Mass media in Albania

Television, magazines, and newspapers are all operated by both state-owned and for-profit corporations which depend on advertising, subscription, and other sales-related revenues.

[3]: 11 Libel and defamation were decriminalised in March 2012, but remain punishable by high fines - something which is deemed reinforcing trends of self-censorship among journalists.

[3]: 11 Setting up a website requires a permit by the Authority on Electronic and Postal Communication (AKEP), responsible for the technical regulation of online media.

Civil society organisations propose names of experts, which MPs from majority and opposition then shortlist and elect (3 each).

After a long in-fight, two members and a new chairman were elected in late 2014, but the opposition boycotted the vote and did not recognise its outcomes.

[1] The Ethical Code of the Albanian Media Institute, created in 1996 and revised in 2006, states that journalists "have the right to obtain information, to publish, and to criticise.

In June 2014 criminal gangs shot at an A1 Report TV crew, with a vehicle torched and a journalist shortly taken hostage, during a police raid on a village involved in drug-trafficking.

More than half of the respondents to the 2015 BIRN study report that the editorial line in the media outlets they work for is easily influenced by different factors, including owners’ economic interests, “outside pressures and interventions”, etc.

[7] More than 70% of the media professionals involved in the BIRN study believe that journalists in Albania avoid to cover and report of certain stories and issues.

Most newspapers remain linked to business and political interest groups, since they could not fund themselves simply with the sale of low numbers of copies.

[13] Ownership links and financial dependence on business and political tycoons limits journalistic quality and independence, and fosters sensationalism and commercialisation.

[4] RTSH Steering Council's members are elected with a procedure similar to those of AMA, thus reinforcing the issue of politicisation and lack of independence.

[4] RTSH finances itself through a license fee (€0.75 per month per family) and may receive funds from advertising, third party services (including productions), performances, donations and sponsorships (upon approval of the Steering Council), and the sale of programmes.

It was launched as an alternative for Albanian expats living abroad to view content from Albania, Kosovo, Montenegro and Macedonia.

[29] The cinema of Albania had its start in the years 1911—1912, with the first showings of foreign film, and the recording of few documentaries in the pre-war and inter-war period.

Growing isolationism in the 1970s and 1980s stifled cinematographic imports and fostered domestic productions, which was diversified to various genres, including cultural documentaries and animated films.

A new National Center of Cinematography was established, while cities built modern cinema theatres catering mostly US movies to the public.

Until 1990, Albania was one of the world's most isolated and controlled countries, and installation and maintenance of a modern system of international and domestic telecommunications was precluded.

Albania's telephone density was the lowest in Europe, and callers needed operator assistance even to make domestic long-distance calls.

[31] Systematic, public and reliable data on media outlets’ economic and financial situation as well as their functioning are missing.

[32] In addition, thanks to the digitisation of the registry and the establishment of the National Registration Centre, the transparency of official ownership data has increased.

This is indeed one of the “unresolved issue” of the Albanian media system and a topic of constant debate [32][33] in a country with high levels of informal economy.

In this sense, the large number of media outlets, in particular newspapers and televisions, operating in Albania is financed through parallel business on which there is a lack of transparency.

[32] Overall, the data provided to the National Council in recent years do not create a comprehensive picture of media funding.

[8] Despite the lack of data, the Albanian media system clearly shows a "visible trend of consolidation of ownership, although not to the point of creating a major problem".

One of the first consequences of this acquisition was the end of the contract with Anila Basha, director of a newspaper that had in several occasions openly supported the leader of the opposition.

For instance, Top Media owns shares in companies operating in the radio, TV, multiplex, and print sectors as well as in the publishing industry.

This situation is made possible also by the lack of detailed regulations on preventing ownership concentration in the sector of print media.

[8] In addition, it is quite common to observe a pattern in the ownership schemes of media companies, namely the rotation of the same group of family, relatives, or trusted persons through the positions of general administrator, board members, or shareholders.

[36] In terms of pluralism of content and editorial policies, the Albanian media market offers a variety of alternative views and opinions.