OSCE Urges Albania to Improve Media Freedom
The OSCE’s Representative on Freedom of the Media, Dunja Mijatovic, called on the government on Thursday to do more to improve the working environment for journalists.
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| Dunja Mijatovic | Photo by : Joana Karapataqi/OSCE |
“Free media are persevering in Albania but suffer in particular from economic and political interests impeding on editorial independence,” Mijatovic said in a press conference in Tirana.
According to Mijatovic the failure to fully implement media laws has created a situation in which economic pressure, clientelism and the partisanship of the media owners, as well as poor employment conditions for journalists – most of whom work without formal contracts –stifle independent reporting and investigative journalism.
During her three-day visit to Tirana, Mijatovic met Prime Minister Sali Berisha, Foreign Minister Edmond Haxhinasto as well as media representatives, NGOs and union heads.
The World Press Freedom Index, released by the Paris-based watchdog Reporters Without Borders in January, underlined that the economic crisis has accentuated media problems in the Balkans.
During the past year Albania dropped from 80th to 96th place in the media freedom index, becoming the second-worst performer in the region after Montenegro.
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