The Parliament elected on October 9 two new members of the Audiovisual Media Authority (AMA.) The new members are Pirro Misha, head of Institute for Dialogue and Communication and well-known publicist, and Gledis Gjipali, head of the European Movement Albania. The new members were voted only by Members of Parliament from the ruling majority, as […]
Albania
New Law on Access to Information Approved
On September 18 the parliament approved the new law “On right to information.” The law was approved after years of discussion with the Ministry of Justice, public administration, and relevant parliamentary commissions. The initiative to change the existing law on access to information came from Soros Foundation and other civil society organizations. The law […]
OSCE and Albanian Journalist Associations Condemn Violent Attack on Journalists in Albania
OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatović, condemned an attack on journalists reporting on a police raid in Gjirokastra’s Lazarat village in southern Albania on June 16. “Violence against journalists is unacceptable, safety is a basic pre-condition for their work,” Mijatović said. According to media reports, a vehicle carrying a journalist, a camera […]
Freedom House Global Press Freedom Ranking
This month Freedom House released its global ranking of freedom of the press all over the world. Albania was ranked 98th out of 197 countries, qualified as partly free. This marked a slightly lower rank compared to last year, when it was ranked as 96th. Out of Balkan countries, it shared the same position […]
Parliament Decides on Number of Vacancies of Regulator
The Members of Parliament debated on May 22 on whether to pronounce the vacancy of the chair of Audiovisual Media Authority, a topic that has resulted in a deadlock between the two political wings in the last months. The opposition maintained that the ruling majority’s wish to publish such a vacancy pointed to the […]
The Parliamentary Media Commision still Lacking Consensus on Regulators
On April 28, the Parliamentary Commission of Media finally made a decision on the procedures for electing the new members of the Steering Council of RTSH (KDRTSH.) The Commission agreed for both the opposition and ruling majority MPs to each shortlist 20 candidates out of the 57 applicants. Then, each side will proceed to […]
Police Assault Journalist during Protest
On April 12 the police was involved in an incident with a reporter of daily Panorama, during a protest related to the death of an Albanian prisoner in a Greek camp. As the police claimed that the protesters deviated from their plan, the police tried to stop them, clashing with the protesters. Journalist Armand Bajrami […]
Court Rules to Dismiss former Culture Minister’s Lawsuit
The Tirana District Court ruled in favour of Top Channel TV in a lawsuit filed by the former Minister of Culture Ylli Pango, who sought damages amounting to 1 million Euros over an alleged violation of privacy, caused by a secret video shot and aired by Top Channel’s satirical/ investigative show Fiks Fare, in […]
Regulator’s Decision Sparks Controversy
On March 26 the regulator Audiovisual Media Authority issued a decision on must-carry content, allowing other networks to rebroadcast programs of national TV stations without payment for the viewers. The regulator claimed that this decision was made in view of the failure of commercial TV stations to cover the required territory as stated in […]
Regional Conference on Independence of Media Regulators
A regional conference on the indicators for independence of media regulatory bodies, organized by the Council of Europe (CoE), in the framework of the regional Project “Promoting freedom of expression and information and freedom of the media in South-East Europe (SEE)”, took place in Tirana on March 6-7. The conference gathered representatives of the […]