The survey contains reports and rankings for 195 countries and territories around the world, with a universal set of 23 questions divided into three categories which are used to assess the legislative, political and economic environment in which the media operate.
Out of the 195 countries and territories examined, 74 (38 percent) were rated free, while 58 (30 percent) were rated partly free, and 63 (32 percent) were rated not free.
In this year's report Croatia is rated "partly free", as are most former Yugoslav countries, except for Slovenia. With 37 points, Croatia shares the 80th place on the list with Montenegro and Bolivia.
This is an improvement compared to last year's report, when the country was ranked 85th.
Analysing media freedoms in Croatia, Freedom House notes that "media outlets are still influenced by various political and economic interests".
"Amendments to the criminal code that were passed in June 2006 and took effect in October eliminated imprisonment as a punishment for libel, leaving fines as the only sanction," the organisation says, adding that government officials occasionally use libel laws against the media. One example is a lawsuit President Stjepan Mesic filed against the Vecernji List daily for running an article claiming that Mesic had a supervisory role in the former Yugoslav secret service.
"Political interference and undue pressure on the media persists in Croatia," Freedom House says, citing as examples the government's appointments to Hina's Governing Council and the suspension of two journalists from the Croatian Radio and Television who broadcast a speech from the early 1990s in which Mesic appeared to speak favourably about Croatia's fascist past.
"In July, the Croatian Journalists' Association protested the government's appointments to the advisory board for the state news agency Hina, alleging that the new appointees - who included a veterinarian, a recent law-school graduate, and an owner of a political marketing firm - lacked qualifications and were essentially political lackeys.
"However, the government in October asked the parliament to dismiss the board after a disagreement over its selection of a general manager, and lawmakers complied with the request in December".
"Also in December, two journalists from the state-owned Croatian Radio and Television (HRT) were temporarily suspended for broadcasting a speech from the early 1990s in which Mesic appeared to speak favourably about Croatia's fascist past," Freedom House said.
"Journalists in Croatia remain exposed to physical threats and violence," the organisation says, noting that the issue of war crimes remains a sensitive topic, and that journalists face intimidation and pressure if their reporting challenges the virtue of Croatia's role in the 1991-1995 war.
Freedom House cites the example of a journalist from Osijek, Drago Hedl, who received death threats linked to an article accusing local officials of committing war crimes.
The organisation states that there are around 140 radio stations and 15 television channels in Croatia, that two out of three national television stations are privately owned, and that HRT is the market leader. The state remains the single largest media owner.
The press in Croatia has increasingly been used as a tool by media owners to promote their business and political interests. Several prominent journalists expressed concerns in 2006 that the media were becoming increasingly subverted to the interests of powerful advertisers, who were able to control content by threatening to redirect their sponsorship, the reports reads.
The state does not restrict the foreign press or Internet use and more than 30 percent of the population accessed the Internet in 2006, according to the report.
At the global level, Finland, Iceland, Belgium, Scandinavian countries and EU member-countries are ranked first according to media freedoms. The United States is ranked 16th. The bottom of the Freedom House list belongs to Burma, Cuba, Libya, Turkmenistan and North Korea.