This research aims to provide the context against which journalism functions in Albania, highlighting challenges, needs, and opportunities, and also map the main trends that can be discerned with regard to the future of the media in the country.
The context includes the status of the rule of law and the relevant institutions, economic and social circumstances, and general status of institutions that affect the media environment. It is equally important to see and describe the situation with assisting organizations, especially civil society organizations, which are supposed to check and monitor state activity, on the one hand, but also contribute to conditions that lead to a more professional and responsible media.
In addition to analysing the environment that affects media development and professionalism, it is equally essential to critically assess the internal factors that influence media conduct. These factors include, but are not limited to, statistics and the situation of journalists, journalism education and training, the ability to organize to advance labour relations, representation issues that current media outlets and media coverage reflect, the ability to self-regulate, and other important issues.
The lack of data, or questions regarding their reliability, is a constant feature of the media landscape in Albania and remains a challenge when pursuing such research initiatives. In order to map the ongoing trends in the media area, the research relied mainly on secondary research, but in some cases, interviews were necessary to fill in the gaps. The data comes mainly from regular annual international or regional reports on the status of institutions, corruption, rule of law, and media literacy, and also from national statistics available for some of the indicators. Regional and national polls and reports on media use and media trust is another category of sources, as well as reports from public authorities and from local civil society organizations.
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Funded by the European Union.
The regional program “Our Media: A civil society action to generate media literacy and activism, counter polarisation and promote dialogue” is implemented with the financial support of the European Union by partner organizations SEENPM, Albanian Media Institute, Mediacentar Sarajevo, Press Council of Kosovo, Montenegrin Media Institute, Macedonian Institute for Media, Novi Sad School of Journalism, Peace Institute and Bianet.
This article was produced with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of SEENPM and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.