This master’s thesis explores the media construction of national identity through a case study of how the daily newspapers Delo and Dnevnik reported on Adria Airways. The first part outlines the theoretical foundations of identity, national identity, and the media’s role in constructing national identity. The case of Adria Airways is presented, and through the application of critical discourse analysis, the thesis addresses two key research questions: how Delo and Dnevnik represented key events in the post-independence history of Adria Airways, and how national identity is constructed in journalistic discourse surrounding the airline. Initially, Adria Airways was portrayed as a symbol of Slovenian sovereignty and international connectivity. It was constructed as a national icon, and its collapse was framed as a collective loss. In contrast, contemporary reporting adopts a more economic and neutral discourse, in which national identity no longer plays a central role, having been increasingly replaced by an economic and managerial logic. The journalistic discourse on Adria Airways shows that the media are not merely passive transmitters of information, but active agents who, through discourse, selection, and representation, participate in the construction of meanings, identities, and social reality.
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