The Prime Minister Edi Rama became the protagonist of a tensed situation with journalists, during a live interview, on October 25. The interview followed a parliamentary session, focused on lifting immunity of the former Minister of Internal Affairs, Saimir Tahiri, who is suspected to be linked to Albanian-Italian drug trafficking activities. The ruling majority MPs voted […]
Albania
National Report: Gatekeepers and Intermediaries: Albania
The report provides an overview of the legislation affecting freedom of expression, rather than media and information freedom laws, as well as the potential mechanisms used to limit freedom of expression. In this respect, the project analyzes the current trends in legislation and potential “attacks” to freedom of expression from the debate on media ethics, […]
National Report: Online Media in Albania – Not Yet a Game Changer
AUTHOR: ILDA LONDO, researcher Albanian Media Institute Clearly the information and communication practices in online media and social media will be a priority in the near future, just like the ability of traditional media to professionally evolve and keep up with the need to respond to audience needs and trends. While this is highly […]
”General prosecutor used his position to censor media content”, report claims
A report published by Klodiana Lala on BIRN Albania’s website shows that the General Prosecutor Adriatik Lalla used his position to demand for online articles on his daughter’s lifestyle be deleted. He sent a letter to the Authority of Electronic and Postal Communications (AKEP), asking them to take measures against some portals that had written a piece on […]
Judge files two lawsuits against media outlets and journalists
Gjin Gjoni, Judge at the Court of Appeals and member of the Supreme Council of Justice in Tirana, along with his wife, the businesswoman Elona Caushi, filed lawsuits against two media outlets and four journalists working for the latters. The ones to be sued are the Balkan Investigative Reporting in Albania and reporters Besar Likmeta […]
Amendment on political advertising rules sparks opposition of media outlets
The Parliament of Albania approved an amendment to the Law on Audiovisual Media regarding rules for political parties’ advertising during political campaigns. The law was voted with 118 votes out of 140, and was a result of the two major political parties’ agreement regarding the imminent general elections of June 25, 2017. The amendment […]
Regulator Grants National Digital Licenses after a Contested Process
The regulatory authority on audiovisual media, Audiovisual Media Authority (AMA), granted the fifth and final national commercial license for national terrestrial digital networks on January 27. In its statement, the regulator said that the granting of this license concluded the licensing process for national terrestrial digital licenses in the country. The regulator voted to […]
Assault on journalist condemned by journalists’ associations and politicians
Author: Ilda Londo Albanian Media Institute Elvi Fundo, Director of the news portal Citynews.al, and of Radio Best, was beaten by two persons, on March 8, in Tirana. He was briefly hospitalized. Later, Fundo declared on his Facebook page that the assault was “not a political act, but a crime by corrupt media clans, […]
National Report – Reporting Foreign Affairs in Albanian Media: a Low Priority
Author: ILDA LONDO, researcher, Albanian Media Institute The coverage of foreign affairs tends to be the least consolidated section of Albanian media, even in the case of bigger, more respected national media. Human resources are scarce and correspondents are lacking in most cases. The Albanian media tend to rely on foreign sources mostly, making […]
Albania: Positive role of media in investigating violations of law, despite pressures, survey finds
According to a public opinion survey on the role of institutions in Albania, conducted in 2016, media continue to be viewed as the most important actor in investigating violations of the law committed by high officials (according to 69% of the respondents). The survey findings show that the media are viewed as the first […]