Mass media in Albania refers to mass media outlets based 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. The Constitution of Albania guarantees freedom of speech and freedom of the press, although the current socialist government led by Edi Rama generally does not respect these rights in practice.https://albania.mom-gmr.org/en/findings/whocontrolsthemediainalbania/ An overwhelming majority of the largest media in Albania are pro-government and actively censor any information critical and negative about it. The government and businesses actively influence and pressure the media.https://citizens.al/en/2023/12/12/who-controls-the-media-in-Albania/ There are government restrictions on access to the Internet, such as the ban on TikTok.https://www.reuters.com/technology/albania-starts-turning-off-tiktok-amid-concern-over-youth-violence-2025-03-13/
Legislative framework The Constitution of Albania provides for freedom of speech and freedom of the press. However, there are reports that the government and businesses influence and pressure the media. The constitution and law prohibit arbitrary interference with privacy, family, home, or correspondence. There are government restrictions on access to the Internet, such as TikTok.
The Constitution of Albania prohibits censorship and grants citizens the right to access to information: every citizen has the right, in accordance with the law, to acquire information on the activities of state bodies and persons exercising public functions. Elda Brogi, Alina Dobreva, and Pier Luigi Parcu, "Freedom of Media in the Western Balkans", study for the European Parliament's Subcommittee on Human Rights, October 2014, EXPO/B/DROI/2013/16
The print press in Albania is mostly self-regulated. The Law on the Press only states that "The press is free. Freedom of the press is protected by law". Printed publications do not require authorisation, nor are they registered in number at any time.
As part of its proposed accession to the European Union, Albania has cooperated with the European Commission on media and broadcasting policy. In 2010, it issued an opinion that the country was "facing serious issues with regard to media freedom and independence resulting from the lack of independence from political and business actors". A 2011 law adopted the EU Audiovisual Media Services Directive, although the then-previous ruling party was criticised for allowing political control over the Audiovisual Media Authority and failing to ensure its independence.
During election campaigns, as stated by the Election Law, TV and radio coverage (but not the press) needs to be balanced. Yet, the two main parties are allocated double the time than the other smaller parties. The Central Election Commission forms a Media Monitoring Board, composed of party representatives (but excluding smaller and newer parties), and tasked with punishing non-compliant outlets with (rather small) fines.
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. Since 2005, the government and the public administration have pledged not to sue journalists. Since 2013, a Ministerial Code asks ministers not to sue journalists without the prime minister approval, or face the risk of removal. The number of civil cases has dropped, but the formula is not yet entrenched.
Access to information is guaranteed by law since 1999, though implementation lags behind. A 2014 law aimed to prevent delays in officials' answers to access requests. Institutions should appoint coordinators, and a Commission for the Right to Information is tasked to monitor compliance.Freedom House, Albania 2015 Press Freedom report
Online contents are lightly regulated. The only prosecuted contents are those concerning genocide or crimes against humanity, as well as provocation of ethnic, religious or other hate. The Chief Prosecutor may and should collect all relevant content.
Setting up a website requires a permit by the Authority on Electronic and Postal Communication (AKEP), responsible for the technical regulation of online media.Londo, Ilda (2012), Mapping Digital Media: Albania. Open Society Foundation.
Regulatory authorities The Audiovisual Media Authority (AMA) is the main media regulator in Albania, replacing the previous National Council of Radio and Television (KKRT). The AMA is tasked with issuing broadcasting licenses and monitoring their use. It is funded through fines, annual licenses and fees, though it can also receive public budget money. It 5 members are elected by the Parliament for 5 years for maximum two terms. Civil society organisations propose names of experts, which MPs from majority and opposition then shortlist and elect (3 each). The 7th member, the AMA Chairman, is elected by the Parliamentary majority.
The AMA is commonly considered as highly politicised. 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.
Status and self-regulation of journalists 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. Information should be truthful, balanced and verified.
The Albanian journalism labour market is unstable and journalists often work without contracts (90% of them, according to a 2012 study of the Albanian Media InstituteAlbanian Media Institute (2012), ebute.pdf Self-censorship and soft censorship in Albanian media. Tirana: Albanian Media Institute.) or for unpaid extra hours, facing delayed salary payment (up to in 70% of cases). The lack of professional stability undermines motivation and security, and push towards either self-censorship or business and political interferences. Existing journalists' labour unions are not very active in defending journalists' rights. Average salaries for journalists in Tirana are 300–600 euros; journalists outside the capital are paid even less, and 60% of them do not reach the national average wage.Data released by the head of the Albanian Union of Journalists, Aleksander Çipa Media owners often fail to respect the Law on Work Insurance. Journalist may find themselves forced to take up second jobs, with possible conflicts of interests.
The lack of resources hinders the development of professionalism and quality journalism. Journalists often can only refer to official statements and phone calls; investigative journalism is rare. The professional culture is still very influenced by the socialist times.
Journalists in Albania remain at risk of being physically obstructed, assaulted or threatened while covering specific events. 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.
Censorship Despite some positive developments in the Albania media system since the fall of the Communist regime, such as the creation of a pluralistic media scene, the increase of the number of media outlets, the diversification of formats and the development of digital media, the reduction of physical attacks against journalists and the improvement of the legal framework, censorship and self-censorship are still present in the Albanian media environment. They come from political and economic pressures, lack of financial viability for media outlets, lack of professionalism, ethics and of respect for journalists’ rights. Links between politics, business and media undermine journalistic excellence and quality of reporting in the Albanian media and generate censorship and self-censorship among journalists. One of the main reason of this concerns media ownership structures and patterns: many businessmen in Albania have become media owners, thus their media outlets are kept alive by their business earnings, while maintaining close relationships with politicians.
According to a 2015 report by the Balkan Investigative Journalism Network (BIRN) Albania, media professionals in Albania act under the strong influence of factors such as pressure from public institutions, pressure through state-sponsored advertising, pressure from big advertisers, but also pressure from owners’ economic interests, owners’ political links. All these facts also affect the editorial policy that media organisations follow. 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.
According to BIRN, the media editorial policy is often perceived by Albanian journalists as political biased; it is report that it is have been evident to journalists before they joined the media outlet, or was transmitted informally after they joined the media organisation through orders from owners and editors, censorship of news or suggestions from colleagues. These pressures inside a media organisation to enforce the editorial policy imposed by the owners influence media coverage and the choice of news to be published, as well as the avoidance of others, and result in “one-sided news coverage”, “positive/PR coverage of political and financial partners” and “lack of critical and investigative journalism”.
As a result of all these pressures, self-censorship is a widespread phenomenon in the Albanian media. 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. Also, half around of the respondents admitted that they avoided certain news “often” or even “very often”. The issues more frequently avoided concern politics, organised crime and economy.
According to BIRN, the main factors pushing journalists toward del-censorship are reported to "the economic and political interests of media owners", a problem closely connected with the system of media ownership and financing, the “lack of physical security”, and the lack of “job security”.
During August 2019, Council of Europe issued an alert regarding censorship on Albanian media. This alert was brought after the shutdown of two talk-shows, both critical towards the Socialist Party government.
The shut down was criticized by many local and international organizations working on the journalists and media rights. News 24 announced the closure of both talk shows, Ylli Rakipi’s “The Unexposed Ones” and Adi Krasta’s “Krasta/ A Show”."Council of Europe Issue Media Freedom Alert after Two Albanian Journalists Are Fired for Criticising Government", Exit.al, 29 August 2019
Media outlets Albanian media are mainly funded through advertising revenues, which lack transparency, coupled with sponsorships and the sale of media productions.
The law does not regulate state aid for the media, yet, the opacity inallocation of state advertising is a persistent source of controversy. The economic crisis has reduced the share of advertising revenues of broadcasters (from 58% in 2009 to 30% in 2010), making the media more and more reliant on direct financing by media owners, and equally more at risk of business and political interferences.
Foreign investors have entered the Albanian media market lately, with the Italian Edisud Group and the German WAZ–Mediengruppe ratcheting up local media. Media ownership concentration is not yet deemed a problem, although ownership is often obscured through proxies. Cross-ownership is nevertheless on the rise. Economic cross interests of media owners also threaten the media independence.