Response to the article published in the online newspaper SOT titled:”The Media Council is an appendix of Samir Mane, here’s how associations paid by the EU threaten the newspaper SOT with lawsuits…”

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Here’s the translation of the provided text into English:

Response to the article published in the newspaper SOT

In an online article published in the newspaper SOT, several accusations are raised against the Media Council.

The Media Council (AMC) would like to clarify to the public that these accusations are unfounded and not based on facts. The article is misleading and misinforming, constituting a direct attack from one media outlet against the self-regulatory process.

  1. The mentioned article was produced following a decision by the Ethics Board of the Albanian Media Council (AMC) and the Alliance for Ethical Media regarding a complaint made against the media outlet Sot.com.al. By unanimous decision of the Board, the article in question was found to be in violation of the Code of Ethics, specifically Article 1. The ethical violations in the article are as follows:
    1) The article contains unverified and factually unsupported information.
    2) The article is unbalanced because it does not provide the opinion of the affected party. There is no evidence in the article that the affected party was consulted, nor is their opinion reflected.
    Even a journalism student, not just an ethics expert, could verify these violations and judge the Board’s decision.

A standard methodology was applied to Sot.com.al in cases of complaints. The media outlet was contacted in advance to be informed about the complaint and the complainant’s claims and to offer its stance. After the media did not accept the complaint, according to procedure, the complaint was forwarded to the Ethics Board, which then made its decision.

Our Ethics Board does not function as a court, and its decisions are recommendations. Specifically, the Board’s decision regarding the article in Sot.com.al stated: “It is suggested that the media outlet Sot.com.al delete the article.”

  1. The Media Council has not threatened Sot.com.al with lawsuits. This is disinformation. Below is a facsimile of the complete communication with the media, where, on the contrary, it is Sot.com.al that threatens the Media Council with legal action through the prosecutor’s office.
  2. Furthermore, the accusation by Sot.com.al that “the oligarch has tried to pressure the newspaper through an organization called the Media Council” and that “Samir Mane involved an anonymous organization with the stamp of an association to pressure the newspaper SOT” is pure defamation. The executive staff of AMC has no contact, personal or otherwise, with Mr. Mane. The complaint was submitted electronically by Mr. Agim Fjolla, who presented himself as the “Director of Communications” for the Balfin Group. Aside from emails related to the complaint, the AMC staff has had no other contact with Mr. Fjolla, of any form, nor any prior acquaintance. As clarified via email to Sot.com.al, we do not prejudge anyone and take in consideration every complaint that meets the criteria according to the Ethics Board’s operating regulations.

Contrary to what Sot.com.al claims, AMC and its Chairman, Koloreto Cukali, have consistently expressed opposition to media capture by oligarchs. These statements can be easily found online. However, despite our stance for a free and uncaptured media, this does not mean that the community of journalists, media outlets, and media organizations should turn a blind eye to ethical violations. The fight to protect the public interest cannot and should not justify unethical articles. Self-regulation is precisely this: ethical journalism without state intervention but by the community.

  1. Regarding Sot.com.al‘s accusation that “the Media Council receives funds from European taxpayers,” we need to clarify two things:
    • At the time of this article’s publication, AMC has no funding, either from outside or inside the country, and its staff works without payment. This has not prevented us from keeping the complaint mechanism and self-regulation process operational, nor from continuing the fight for media freedom.
    • On our website, we display the logos of partners who have supported us over the past five years. We are proud of our partnership with the EU, UNESCO, and other international organizations. Receiving support from the EU is neither shameful nor a crime. In fact, it is the only way to preserve our independence.
  2. The accusation that “the funds the Media Council receives from Europeans are not spent on creating a safer environment for journalists, raising the voice for working conditions and pressures, but are instead used to serve the interests of Samir Mane” is pure defamation.
    AMC has been at the forefront of the fight against the anti-defamation package. AMC and its Chairman, Koloreto Cukali, have publicly and consistently expressed support for media freedom and journalists, including in ongoing meetings with international actors. A simple Google search would suffice to verify this.

However, Sot.com.al confuses the protection of freedom of information and journalists with unethical journalism. Media freedom does not mean irresponsibility, unethical journalism, or defamation.

Self-regulation is the process that obliges the media to maintain ethical professionalism, not through state intervention but through mechanisms established by the community of journalists and media outlets. Our Ethics Board is elected annually by the Assembly of the Alliance for Ethical Media, which consists of 38 media outlets (at the time of this article). Thus, our Ethics Board is not only composed of people with integrity, professionalism, and respect, but it is also VOTED on by an organization of 38 media outlets (Sot.com.al has not accepted to be a part of this).

This is called “Self-Regulation,” and it is the only alternative to regulation by the government.

AMC will defend every media outlet and journalist, including Sot.com.al, from any threats to freedom, but it will not support or defend unprofessional and unethical articles.

  1. Regarding Sot.com.al‘s attempt to label AMC as “an anonymous organization,” we must state that AMC is a proud member of AIPCE – the Alliance of Independent Press Councils of Europe – and the only self-regulatory body in Albania, recognized by international organizations and the EU. A visit to our website and the Alliance for Ethical Media would have informed Sot.com.al that our Ethics Board is supported by 38 media outlets, members of the Alliance for Ethical Media, which AMC operates.
  2. The mention of Mr. Shkullaku in the article is, at the very least, unprofessional, if not a deliberate attempt to misinform. Mr. Shkullaku is merely one of the 36 founding members of AMC and is not involved in the daily work of AMC. Lapsi.al, co-directed by Mr. Shkullaku, is just one of the 38 media outlets that are members of AME, which elects the Ethics Board. A visit to our website would have informed Sot.com.al that decisions regarding complaints are made by a Board of 5 members, of which Mr. Shkullaku is not a part. As for the accusation against AMC, “behind which hide journalists with villas near Samir Mane, former MPs, and employees of Edi Rama’s institutions,” it is simply absurd, and the labyrinth of fantasies in the article writer’s mind is unclear.
  3. Overall, the unnamed article on Sot.com.al aims to discredit the self-regulation process. This is precisely in line with the Albanian government, which has long claimed that self-regulation does not exist or does not work in Albania, and continues efforts to introduce regulatory mechanisms for the online media market, where ethics would not be decided by the AME Ethics Board, elected by 38 media outlets, but by anonymous individuals in state offices.

On behalf of the Media Council,
Chairman
Koloreto Cukali

Screenshots of communication with Sot.com.al

  • this article was translated using AI

Deleting of CNA social networks – an act of censorship

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AMC expresses its concern about the repeated attacks on social media against the media outlet CNA.

The blocking of any media pages, whether on the web or social networks, can and should ONLY be done after a definitive decision by Albanian courts.

If access to the public is blocked without a court decision, except in cases provided by law, it constitutes a clear violation of the freedom of information and expression and an infringement on free speech.

AMC calls on social media platforms to avoid blocking media, especially without prior notice to those affected.

AMC joins the concerns of Safe Journalists Network about government officials blaming media

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AMC joins The SafeJournalists Network in the concerns expressed about the rising trend in Albania, where government officials blame the media for allegedly damaging the country’s image rather than engaging with legitimate journalistic inquiries. This approach often involves dismissing legitimate questions, discrediting journalists, and using inflammatory language that undermines the essential role of the media in a democratic society.

Recent examples illustrate this concerning pattern:

  • On August 28, 2024, during a press conference, Deputy Prime Minister Belinda Balluku dismissed questions about the security of the Port of Durrës for hazardous waste exportation, accusing journalist Ermal Rizaj of political bias and scripted questions and deflecting attention by attacking the media outlet’s ownership.
  • On August 24, 2024, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy and the Ministry of Environment and Tourism issued a joint statement accusing media outlets of fabricating reports on hazardous waste exportation, suggesting these were efforts to harm the government’s reputation.
  • In June 2024, Prime Minister Edi Rama criticized an investigative report by Rai 3, calling it a baseless attack on Albania’s image. He also targeted media outlets in Albania for rebroadcasting the report, accusing them of spreading disinformation. He has also labeled certain media “sewage media,” further discrediting their work.

These incidents seem part of a broader narrative deflecting criticism by discrediting the media and limiting public scrutiny of government actions. This narrative not only deflects from addressing significant public concerns but also discourages transparency and accountability among government officials.  

AMC joins the SafeJournalists Network on calling on the Albanian government to cease these attacks on the media and to engage with journalists in a manner that respects their role as watchdogs of democracy, in good faith and in a constructive manner. Journalists must be allowed to perform their duties without fear of intimidation or censorship, ensuring that the public remains well-informed and those in power are held accountable.

https://safejournalists.net/portfolios/safejournalists-rising-concern-over-government-efforts-to-deflect-criticism-by-discrediting-media-in-albania/

SafeJournalists: Rising Concern Over Government Efforts to Deflect Criticism by Discrediting Media in Albania

Albania: press freedom crushed by the weight of politics

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Professional ethics almost absent, media capture by politics, and financial unsustainability are just some of the main issues that make the Albanian media landscape particularly alarming.

Interview of the AMC chairman Cukali, for the website Balcanicaucaso

28/06/2024 – Luisa Chiodi 

Media independence is a topic that raises many concerns in Albania, especially in light of an almost total control by the government that has turned the main communication channels into instruments of political propaganda. We talked to Koloreto Cukali, a journalist and producer who has chaired the Albanian Media Council since 2017, an organization aimed at establishing ethical standards for the journalistic profession and introducing media self-regulation mechanisms.

You lead the Albanian Media Council, an organization that promotes media self-regulation. What is it about?

The Albanian Media Council is a product of, I would say, European import. The EU supports media self-regulation and pushes for the creation of so-called media councils [as also provided for by the recently adopted European Media Freedom Regulation, ed.]. These are bodies to which the public can turn to file complaints about media conduct.

It wasn’t easy to establish this Council, it’s a journey we started a few years ago and our government has done everything to sabotage it.

Albanian politics has always tried to control the media, but the current prime minister has engaged more than others in this sense: unable to show concrete results, he works on media propaganda to show that everything is fine.

One way or another, the Albanian government controls most of the television networks. The Media Ownership Monitor study conducted by BIRN examines exactly this capillary control of traditional media by the government. In the case of TV, most of the owners are businessmen, the so-called oligarchs, who in exchange for pro-government propaganda obtain public contracts. It’s a situation that has lasted for years.

The only field that the prime minister and the mayor of Tirana – the two most important people in the country – cannot fully control are online media. For years they have sought to introduce a defamation law that would also regulate online media. Our Council has tried to block it with a mobilization campaign; we received the support of many journalists and media and also the European Union supported us for a while. At one point, the Venice Commission also intervened with an opinion that evaluated and in fact dismantled the proposed law.

There are European regulations that Albania will have to introduce sooner or later: the new directive against SLAPP, for example, goes in the opposite direction of our prime minister, but this is a topic that is still not talked about in Albania.

Unfortunately, there are many problems, there is a lot of defamation, professional ethics is at the lowest level ever. The media blackmail politicians, businessmen, to make money. There is no good climate.

The Albanian Media Council strives to counteract this trend, especially in terms of journalism ethics. A rather difficult task…

It is difficult because the government is doing everything to sabotage this initiative. The prime minister needs to say that self-regulation doesn’t work and the media close to the government do not participate in our initiative because someone has put pressure on them.

Are there no professional organizations or journalists’ unions in Albania?

No, there are only associations that deal with the media, but they are not unions, nor professional organizations, and none of these organizations are able to mobilize as a union would.

What do you think is the reason?

It’s a long story. The unions were devastated by the communist regime. We don’t have a true trade union tradition. Then the dictatorship ruined the collaborative spirit of the population. People no longer want to be part of an organization because for 45 years they were forced to be part of party organizations.

However, there have been some movements: for example, for environmental protection there have been initiatives that have moved Albanian society.

Personally, I don’t see a real impact even in this case. This type of movement can make a difference only if they manage to engage the European Union or some other international organization that says “No, you can’t do this,” because here every resistance is useless.

So political interference is a fundamental problem.

The business model is the real problem of the media. In recent years the public no longer pays: before there were newspapers, the public bought them, now no one wants to pay anymore because it is expected that information is free.

Here the numbers are lacking to keep even small publications afloat. The funds for the media are public and controlled by politics or come from oligarchs who buy advertisements. Then there is money coming from organized crime, from drugs, from crime…

There is no way to be financially independent. Solving the resource problem solves almost everything. The solution is only one: the European Union must finance the media, that is, find mechanisms that, for a period say of 5 years, make the media strong and independent.

Today the only media that make a difference are those financed by donors, for example BIRN, Citizens Channel, Faktoje.al, but they are very few. Instead, commercial media that want to do good journalism need to be helped.

What is the situation regarding the safety of journalists in Albania?

A member of our Ethics Council, who is also a professor at the University of Tirana, once told me: “In Albania journalists are not killed because there is no need, journalism has already been killed.” The government doesn’t need to threaten journalists, it solves issues directly by dealing with the media owners.

There are threats that come from organized crime, but from what I know many journalists no longer report them because they perceive that the police are not very motivated to help journalists.

Has the European integration process played a role in these years for the protection of media freedom in Albania?

I don’t see any real impact. For example, a few months ago, [the government] made some additions to the law on the Audiovisual Media Authority, but did just the bare minimum required. Even though the Venice Commission expressed itself clearly, [the government] only made minor, formal changes…

We have tried to put some pressure, but very often it’s not known what happens, almost nothing is transparent. Now it is said that they are working on Chapter 21 of the acquis (dedicated to trans-European networks, ed.), but it is not known who, what, how, when they are doing it. There is no transparency at any level.

Even when [the government] meets with representatives of the OSCE or the Council of Europe, no one comes to us and the consultations are often only formal.

In your opinion, what role do international media play? If they talk about Albania and raise certain issues, do they have an impact also internally?

Two or three years ago I met an Italian journalist who worked as a freelancer for several outlets and she told me: “If I write critically about Albania, no one publishes me, they told me clearly…”

Then there are cases when the Albanian prime minister is hosted on an Italian program and no one asks him any real questions…

this material was translated from English using AI.