The report provides a comprehensive assessment of Albania’s media landscape in the context of the country’s EU accession process, highlighting key challenges and areas requiring urgent reform.
Developed within the framework of the project “Strengthening Media Freedom, Professionalism, and Journalists’ Safety in Albania”, the report is based on extensive quantitative and qualitative data, including a survey conducted with local journalists, as well as in-depth research and analysis.
This initiative will continue with annual reports for 2025 and 2026, ensuring a long-term assessment of media freedom and journalist safety trends in Albania. The research has been produced in partnership with BIRN Albania, SCiDEV, and Qendra Faktoje, with financial support from the European Union.
Albania’s EU accession process has created momentum for reform but progress is hindered by systemic challenges, inconsistent policy implementation and lack of political commitment. Albania’s Rule of Law Roadmap and Roadmap for the Functioning of Democratic Institutions include provisions to strengthen media freedom and journalist safety but their implementation has been slow and ineffective.
“The EU integration process presents an opportunity for Albania to undertake meaningful reforms in the media sector. However, a ‘tick-box’ approach will not be enough – sustained political will and legal enforcement are necessary to ensure long-term progress,” the report states.
The report underscores serious threats to independent journalism in Albania, including physical threats, legal harassment, and economic instability. Key takeaways include:
- Increasing Threats and Intimidation: Journalists in Albania are frequently targeted with threats, harassment and lawsuits, contributing to self-censorship and insecurity.
- Systemic Vulnerabilities in Journalistic Work Conditions: The lack of employment contracts, low wages, informal payments and job insecurity remain key challenges, leaving media professionals vulnerable to external pressures. These conditions are exacerbated by opaque media financing and concentrated ownership, which prioritize political and commercial interests over journalistic integrity.
- Restricted Access to Information: While Albania has legal provisions guaranteeing access to public information, enforcement remains inconsistent. Journalists often face delays, refusals or bureaucratic hurdles when requesting critical information from public institutions, undermining investigative reporting.
- Gender-Specific Challenges for Women Journalists: Female journalists face additional risks, including verbal attacks, smear campaigns and online harassment, which disproportionately affect their ability to work safely and participate in the public discourse.
- Media Ownership Concentration and Lack of Transparency: The report highlights the continued dominance of a few powerful media owners, often with strong political and business ties. Despite some regulatory efforts to increase transparency, these issues remain largely unresolved.
The report calls for urgent reforms to protect media freedom and journalistic safety, including: stronger legal protections against intimidation and SLAPP lawsuits; improved economic security through fair wages and labour law enforcement; enhanced transparency in media ownership and financing; better access to public information through stricter accountability measures; and targeted interventions to address gender-based violence against women journalists.
These recommendations aim to create a safer, more independent and more transparent media environment in Albania.
BIRN Albania and SCiDEV invite journalists, researchers, policymakers and civil society organisations to engage with the findings of the report and collaborate in advocating for stronger media protections and a more independent press in Albania. The research will continue in 2025 and 2026, ensuring continuous monitoring and policy recommendations based on empirical data.
Download the full report here:
English Version
Albanian Version