Journalist Sokol Balla promotes book on media challenges

TIRANA, Oct 31 – Major problems and challenges to freedom of press in Albania, the development of media industry and new relationships between journalists and media owners, editorial political influences, propaganda and media marketing etc., are issues that the journalist Sokol Balla has included in his new book “Fjala e Lire, Sfide Europiane” (Free speech – a European challenge) which has recently been promoted on the premises of the European University of Tirana.
At the time when Albania is seeking its European integration and EU reports criticize more harshly than before the Albanian media and their industry, when conflicts between publishers and journalists are not made public due to economic interests, when large spending about marketing and the development of public relations raises skeptical questions between propaganda activities and transparency of government, free speech is still a very delicate issue.
In the ceremony were present many personalities among them the U.S. Ambassador to Albania, Mr. Alexander Arvizu, the Ambassador of the United Kingdom, Mrs. Fiona McIlwham, Members of the Albanian Parliament, journalists, publishers, owners of various media in Albania, as well as academics.
At the opening speech the author of the book Sokol Balla reminded that “the journalists of my generation, who began their careers in the early 90s, usually had an enemy and that was the government or the state authorities. I believe that today things are much more complicated than that, the media industry in Albania is evolving as part of globalization that has captured all sectors and today has become a more complicated question to influence the editorial lines”. In the book he has included a survey of over 150 Albanian journalists and their concerns regarding these kinds of issues. However the author added that the media owners are not the greatest evil of the media. Without them there would be no media in Albania.