Rama and Veliaj 'monopolize' the national audiovisual media

2024-10-15 22:08:21, Aktualitet CNA

Rama and Veliaj 'monopolize' the national audiovisual media

Prime Minister Edi Rama and the Mayor of Tirana, Erion Veliaj

The Audiovisual Media Broadcasting Code in Albania states that the information transmitted by audiovisual service providers must be 'true, accurate, balanced and verified.' But, in practice, this principle is not respected. Data from the Audiovisual Media Authority (AMA) for a period of 1 year, analyzed by BIRN, show that the media space in national televisions and radios is dominated by a small group of political actors.

The data shows that the actors from the socialist majority make up 2/3 of the total minutes on the 4 televisions and 4 radios with a national license. Meanwhile, broadcasts by the actors of the two major political parties – the ruling Socialist Party and the opposition Democratic Party – occupy more than 91% of the total time in these media.

The Freedom Party, led by former president Ilir Meta, comes third with 3% of the vote, while all other parties together make up a little more than 6%. The AMA data also show that a large part of the synchronicities in audiovisual media are attributed to Prime Minister Edi Rama, followed by the Mayor of Tirana, Erion Veliaj – two political actors who rarely give independent access to the media and distribute regularly their pre-prepared synchros.

Prime Minister Edi Rama and the Mayor of Tirana, Erion Veliaj

Only Prime Minister Edi Rama and the Mayor of Tirana, Erion Veliaj, account for 27% of the total time in operators with a national license, whether radio or television, offering the latter an advantage in direct or propaganda communication with the public, without filters editorials.

According to the report on Media Ownership in Albania for 2023, compiled by BIRN and the Global Media Registry, the country's four national television stations, including Klan TV, Top Channel, Vizion Plus and RTSH, control 73.6% of the free-to-air television audience. The report states that the editorial policies of these media are influenced by the political and economic interests of the owners, who have other businesses in regulated markets, such as construction, telecommunications, hydrocarbon trading and real estate development.

Rama and Veliaj 'monopolize' the national audiovisual media

During the 1-year period, between August 2023 and August 2024, the four national televisions gave about 108 hours of simulcasts to 202 of the country's main institutional and political actors. Half of this television time, or 52% of the total, went to the members of the Assembly, followed by the prime minister and members of the government cabinet with 24%, representatives of the local government with 14% and representatives of political parties with 7%.

However, when the data is analyzed more closely, the vast majority of this television time is allocated to a limited number of actors. Prime Minister Edi Rama dominates with approximately 17% of the telecast time, followed by the mayor of Tirana, Erion Veliaj, with 11% and the leader of the opposition Democratic Party, Sali Berisha, with 9%. After Berisha come two other members of the government cabinet, Taulant Balla and Belinda Balluku.

Among political parties, the Socialist Party dominates with 62% of television time, followed by the Democratic Party in opposition with 30%. Among local government actors, 82% of television time goes to the mayor of Tirana, Erion Veliaj, followed by the mayor of Shkodra, Benet Beci, and Ilir Alihmemeti, representative of the DP in the Tirana City Council.

The airtime distribution figures are also similar in the four national radio stations in the country, including Radio Tirana, Radio Klan, Top Albania Radio and Club FM. According to AMA data, on the radio 67% of the syncs went to the actors of the majority and 30% to those of the opposition. Prime Minister Edi Rama remains the subject with the highest minutes of radio broadcasts, with 16% of the total minutes, followed by Taulant Balla and Erion Veliaj.

Rama and Veliaj 'monopolize' the national audiovisual media

As for the division between the powers, the members of the Assembly make up 44% of the radio broadcasts, the government representatives 35%, the local government 10%, while the remaining part is divided between the President and independent institutions./ BIRN