The backlash begins: SPAK's impact on Albanian media credibility

If you are a stranger in Tirana watching evening TV debates, you would quickly notice that 90 percent of the guests accuse the justice system of being corrupt and controlled by politics. Ironically, these same guests often defend individuals notorious for corruption. Without understanding Albania’s political landscape or having someone to explain it, you might believe these commentators when they claim that prosecutors and judges are seizing political power by arresting members of the country’s political elite, especially from the opposition.

But if you go out the next morning and gauge public opinion, you'll see a different reality. A vast majority of Albanians—around 90 percent—actually support the justice system and SPAK (Special Prosecution Against Corruption and Organized Crime). These people stand against those defending the so-called "victims of justice." This is the silent, yet ruthless, reckoning that the justice system is delivering to Albanian media.

Today, SPAK is holding not only politicians accountable but also, indirectly, the media—specifically, those media figures who act as political influencers. It’s not true that most Albanian journalists are genuinely concerned about the futures of Sali Berisha, Ilir Meta, Edi Rama, or the government ministers facing prosecution. In reality, while they publicly bemoan these arrests, they have little sympathy for these figures. Speaking personally, I feel some pity for many of these individuals, whom I’ve known over the years, but that doesn’t change what they’re facing.

The real issue for the Albanian media is the loss of its protectors and, more importantly, the loss of its influence. With corrupt politicians being removed from the political scene, the media is losing its secret sponsors—the very people who elevated its false authority in shaping political decisions. This false authority allowed the media to become a broker of influence, enjoying benefits far beyond its true significance.

Evidence is emerging that the press has often served as a tool to create political illusions for major actors or as a vehicle for these figures to send semi-mafia-like messages to one another. This is the first form of punishment that the new justice system is delivering to the Albanian media.

Another reason why prominent media personalities align with figures like Berisha and Meta isn’t out of loyalty. They aren’t grieving their arrests; instead, they fear losing the tools that allowed them to pressure the government, which in turn, threatens their relevance. Most of these journalists have closer ties to Prime Minister Edi Rama than to Berisha or Meta, but they still need Berisha and Meta to put pressure on Rama. What worries them most is not the collapse of the opposition, but the fall of opposition figures whom they could manipulate as leverage against the government.

Finally, the Albanian media, which operates under tight hierarchies and struggles to finance itself, sees the political imbalance as a threat to its survival. The media has grown so large, expensive, and detached from the market that it relies on the current political swamp to stay afloat.

However, SPAK is dealing a heavy blow, not only by cutting off its secret backers but by turning public opinion against the media. This may be one of the few times when the majority of public opinion supports justice over the media.

In essence, the Albanian press is now experiencing the opposite of its mission—it no longer represents public opinion but stands in direct opposition to it. This, perhaps, is the most significant punishment SPAK and the justice system are delivering to the media—not through formal charges, but simply by exposing these media figures to the judgment of the public.

The article initially appeared in Albanian titled: "Ndëshkimi i rëndë që SPAK po i bën shtypit shqiptar"