Freedom of expression isn’t the same as demanding an audience

It’s hard to say whether it was Blendi Fevziu’s skill or the naivety of the young politicians on his show, one of Albania's most important political talk shows, but the whole program seemed dominated by their complaints about not having enough access to TV time. While it’s true that young politicians aren't as frequently invited to TV debates as established ones, I don't believe this was their main reason for entering politics. TV stations tend to focus on people who interest them, not necessarily on those who are seeking fame.

I sympathize with these four young politicians, but I feel they’ve fallen into a trap by getting caught up in a debate that hurt their image—focusing too much on which TV stations invite them and why others don’t.

Personally, I’m one of those journalists who avoid TV appearances. I turn down dozens of invitations to participate in pointless TV debates and prefer to focus on what I do best. While I don’t share the same goals as these young politicians, I don’t avoid TV debates without reason. The main reason is to avoid being consumed by a public environment where chaos and a lack of values reduce me to the level of people I don’t want to be associated with.

Based on how they were presented last night, some of them should actually pay to avoid TV appearances rather than insisting on more. Being on screen isn’t the goal if you fail to win public sympathy.

The first issue was that each politician complained about different TV channels. Arlind Qori criticized Klan TV, claiming his lack of access was due to his fight against Samir Mane. Agron Shehaj criticized A2 for its connection to his battle with businessman Bashkim Ulaj over the Thumane-Kashar highway concession. Adriatik Lapaj, on the other hand, expressed a desire to appear on the same TV stations and at the same time as Prime Minister Edi Rama. Such delusions are more of a misfortune than a strategy.

These complaints suggest that their main concern is that Albanians don’t recognize them or support them simply because they aren’t on TV enough. In reality, I think their issue is that they appear on TV too much without offering anything meaningful to say.

Press freedom is not an issue in Albania, nor is the ability to express yourself. It’s true that you can’t say anything anywhere, but there are plenty of outlets where you can speak freely. Every media outlet has its own editorial policy, as it does in every country. The real issue with press freedom is in places where expressing an opinion is not allowed, not in countries like Albania where you are free to speak—even if it damages your image more than helps it. The young politicians’ real issue is not being ignored by media, but failing to capture the public’s attention.

In a country where you are free to speak but struggle to be heard, the problem lies not with the TV stations that don’t invite you, but with your inability to grab the public’s attention. This is what matters most for any politician. If they were offering insightful commentary, smaller media outlets would immediately take notice, forcing TV stations to invite them.

It’s no secret that TV stations are tied to financial and business interests, which often limit the freedom of public figures to criticize them. Fortunately, Albania has 25 TV stations and over 1,000 online media outlets, offering a wide range of political views, from the far left to the far right.

Albania suffers from an excess of press freedom, which often leads to public irresponsibility, rather than the opposite. By engaging in this debate, the young politicians appear more interested in becoming popular media figures than in pursuing real political goals.

During both of his presidential campaigns, Donald Trump faced strong opposition from established American and global media but still won, leveraging social media and podcasts. His success was due to his populism—something I hope our young politicians do not emulate—that dominated public opinion, effectively bypassing the mainstream media.

Among Albania's current young politicians, the only one for whom fighting "oligarchs" makes sense is Arlind Qori, who presents himself as an anti-system leftist. However, it’s better for him to ignore the oligarchs than complain about being ignored by them. Politicians make history when the media follows them because they are interesting, not by chasing the media for self-promotion.

Their public appearances are best forgotten. It would be better for them to forget about them altogether. Blendi Fevziu isn’t to blame, even if he lured them into this trap. The owners of mainstream media are not to blame either; they are businessmen, and I don’t know any businessman willing to fund a media outlet where they’re being attacked.

Albania doesn’t lack media freedom, and this issue doesn’t need healing. Even if it did, no one expects the young politicians to fix it. Their spiteful rhetoric toward the media makes them potentially even greater enemies of media freedom than the established politicians they accuse of controlling the media through money. So, it would be better for everyone to leave this topic out of public debates.

The article initially appeared in Albanian titled: "E drejta për të folur nuk është baraz me të drejtën për t’u dëgjuar"