Framing ECoC České Budejovice 2028 coverage in media and professional public

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.