In Albania, absurdity always has room to go to another level. A few days ago, the police raided the offices of News24 television on the orders of the General Director, Ilir Proda. The action took place without any public warning and to this day, Proda has not given any explanation for the reasons for this action.
In a normal country, such an event would cause widespread reaction and solidarity from other media colleagues. It is not necessary to protest side by side with the raided journalists, but at least you are expected to maintain a dignified attitude. In Albania, the opposite happened: a group of journalists from the Fier District Union decided to present Prode with a Certificate of Gratitude for transparency.
The ceremony took place amidst smiles, compliments, and grandiloquent words about “European standards of cooperation between police and media.” Listening to them, you would think we were talking about a country where the police invite journalists for coffee and cookies before intervening, not a reality where raids happen quietly, during hours when television has fewer staff on duty.
The certificate was presented to Prode as a trophy for “strengthening institutional transparency.” It's like giving medals of bravery to “daddy's boys” with luxury cars, simply because they didn't run a red light in front of the police.
In this story, the biggest loser is not only free journalism, but also solidarity among journalists. Because when dignity is replaced by servility and the word “collaboration” is used to wash the image of the one who has just closed the doors of your colleagues, we are no longer dealing with a profession, but with a parody of it. Transparency, in this case, looks like the “extra virgin” olive oil that everyone swears by its quality, but no one can tell the source. And solidarity among journalists, it seems, is no longer the oxygen of the profession, but the cheap perfume of gratitude.
