Albania has plunged to an all-time low in the Reporters Without Borders World Press Freedom Index, ranking 103 out of 180 in 2022, down a staggering 20 places in just one year.
The country ranked at number 83 last year, one place up from 84 in 2019. However, 2021 seems to have taken a significant turn for the worst as its score fell from 69.41 out of 100 to 56.41.
“While editorial independence is threatened by partisan media regulation, the physical integrity of journalists is undermined by organized crime, the state’s failure to protect them and even by police violence,” the report reads.
The accompanying text states that the most influential media is owned by a handful of companies, linked to politicians and operating in highly regulated sectors. Only a handful of Albanian media have a sustainable business model and transparent funding, it continues. This leads to a problem referred to by RSF as “influence trafficking”.
In terms of politics, political pressure increased during 2021 with attempts to control information during the ongoing pandemic and the general elections.
“The political class threatens the independence of editorial offices through very politicized media regulation institutions and public media management,” RSF note.
It continues that journalists critical of the government face regular political attacks, have trouble accessing political information—something that is exacerbated by recent centralisation of government communication, otherwise known as the Media and Information Agency.
While media freedom is guaranteed on paper, in practice it is a different matter. For example, the confidentiality of sources are insufficient. The “anti-defamation package” which is still on the political agenda, would “seek to give the state disproportionate power over online media content” was also mentioned.
Threats and harassment against journalists is rife, while women, who make up the majority of journalists, face online and sexual harassment.
The ongoing matter of police violence against media workers was also noted.
“Organized criminal networks do not represent the only danger to the physical security of journalists. The impunity of crimes committed against journalists combined with political attempts to discredit them creates a climate of violence which may encourage new attacks against media professionals. In 2021, reporters covering protests and law enforcement operations suffered several acts of police violence.”
On a positive note, RSF highlighted the Ethical Media Alliance’s efforts to create a platform for ethical self-regulation. Exit sits on the board of this organisation.
The list, considered the gold standard barometer for press freedom globally, creates its report based on research, interviews, surveys, and information from journalists, civil society, industry stakeholders, and other media organisations.
With this year’s ranking, Albania is in the company of Chad, Central African Republic, Angola, and Fiji. It is beaten by Serbia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Only Turkey, one of the world’s leading jailers of journalists, and Greece, where a journalist was murdered, scored worse in Europe and the region.
Top of the list was Norway followed by Denmark and Sweden, while last place went to North Korea, Eritrea, and Iran.
