The Indicators on the Level of Media Freedom and Journalists’ Safety Index 2024, demonstrates that the overall environment for independent and professional journalism in Albania remains under considerable strain due to a combination of structural, political, and economic challenges. The intertwining of political, business, and media interests, coupled with rule of law challenges, has created conditions in which independent, high-quality journalism is increasingly difficult to sustain. Taken together, the findings across all indicators show that Albania’s media environment is formally safeguarded but substantively fragile. Legal guarantees are progressively aligned with EU standards, yet they continue to be weakened by inconsistent implementation and limited enforcement in practice.
Journalists’ working conditions remain unstable, marked by low pay, widespread informality, and the absence of collective bargaining mechanisms, while editorial independence is compromised by ownership concentration and political interference. Many outlets are used to advance the personal and commercial interests of their owners, who often hold stakes in other regulated sectors or benefit from state concessions. Investigative reporting and monitoring have also raised concerns about links between certain media actors and organised crime networks, which further undermine integrity and distort editorial lines. At the same time, the proliferation of opaque online portals that serve as instruments of disinformation, smear campaigns, or blackmail, exacerbates these issues and contributes to a broader decline of public trust in the media.
Safety concerns for journalists remain significant. While incidents of actual physical or life-threatening violence are relatively rare, harassment, intimidation, online attacks, and smear campaigns are widespread, and institutional protection is weak. Political rhetoric often fuels hostility rather than offering clear condemnation, fostering a climate of mistrust and encouraging self-censorship among journalists. In 2024, the SafeJournalists Network documented 45 cases of violations of media freedom as follows: 27 cases of non-physical threats and harassment against journalists in Albania; 3 cases involving threats to the life or physical safety of journalists were documented in Albania; 6 actual attacks against journalists in Albania and 9 cases of threats and attacks targeting media outlets and journalists’ associations were documented in Albania. The continued presence of threats, combined with the absence of consistent institutional follow-up fuel mistrust, encourage self-censorship, and erode public-interest journalism.
The Journalists Safety Index for 2024 is 2.90, up from 2.80 in 2023.
The modest rise in the Journalists Safety Index in 2024 reflects incremental procedural improvements, notably the appointment of police and prosecutorial focal points and initial guidelines on journalist safety, which slightly strengthened due prevention and due process. However, this increase does not signal structural change, as persistent gaps in implementation, protection mechanisms, and institutional accountability continue to limit journalists’ actual safety on the ground.
The report provides detailed recommendations for Legal Protection Frameworks, Journalists’ Working Conditions and Editorial Independence, Safety and Security of Journalists, Journalists’ Associations and Solidarity.