TIRANA, Sept. 12 – The publication of the latest, 2018 study on online media in Albania on Wednesday showed some issues with online media in the country remain unchanged, like failing to implement author’s rights and the prevalence of sensationalistic titles, while others, such as the spread of fake news, present emerging trends.
The study is the combined product of the work of the Albanian Media Institute and the Open Society Foundation for Albania.
Approximately 150 online and traditional media in the capital participated in polls conducted by AMI, to capture only the “current picture of online media in the country,” director of AMI Remzi Lami said during the findings’ presentation, as it presents a situation which changes by the day.
During the findings’ presentation, it was underlined one of the most pressing emerging issues with online media in Albania is the fast spread, due to the inability to filter, of fake news.
According to the findings, Albanians are the most inclined, even among the region’s people, to believe fake news mainly due to the abundant number of clickbait articles circulating online, competing for as many readers as possible and caring little about the content of the news.
On the other hand, however, present journalists also highlighted media illiteracy and general public ignorance as another determining factor in the easy spread of fake news.
Among other issues listed by the online media that was interviewed for the sake of the research was the lack of professional staff in journalism, as well as the lack of proper financiation, the complete disregard of author’s rights due to the lack of legal regulations and the shady ownership behind a number of online media, which serve “shady” purposes.
“One would be disillusioned to still believe journalists can be trained at this point, when media and communication is changing by the day. However, we are supporting a ‘back to the basics’ approach, which would teach one thing or two about ethical reporting, among the other shortcomings Albanian journalism suffers,” Lami said.
