidence, a methods note and a discussion with Luka. An interactive report or recurring briefing can be scoped where it helps the decision.
Send a short description of the organization or issue, the decision you face and your deadline. We first assess data fit, then agree on the scope, deliverables, timing and fee.
Tell me the issue, the decision and the timeframe.
I’ll help define what the evidence can tell you.