Reaction from News24 and BalkanWeb
Sali Berisha’s offensive statement against News24 for giving television space to Ervin Salianji and other opposing voices in the Democratic Party, is not just a reaction of the moment. It is a deliberate attack, well thought out and based on an old logic, that “when you don’t like the reflection, attack the mirror”.
A media that has given extraordinary space to the opposition and its president, broadcasting it live on the screen up to 5 times a day, in conferences, meetings, forums, pulpits, rallies and meetings, a media that broadcasts the opposition positions without filters and that continues to do so every day, is rewarded with mud. Not for what he has done, but for what he refuses to do, to close the space for different voices within the same party.
The real problem here is the lack of tolerance for dissent. When a figure within the opposition is treated as “adopted” just because he does not follow the same line, then we are not dealing with a political debate, but with a culture of exclusion. Sali Berisha’s statement doesn’t just hit a television, but sends a frightening message to every journalist and every media outlet: Either you are with us unconditionally, or you are against us!
This is pressure.
Lord Berisha!
It’s not the media’s job to keep alive the trust you can’t build yourself.
If your attitude is the result of despair that opinion no longer obeys you, that protests are reduced to a few people and fail to produce any effect, while citizen anger about corruption or government affairs is exploding and you do not have the strength to capitalize on it, this is not the responsibility of the screen. It is a crisis of representation, a crisis of confidence and a lack of leadership. And this is not covered by attacking the media.
In fact, this is precisely the reason why the opposition is unable to come to power. Because he spends his energy fighting the media, instead of changing himself and building trust in the citizens.
Under these conditions, News24, which fearlessly insists on always telling the truth and remains open to different opinions, is more reliable than the opposition itself.
The media has no duty to be convinced. It has to be free. And whoever does not accept this, does not fight for democracy. Fight for control!
