Prime Minister Edi Rama has responded with the organization “Reporters Without Borders” on the freedom of the press in our country, this after the latter’s report.
Rama, in a reaction to “X”, writes that the data show that there is a dominance of the opposition voice in the media, specifically 3.57 times higher than that of the government.
Among other things, according to the findings of the AMA report, he writes that the opposition held 60.12% of political TV time during the month of March, while the government itself occupied a much smaller share.
Prime Minister Edi Rama’s full reaction:
Dear @RSF_inter
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Over 4,500 articles analyzed, in 43 media, during 66 days of monitoring. The voice of the opposition: 3.57 times higher than the government. Critical sources: 4.67 times more dominant than pro-government ones. Critical tone: 6.4 times stronger than positive coverage. More than 15 opposition figures are constantly in the headlines. Opposition mentions: 1,828 against 925 for the Prime Minister and the government combined.
Even individually, opposition leaders perform better, with only one outstripping the Prime Minister in media mentions. And in the headlines themselves: 368 direct opposition quotes versus 108 government quotes, a 3.4 times greater dominance. The harshest accusations against the government and me circulate freely in about 70 headlines, while there is no evidence of any symmetrical level of attacks against anti-government media sources, or even against political opponents. Because there simply isn’t.
And according to the state regulator, the AMA, the opposition held 60.12% of political TV airtime in March, while the government itself took a much smaller share. These are not perceptions. These are measurable facts. In a truly “captured media” environment, none of this would exist. No dominance of opposition voices. No overwhelming dominance of critical narratives.
No free circulation of extreme accusations. And certainly no majority political air time for the opposition. We take concerns about media ownership and journalists’ working conditions very seriously. These are real issues and they need to be addressed. But to completely ignore the empirical reality and present Albania as a country of media and journalism caught under political attacks?
At best, this makes the analysis not only incomplete, but even poorer. And as a consequence, the ranking itself is biased. That’s it. PS It is for another day to explain my theory of how elections can be won by doing the opposite of controlling the media: allowing the full flood of anti-government political venom to fill the public square and, in doing so, reveal to the average citizen the worthlessness of those behind it.
