“Solutions and self-regulation amid a challenging media freedom environment in Albania”
In honour of the World Press Freedom Day 2020, the Albanian media ‘Exit News’ in partnership with the Albanian Media Council and Albanian Helsinki Committee has brought together a panel of experts and leading media freedom advocates from Albania.
The topic on the table is one that has dominated the Albanian media landscape over the last two years; self-regulation and the matter of whether the activities of online journalists should fall under the remit of the state.
Amid a steadily worsening media freedom climate where many journalists work in fear, the Albanian government has announced its plans to pass a law that would levy large fines, and allow blocking, and closure of sites that fall foul of the law’s provisions. In a country where defamation is still a criminal offence, many feel the government should be moving towards decriminalization and promoting self-regulation to lessen the threat and pressure on media workers.
As a result of these difficult conditions, journalists, media organizations, and human rights organizations have been working hard to promote ethical journalism, professionalism, journalists safety, and the importance of self-regulation. The panel will discuss the problem, the solutions, and the future.
This panel comprises of journalist Alice Taylor, Co Editor of Exit.al and board member of the Ethical Media Alliance, Koloreto Cukali, Director of the Albanian Media Council, Rezearta Caushaj Investigative Journalist at Exit.al, and the Executive Director of the Albanian Helsinki Committee, Erida Skendo. It will be moderated by Neritan Sejamini, Co-Founder of Exit, political analyst, and journalist. There will be interventions also from other media stakeholders in Albania (for e.g. investigative journalism network BIRN).
The event will be hosted at the Residence of the Dutch Ambassador on 3 December 2020 and will be streamed online via Zoom and social media.
The event will be filmed and edited and a seven-minute segment will be aired at the UNESCO World Press Freedom Conference on 9-10 December 2020. The event is organised with the support of the Embassy to the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Albania, the The Helsinki Committee, and UNESCO.
To watch the event live, “attend” the event here.
