european integration discourse in the albanian newspapers...

Diskursi i Integrimit Evropian në Shtypin e Shkruar Shqiptar

KoordinatorëMariola Qesaraku, Friedrich Ebert StiftungKlodjan Seferaj, Fondacioni Shoqëria e Hapur për Shqipërinë

Autorët Besnik BAKA, Dalina JASHARI, Dorian JANO, Gentiola MADHI, Lavdrim LITA

Zyra e TiranësRruga “Abdi Toptani”, Torre Drin, kati 3P.O. Box 1418Tirana, Albania

Telefon:00355 (0) 4 225098600355 (0) 4 2273306

Homepage:http://www.fes.org.al

RINIA SHQIPTARE 2011Mes besimit për të ardhmen dhe dyshimit për të tashmen!

Alba Çela

Tidita Fshazi

Arbjan Mazniku

Geron Kamberi

Jonida Smaja – koordinatore e FES

European Integration Discourse in the Albanian Newspapers

CoordinatorsMariola Qesaraku, Friedrich Ebert StiftungKlodjan Seferaj, Open Society Foundation for Albania

Authors Besnik BAKA, Dalina JASHARI, Dorian JANO, Gentiola MADHI, Lavdrim LITA

Zyra e TiranësRruga “Abdi Toptani”, Torre Drin, kati 3P.O. Box 1418Tirana, Albania

Telefon: 00355 (0) 4 225098600355 (0) 4 2273306

Homepage: http://www.fes.org.al

RINIA SHQIPTARE 2011Mes besimit për të ardhmen dhe dyshimit për të tashmen!

Alba Çela

Tidita Fshazi

Arbjan Mazniku

Geron Kamberi

Jonida Smaja – koordinatore e FES


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Besnik BAKADalina JASHARIDorian JANOGentiola MADHILavdrim LITA

December 2016


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Published by: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung OfficeTirana Rr.AbdiToptani TorreDrin,Katii3-të KutiaPostare1418 Tirane,ALBANIA

Authors:BesnikBAKA DalinaJASHARI DorianJANO GentiolaMADHI LavdrimLITA

Translatedby:AlinaKaraulli

The opinions, findings, conclusions and recommendations expressed in this publishing are of the respective authors and do not necessarily represent those of the Foundations.

ThispublicationcannotbeusedforcommercialpurposeswithoutapriorwrittenapprovalbybothFoundations.


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Table of contents

Introduction .............................................................................................................................................................. 5

1. Methodology of study ........................................................................................................................................ 6

2. Quantitative analysis ......................................................................................................................................... 9

3. Qualitative analysis: Case studies ..................................................................................................................... 18

3.1 Knut Fleckenstein and Eduard Kukan visit .................................................................................................. 19

3.2 Federica Mogherini visit ........................................................................................................................... 21

3.3 Johannes Hahn visit ................................................................................................................................. 25

3.4 Europe Day .............................................................................................................................................. 29

Conclusions ............................................................................................................................................................. 32

Sources ............................................................................................................................................................... 34

Annex 1: Peak days of European integration articlesin the media ............................................................................... 35

Annex 2: Codebook.................................................................................................................................................. 37

Annex 3: Interview with the chief editors .................................................................................................................. 40


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5

Introduction

Albania’srelationshipswiththeEuropeanUnionhaveenteredanewphase.Afterreceivingthecandidatecountry status, the next step is the opening of the EU accession negotiations. Therefore, a greaterengagementisrequiredtoundertakesubstantialreformsinthecountry.IntheprocessofEUaccessionanddomesticreforms,thereisagreaterneedforpublicinclusivenessandinformation.Inthiscontext,theroleofthemedia(withallitsformsandinformationchannels)isverysignificant,notonlytoinformthepublic,butalsotoshapepublicperceptionandopinionontheEuropeanintegrationprocessandEUrelatedissues.Generallyspeaking,AlbanianshaveapositivestandontheEuropeanUnionintegration,showingthehighestappraisalintheentireregion,exceptforKosovo,where81%ofitscitizensperceivetheEUmembershipasagoodthing.1Accordingtoarecentnationalsurvey,AlbaniansareinterestedingettinginformationontheEU(only4%oftheAlbaniansarenotlookingforinformationontheEuropeanUnion);the22%oftheAlbanianpeopleusethedailynewspapersasasourceofinformation;while25%ofthemreadthedailypressevery day or almost every day,althoughonly43%oftheAlbanianshaveatendencytotrustthemedia.2

DespitethepositiveattitudeoftheAlbanianpublictowardstheEuropeanUnionandthenon-primaryuseofthetraditionalpress(newspapers),3thereisaresearchgapconcerningtheroleofthepressdiscourseinframingthepublicopinion.ThisstudyreviewstheEuropeanintegrationdiscourseintheAlbanianpressandthewaytheEuropeanintegrationprocessisreported.

1.See:RegionalCooperationCouncil (2016)“BalkanOpinionBarometer”;QuestionDo you think that EU membership would be (is - for Croatia) a good thing, a bad thing, or neither good nor bad for your economy?2.See:OSFA(2015)“Finalreport:Nationalsurveyonperceptions&expectationstowardsapotentialEUmembershipofAlbania,Tirana.3.ThemajorityoftheAlbanians(74%)requestEU-relatedinformationor(80%)receiveinformationonEuropeanpoliticalissues.Thetelevisionisthemostreliablesource(73%oftheAlbanians)andthemostusedinformationchannel(Albaniancitizensspendanaverageof2hoursand40minutesperday).See:OSFA(2015)“Finalreport:Nationalsurveyonperceptions&expectationstowardsapotentialEUmembershipofAlbania”,Tirana.


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1. Methodology of study

In order to study theEuropean integration discourse in theAlbanian press, four daily newspapersweremonitored(Mapo,Panorama,Gazeta ShqiptareandShqiptarja.com)foraperiodof6months(January–June2016).4Theselectionofthissampleofnewspapersisbasedon:1)theirrelevanceasageneralsourceofmassiveinformationfortheAlbaniancitizens;5aswellas2)theirownership.6 Such aselectionofnewspapersenablesustogiveamorecompleteoverviewoftheEuropeanintegrationdiscourseintheAlbanianwrittenmedia.

Forthepurposeofthisstudy,thediscourseon“theintegrationprocessinAlbania”shallmeaneveryarticlepublishedinthenewspapers,inwhichoneoftheselectedwordsbelowappearsatleastonce:

Anti-corruption,EU,EuropeanUnion,EURALIUS,MEP,Fleckenstein,Gjosha,Hahn,openingofthechapters,Europeanintegration,Juncker,EuropeanCouncil,Commissioner,EuropeanCommission,HeadofDelegation,Kukan,Mogherini,EuropeanParliament,5priorities,ProgressReport,Tusk,Vlahutin,Bregu,Bushati)

Note:WesearchforthecorrespondingwordsintheAlbanianlanguage,whereoptionoftheletter(forexampletheuseofeorë)aswellasthepossibledeclinationofthewordshavebeenconsidered.

Thestudyisdividedintotwoanalyzingstages.Thefirstphasefocusonaquantitativeanalysisofthereceiveddatabase,inordertohaveanoverallviewonthefrequency,theauthorship,therelevanceofthearticleontheEuropeanintegrationwithreferencetothenumberofwords,therubrics,theuseofphotosandtheappearanceinthefrontpage.Asearchingenginehelpedtofindthearticlescontainingatleastoneofthekeywordsidentifiedabove.Theresearchindicatedatotalof2782articlesforthefournewspaperssubjecttoourstudyforaperiodof6months.7The662articles,outofthetotalwereduplicates,astheywerepublishedbothinthefrontpageandinsidethenewspaper,while108otherarticlesfallunderthecategory‘advertisement’,theyaretendersorvacancyannouncements(total2120–108=2012).

Inadditiontothedatareceivedfromthedatabase(suchasthetitle,thearticledate,thenameoftheauthor,therubric,thenumberofthepagewherethearticleappears,thesizeofthearticleexpressedincentimetresquaresandnumberofwords),wemonitorthedatabaseandextractadditionalinformation

4.Timespanofthestudy:05Januaryto30June2016.5. “Panorama”is the largestnewspaper in thecountry in termsofcirculation,withmorethan10thousandcopies,whileother newspapers circulate less than 5000 copies per day, according to data from the printing houses. “Shqiptarja.com”is both awritten andonlinemedia (See:Liperi, 2016).Despite the circulation, calculations indicate that thenewspapersdistributeapproximately1000copies,ofwhichonlysomehundredcopiesaresold(IREX2016:12).Shqiptarja.comandMaponewspapersarenotpublishedonMondayandSunday,respectively.6.Accordingtotheirownership:newspapersfundedbythebusiness(Panorama),companiesMapoandGazetaShqiptare,andshareholdingbetweencompaniesandjournalists(Shqiptarja.com),referred todatafromtheNationalRegistrationCentre.Meanwhile,thestudydoesnottakeinconsiderationnewspapersthatbelongtopoliticalparties(See:ISHM,2014).7.MapoNewspaper=633;GazetaShqiptare=709;Panorama=691;Shqiptarja=754.


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accordingtothecodebookcompiledforthepurposesofthisstudy(suchas,sizeandrelevanceofthephotousedforthenews/event,thepresenceandpositionofthearticleinthefrontpage,thecontextandrelationofthearticletotheEuropeanintegrationissues,aswellasthenumberofkeywordsusedinthetext,seeAnnex2:Codebook).

Inorder tomake sure that the articlesdo addressEuropean integration issues anddon’t just use thekeyword tangentially, the authorsmanually checked the articles that were found, in order to assesswhethertheywererelevanttotheEuropeanintegrationprocess(therelevancevariable),orwhetherthekeywordwasirrelevanttothearticle(thevariableofthenumberofkeywordsinatext).8Accordingtothissecondevaluation,atotalof1259articlesdiscusstheEuropeanintegrationissue,while649ofthemareevaluatedastotallyirrelevantfortheconcretestudy,despitethefactthatthemajorityofthemdocontainsome(1-4)keywords,theyhavebeenusedbeyondtheEuropeanintegrationcontext.Asimpleassessmentindicatesacorrelationbetweenthevariablesofrelevanceandthenumberofkeywords.9

Table 1: Cross tabulation of tables: Relevance of European integration articles with the number of keywords in the text (Relevance * No. Keywords)

0 No. Keywords (Number of keywords in the text)

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15+ Total

Relevance(Relation of the article

to the European

integration issues)

0=norelevance

185 231 128 52 25 10 3 7 1 2 3 2 0 0 0 0 649

1=lowrelevance

7 171 177 128 57 31 21 9 6 7 7 2 2 1 1 4 631

2=highrelevance

2 50 82 108 65 75 78 36 30 21 18 16 11 9 4 23 628

Total 194 452 387 288 147 116 102 52 37 30 28 20 13 10 5 27 1908

Note:Theevaluation indicates theabsenceof212data in the system,due to the failure tocodify thembecauseof theirdifficultytobeclassified.

ThesecondphasefocusonaqualitativeanalysisbasedontheassumptionthatthenewscoverageoftheEUintegrationtendstobecyclical,meaningthatEUintegrationinformationisusuallymissingintheeditorialpoliciesofthenationalnewspapers,culminatingonlyaroundsignificantevents.Thequalitativeanalysesenableusaportrayalofthecontextualinformationduringsignificantevents,providingagreateranddeeperunderstanding,aswellasanassessmentofthemediacoveragetendencyduringkeyEuropeanornationalevents,suchasthejusticereformwhennewsoccupyasignificantpartofthenewspapers’dailyagenda,andduring routineperiodswithoutany relevantnewsonEuropean integration,bothatthenationalandEUlevel.Thecaseofbilateral(EU-Albania)meetingsonAlbania’sprogress,withtheparticipationofhighlevelrepresentatives,isanimportanteventforthecountry’sEuropeanintegrationandassuchthegenerateddebatesareagoodcasestudy,mostlyforprovidingamediacoverage;whiletheEuropeDayeventandrelateddebateshavefewerchancesformediacoverage,asitismerelyasymbolic

8.Forexample:thewordBE(EU)(isawordgroupthatcanbefound/anintegralpartofoneword,suchasbesim,Tabelë,humbet, mbetetc.9.CoefficientofPearsoncorrelationbetweenthevariableofrelevanceandkeywordsinatexthasasignificanceof0.490atalevelof0.01(2-tailed).KendallandSpearmancorrelationcoefficientsarealsosatisfactory(0.511and0.598,respectively).See: Riffeet. al.2014:155.


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eventrelatedtotheEuropeanUnionvaluesandidentity,notdirectlyrelatedtoAlbania’sEUintegration.

Wemonitoredthemediaonthespecialdayoftheevent,aswellas2daysbeforeandaftertheevent.

Monitoredeventsthatwillbeanalysedindetailsareasfollows:

• 8 February 2016:Visit of theMembersof theEuropeanParliament,KnutFleckenstein andEduardKukan,RapporteursonAlbania(highlevelEuropeanpersonalities,directlyrelatedtotheEuropeanintegrationprocessinAlbania);

• 3 March 2016:Visitof theEUHighRepresentativeforForeignAffairsandSecurityPolicy,FedericaMogherini(highlevelEuropeanpersonality–symbolicnature);

• 30 March 2016:6th MeetingoftheHighLevelDialogueEU-AlbaniawiththeparticipationofJohannesHahn,CommissionerforEuropeanNeighbourhoodPolicy&AccessionNegotiations(essentialEuropeanintegrationpolicy,EU-Albania);

• 9 May 2016:EuropeDay(Constructiveconnotation–Europeanizationasavalueandidentity).

Throughoutbothphasesof theanalyses,weconsidered the identificationofspecific issues related totheEuropeanintegration,theextentofdiscussion(lengthofthearticles)andthedensityofinformation(addressingtheissuethoroughlyandindetails,basedonfacts,notsimplyopinions),thetopicdiscussion,the reference (mainly) toEUor national actors and institutions, aswell as viewpoint in addressingtheissue(thepoliticalversusthecivicpointofview).Theframingandtoneofthearticlesarethekeyobjectivesofthequalitativeanalysisofthecasestudies,inordertounderstandwhetherthearticlesshowneutral,positiveornegativetonesandtowhomthissensitivityareaddressed;whethertheframingisargumentative,mentioningtwoormoredifferentperspectivesofanissue;contradictory, if thearticlereferstosomeconflictordisagreement;oranentirelypersonalopinionorevaluation.

Semi-structuredinterviewswerealsocarriedoutwiththechiefeditorsofallfournewspapers,askingtheiropiniononsomekeygeneralquestions,inordertogenerallyevaluateeditorialpolicies,perceptions,knowledgeandstancesofjournalistsonissuesrelatedtotheEuropeanintegration(seeAnnex3).


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2. Quantitative analysis

Thisstudycontains2012relevantarticles(irelatedtotheEuropeanintegration),outofwhich:443articlesappearsonMaponewspaper;509articlesonGazetaShqiptare;476articlesonPanorama,and585,thehighestnumberofarticles,onShqiptarja.com.

Itisevidencedthatthedistributionofthearticlesinthefouranalysednewspapersisapproximatelythesame,allnewspapershaveasimilartendencyasregardsthecoverageofthearticles/newsrelatedtotheEuropean integration, althoughas indicatedbyouranalysis, themodalityofaddressing thesenews /eventsisdifferentandvariesdependingonthevisitsoftheEUrepresentativestoTiranaorsymbolicdates.

Figure 1: Distributionofarticleson‘Europeanintegration’issuesaccordingtothenewspaper

The distribution of the articles according to rubrics is disproportional. Themajority of identifiedarticlesfallunderthecategorypolitics,morethan70%,followedbyinternational newscategoryinthesecondplacewith9%,whichfocusmainlyondevelopmentsoutsideAlbaniaandhavealowrelevance(figure2).Meanwhile,alownumberofarticles,approximately15.6%intotal,focuson3keyrubrics,suchas:economy,culture andsocial,addressingspecifictopicsintherespectivefields.Thesocialandsports rubrics, specifically,arelessconsideredinrelationtotheEUtopics,thisalsoduetothefactthat

2. Ana

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integrationtopicsrelatemostlytotechnicaldiscussionsand/orgenericissues,notenabletoaddressspecifictopicsofthesocial areathatmayrelatewithEuropeanIntegration(figure2).

Figure 2: Distributionofarticlesaccordingtorubrics

Relevance,asa termused to indicate theexistenceofan inherent relationwith thesubject, isoneofthekeyindicatorsinthisstudy,asitshowstheexistenceofafairdistributionofthe‘relevance’amongnewspapers,ifweweretorefertoallarticlesintotal.Outof2012studiedarticles,only1289(64%)ofthemhavebeenconsideredasrelevant,ofwhich654havealowrelevance,633haveahighrelevance fortheEuropeanintegration,andtheother724articleshavebeenconsideredasnot relevant totheEUintegrationprocess.

Table2: Relevanceofthearticles

Frequency Valid percentage (%)

Relevance Zero(0) 724 35.5

Low(1) 654 32.6

High(2) 635 31.9

Total 2013 100.0

sociale dsë, kjo edapo/dhe cilat mun

Figura 2: S

Relevancështë njëgjithashtuNga 201përshtatslartë për integrimiTabela 2: R

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mënyrë speë faktin se teërgjithshme,dërlidhje me

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më pak të kogrimit më sër të trajtojnë).

ë ekziston njtë studim, stave nëse i rvetëm 1289 re janë me rjanë konsid

(%) e vlefshm

35.5

32.6

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11

Table 3: Relevancedependingontherubric

Relevance Total

None(0) Low(1) High(2)

Rubric-info Current 1 0 0 1

Dossier 0 1 0 1

Economy 51 39 36 126

Chronicle 58 24 6 88

Culture 35 18 4 57

International 68 62 52 182

Politics 439 466 518 1423

Advertisements 0 0 2 2

Social 70 43 17 130

Sports 1 1 0 2

Total 724 654 635 2012

But,referringtospecificnewspapers,“GazetaShqiptare”hasthehighestlevelofrelevance,where40%ofitsarticleshavethe“highestlevelofrelevance”and25.3%ofthemhaveanaveragelevelofrelevance,whileapproximately55%ofthearticlesof“Shqiptarja.com”havethelowestlevelofrelevance.Thisclearlyindicatesthedifferentcoverageofthe‘integration’topicbyspecificnewspapers.

Table 4: Relevancedependingonthenewspaper

Relevance Total

None(0) Low(1) High(2)

SourceNameJournal Mapo 147 143 152 442

GazetaShqiptare 156 129 224 509

Panorama 100 235 141 476

Shqiptarja.com 321 146 118 585

Total 724 653 635 2012

Ageneralviewof thefourselectednewspapersalso indicates that themajorityof thearticleshaveadomestic context and are directly linked to issues of theAlbania’sEuropean integration in differentaspects,mainlypolitics,asmentioned.Thiscouldbeexplainedwiththefact thatpoliticalnewsrefermainlytothepoliticaldiscourseandaredirectlyattributedtopublicfigures.Themajorityofdebatesinthiscategoryarefordailypoliticalconsumption,unabletogotothebottomoftheissues.Informationreporting, based on political statements, is the behaviour line of political reporters, while very fewarticlesarepartofsignificantrubricsaddressingvariousissues,suchas:economy,social,culture, etc. Articlespertainingtothoserubricsrequireconsideration,physicaltimeandspecificexpertiserelatedtotheintegrationcontext.


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Table 5:Relevanceaccordingtothecontext

Context Total

1Domesticissues

2Regional

3International

4Miscellaneous

Relevance None(0) 558 54 55 44 718

Low(1) 478 50 68 56 654

High(2) 469 49 76 38 632

Total 1505 153 199 138 2004

ThefrontpageisakeyaspectforthevisibilityandsignificancethatadailynewspapergivestoarticlesaddressingEuropean integrationaspectsor issues.Frontpageanalysesmayprovideprimarydataoneditorialpoliciesandpublicinterest,whichisconcretelydisplayedintherankinginthefrontpageoftitlesdirectlyrelatedtotheEUintegration(Figure3).

Figure 3: Presenceinthefrontpage

Itisgenerallynoticedthatapproximately1in3integrationarticleshasmanagedtoappearinthefrontpageoftherespectivenewspapers,orapproximately33.5%ofthearticles.Buttheoverwhelmingmajorityispositionedassecondhandtitles(27.5%),andlessthan6%wereheadlines.Of658titlesappearinginthefrontpagesofthefourdailynewspapersduringthemonitoredperiod,61titlesareintheapertureofShqiptarja.com,15titlesinGazetaShqiptare,26titlesinMapoand14titlesinPanorama,respectively.

Table 6: Positioninthefrontpageaccordingtothenewspapers

PositionFrontPage Total

0Doesnotappear

1Yes,Headline

2Yes,Secondarytitle

Mapo 338 26 77 441

GazetaShqiptare 337 15 156 508

Panorama 278 14 183 475


Total 1352 116 542 2009

Table5: Re

Relevance

The frontto articleprovide pthe rankin

Figure3: P

It is genethe front overwhelheadlinesmonitore26 titles i

Table6: Po

Mapo GazetaShq

Panorama

Shqiptarja

elevance accor

De None (0)

Low (1) High (2)

Total

t page is a kes addressinprimary datang in the fro

Position in the

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199

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13

nificance thator issues. Ferest, which he EU integr

ion articles hmately 33.5%itles (27.5%)the four dairja.com, 15 t.

2 econdary title

77156

183

126

Total

us44 718 56 654 38 632 38 2004

t a daily newront page ais concretelyration (Figur

has managed% of the art), and less tily newspapetitles in Gaz

Total

441 508

475

585

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d to appear iticles. But ththan 6% werers during theta Shqiptar

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13

The length of the article isanotherindicatorofthedeepaddressingoftheissuesintheidentifiedarticles.Wenoticedthatonly18.6%ofthearticlesare‘extended’,whileapproximately50.7%ofthemareshortarticles,unabletogointoauthenticanalysistoaddressvariousaspectsoftheEUintegration(table7).

Table 7: Lengthofthearticlesinallnewspapers

Frequency ValidPercentage(%)

1=Short(0-500words) 1022 50.7

2=Medium(500–1000words) 618 30.7

3=Extended(morethan1000words) 374 18.6

Total 2014 100.0

Themajorityofthe‘extended’articleshavea‘domestic’ context,whichmeansthattheintegrationissueshavebeenconsumedinpublicdebateswithinthecountry,where117extendedarticlesoutofatotal1614standout(approximately72%).Theother28%isfocusedonpublicdebates in theEUcountriesanddecision-takingbodiesinBrussels(table8).

Table 8:Lengthofthearticlesdependingonthecontext

Context Total

1Domesticissue

2Regional

3International

4Miscellaneous

LengthofthearticleCM2

1=Short(<¼) 989 103 113 66 1280

2=Medium(¼-½) 399 39 65 57 560

3=Extended(>½) 117 11 21 15 164

Total 1505 153 199 138 2004

Ananalysisofthecorrelationbetweenthelengthofthearticleandthefrontpage,indicatesthefactthat54%ofthearticlesofthesecondgroup(500-1000words)haveappearedinthefrontpage,comparedtoonly19%oftheshort articles(lessthan500words).

Thisisalsoreflectedinthepositiontheyoccupyinthefrontpage,whereonly4%oftheshort articlesarepositionedasleading articles,comparedto8.3%and9.7%‘extended’or‘veryextended’articles,respectively.

Table 9: Sizeofthearticledependingonitsfrontpageposition

Positioninthefrontpage Total

Doesnotappear Leadingarticle Secondaryarticle

LengthofthearticleCM2

Short 1038 53 194 1285

Medium 266 47 247 560

Extended 48 16 101 165

Total 1352 116 542 2010

Articlesofa‘domestic context’, coveringmainlytopicsthataffectthecountryanditsdomesticpolitics/events,prevailinthe‘extended’ categorywith117articles,givingmoresignificancetodomesticissues


14

oftheAlbania’sEUintegration.Thisisalsoreflectedinananalysisofthefrontpagesofthenewspapers,where:outof662articlesthatappearinthefrontpages,529haveadomestic context,65areclassifiedas‘internationals’ andtherestas‘region’ or‘miscellaneous’ (table10).

Table 10: Sizeofthearticledependingonthecontext

Context Total

Domestic Regional International Miscellaneous

Presenceinthefrontpage

0(notpresent) 968 128 134 103 1341

1(present) 529 25 65 32 652

Total 1497 153 199 135 1993

Considering that political articlesgenerallydominate innumbers,political articles related to theEUintegrationarenotquite randomly the focusof thenewspapers thatdedicatehugespaces topoliticaldebatesontheintegrationissues(table11).

Table 11: Sizeofthearticledependingontherubric

Rubric

curr

ent

Politics

Econom

y

Social

Culture

International

Chronicle

Dossier

Miscellaneous

Advertisem

ent

Sports

Total

Lengthofthearticle

Short 1 943 71 67 17 126 58 1 0 1 1 1286

Medium 0 374 37 49 29 47 25 0 0 1 1 563

Extended 0 107 18 14 11 9 5 0 1 0 0 165

Total 1 1424 126 130 57 182 88 1 1 2 2 2014

Thesametrendisalsoreflectedinspecificnewspapersthatmaintainthesamedistribution,butMaponewspaper stands out for giving more space to integration articles, followed by Gazeta Shqiptare.Shqiptarja.comseemstohavededicatedlessspace,with80%ofitsintegrationarticlesbeingtelegraphic.

Table 12: Sizeofthearticledependingonthenewspaper

Length TotalShort Medium Extended

Mapo Nr 214 187 42 443% 48.3% 42.2% 9.5% 100.0%

GazetaShqiptare Nr 288 167 54 509% 56.6% 32.8% 10.6% 100.0%

Panorama Nr 314 117 45 476% 66.0% 24.6% 9.5% 100.0%

Shqiptarja.com Nr 469 92 24 585% 80.2% 15.7% 4.1% 100.0%

Total Nr 1285 563 165 2013% 63.9% 28.0% 8.2% 100.0%


15

Thisapproachisalsoreinforcedbyasurveyontheauthorship ofthearticles;whereapproximately64%ofthearticlesintotalhaveno author,mostlyfallingintothecategoryofsimplereportingofeventsorissues,andenabletogointoauthenticanalysisfromjournalistsorexpertsofthefield.

Table 13: Authorshipofthearticledependingonthenewspaper

Texts/articleswithan‘author’havethetendencyofbeingdeeperandmorefocusedanalysis,mainlyfromwell-knownjournalistsoftherespectivefieldsorexternalexperts.Therefore,thisindicatorspeaksalotaboutthearticles.

Ageneralviewofthenewspapersconcerningthe‘authorship’ofthearticlesindicatesthateachnewspaperhasitsspecificjournalists,whodirectlyorindirectlycovertheintegrationissues,butontheothersidearticlesfromexpertsofthefieldarerandomandscarceinallfournewspapers.Maponewspaperstandsout,withapproximately75.8%ofitsarticleswithoutanauthor.

Articlesthathavean‘author’havemorechancestobeinthefrontpage,asleadorsecondarynews.Inaddition,it isnoted that journalistscoveringdomestic policies doreportmore,ascompared to journalistscoveringeconomic,socialandculturalissues.Outof656titlesinthefrontpagefocussedonthe‘Europeanintegration’,63%ofthemhaveanauthor,ordifferentlysaid,57%ofthearticleswithanauthorappearinthefrontpage.

Table 14:Authorshipinfrontpagearticles

The analysis indicates that the ‘domestic context’ has prevailed, evenwhen the integration articleswerepositioned as ‘apertures’, with 107 articleswith of ‘domestic context’, referringmainly to current news.Headlineshaveneverbeenfromthe‘region’ rubricandveryrarelyfromthe‘international’-only2(table15).

Table 15:Positioninthefrontpagedependingonthecontext

Context Total

Domestic Regional International Miscellaneous

PositionFrontPage

NotPresent 971 128 134 106 1347

Headline 107 0 2 5 114

Secondarynews 425 25 62 27 540

Total 1503 153 198 138 2001

NewspaperversusAuthor Newspaper Total

Mapo GazetaShqiptare Panorama Shqiptarja.com

Author 0(absent) 336 301 283 372 1292

1(present) 107 208 193 213 721

Total 443 509 476 585 2013

FrontPage Total

Absent LeadArticle SecondaryArticle

Authorship NoAuthor 1041 243 7 1291

WithAuthor 305 413 3 721

Total 1346 656 10 2012


16

Morespecifically,asconcernstherubric, wenoticethat45.3%ofthearticlesincludedunderthe“social”categoryinallnewspapersdohaveanauthor,whileinthecaseofGazetaShqiptarethisfigurereachesupto58%.Butthisisnotoccurringwiththemostdiffusedrubric‘politics’,wherearticleswithan‘author’reachto34.4%,andinsomespecificnewspapers,suchasthecaseofMapo,thefiguregoesupto13.3%.

Table16: Authorshipdependingontherubric

Rubric

current

Politics

Economy

Social

Culture

International

Chronicle

Dossier

Miscellaneous

AuthorshipNoAuthor 1 934 73 71 36 122 53 1 0

WithAuthor 0 490 53 59 21 60 35 0 1

Total 1 1424 126 130 57 182 88 1 1

Approximately80%ofthetitlesoftheintegrationarticleswithoutanauthor donotappearinthefrontpage.Meanwhile,titlesof58%oftheintegrationarticleswith an author appearinthefrontpage.

Table 17:Authorshipdependingonthefrontpage

Usedphotos areanotherimportantelementofthearticle,whichtransmitamessageandinfluencetheillustration of the article.Therefore the size and relevance of the photo in relation to the article aresignificant indicators to understand the visibility and importance that is dedicated to the photos in anewspaper.

41.5%ofthearticlesintotalarecharacterizedbysmall photos,andthisisexplainedbythefactthatthemajorityoftheintegrationarticlesoccupyasmallplaceandareshort,consideringthenumberoftheirwords.Datafromthegraphicbelowindicatethat24.2%ofthearticlesrelatedtotheEUintegrationhavea large photo ortwo or more photos,56.6%ofthemhavesmall ormedium photos, whileapproximately13%ofthemhavenophotosatall,thusindicatingthelowrelevanceofthearticle/news,whichismainlyservedtofillintheremainingspacesofthepages.

FrontPage Total

Absent Headline SecondaryArticle

Authorship NoAuthor 1041 243 7 1291

WithAuthor 305 413 3 721

Total 1346 656 10 2012


17

Table 18: Sizeofthephotoinallthearticles

Frequency ValidPercentage

Notestimated 123 6.1

0=Withoutphoto 261 13.0

1=Small(lessthan¼ofthearticle) 571 28.3

2=Medium(¼to½ofthearticle) 571 28.3

3=Large(Largerthan½ofthearticle) 253 12.6

4=Twoormorephotos 233 11.6

Total 2012 100.0

Theindicatoroftherelevanceofthephotowasdividedinto3levels,inordertoenableunderstandingthepurposeofthephotonexttoawrittenarticle:‘illustrative’(whenthephotoservestothecontextofthearticle);‘real’(whenthephotoisrealandhasadirectlinkwiththeevent/character);‘undecided’ whenthephotohasnodirectlinkwiththeevent,butisrelevanttothearticle.Mostly,43.6%ofthephotosthathavebeenusedare‘illustrative’,withoutnecessarilyhavingadirectlinkwiththeevent/topicandtheycontainaspecificmessagerelatedtotheinterpretationof theevent.GazetaShqiptareandShqiptarja.comhave the tendencyofusingmore“illustrative”photos,whereonly10.5%of thephotosusedbyShqiptarja.comand9.4%ofthephotosusedbyGazetaShqiptarerespectively,are‘real’.

Table 19: Relevanceofthephotodependingonthenewspaper

Relevanceofthephoto Total

Notestimated Nophoto Illustrative Relevant Undefined

Mapo 118 75 123 100 27 443

GazetaShqiptare 1 44 106 346 12 509

Panorama 5 93 288 89 1 476

Shqiptarja.com 1 50 56 344 133 585

Total 125 262 573 879 173 2013


18

3. Qualitative analysis: Case studies

Multiple studies indicate thatmedia exercises a huge influence on public opinion and contributesin shapingperceptionsonvarious issuesof political, economicor social nature.10Thewaynews isconveyedtothecitizens–dueto(non)combinationofdifferentsourcesandusedlanguage–affectstheabsorptionofthenewsandcitizensrespectivereactiontosuchevents.

Newspapermonitoringduringthefirstsixmonthsof2016pointedoutthefactthatthefrequencyofcoverageof theEuropeanintegrationnewsisdirectlyrelated to thepoliticalagendaof thecountryandisnotapriorityperse.TheexaminedperiodindicatesthatingeneralthecoverageofnewsrelatedtotheEUintegrationiscasual,exceptincasesofvisitsorissuesaffectedbytheEU.Ananalysisofthedatawithaconsiderablepresenceofpredefinedindicatorsshowsthattheintensityofthearticlesisstimulatedbytheinternationalfactor,asitcoincideswithdaysinwhichTiranahasbeenofficiallyvisitedbyMEPsandCommissionersoftheEuropeanCommission,statementsissuedbyBrusselshigh-levelrepresentatives,orhighactivationofforeignambassadorsinthecapital,whichspontaneouslyattractapositivecoveragenotonlyintheinnerpages,butalsointhefrontpage.InseveralcasestherehasbeenacoincidencewithregionalandinternationaleventsthathaveanimpactonAlbania,suchastherecommendationforthevisaliberalisationgrantedtoKosovoortheconsequencesoftheBritishreferendumofJune2016.

Asindicatedinfigure4,thepeakoftheEuropeanintegrationnewsisreachedduringtheday/sofEUhighofficialvisitstoTirana,followedbyaconstantdecline(seeAnnex1).

Figure 4: ‘Theheartbits’oftheEuropeanintegrationdiscourseinthepress

InordertohaveamoredetailedpictureofthecontentoftheEuropeanintegrationarticles–whichisbelievedtodirectlyinfluencetheabsorptionofthenewsbythecitizens–fourconcreteactivitiesthathaveoccurredduringtheanalysedtimespanhavebeenreviewedfromthequalitativepointofview:

• VisitoftheMembersoftheEuropeanParliament,RapporteursonAlbania,KnutFleckensteinandEduardKukan,onFebruary8,2016;

• VisitoftheEUHighRepresentativeforForeignAffairsandSecurityPolicyFedericaMogherini,onMarch3-4,2016;

10.See:Silke2009ontheEuropeanIntegrationargument,orPrice1988andGamson&Modigliani1989foramoregenericargument.

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Frequency

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19

• VisitoftheEUCommissionerforEuropeanNeighbourhood&AccessionNegotiationsJohannesHahn,onMarch30,2016;and,

• 9May–EuropeDay.

Thisanalysisenablestoidentifythewaynewspapersstructuretheirnewsandframetheevent.Forthispurposetheframinginstrumenthasbeenused,inordertodefinehowmediaeventcoverageaffectstheshapingofpublicopinion.

1.1 Knut Fleckenstein and Eduard Kukan visit

TheanalysedcasestudyisthevisittoAlbania,onFebruary8,2016,ofAlbania’sRapporteursandMEPsKnutFleckensteinandEduardKukan.Despite the fact thatduring the studyperiod therehasbeenaseriesofvisitsfromEUdifferentrepresentatives, theMEPsvisitwasconsideredassignificant in theframeworkoftheprogressofthepoliticaldevelopmentsinthecountry,inrelationtotheapprovalofthejusticereform.AlthoughRapporteurFleckensteinhasvisitedAlbaniaseveraltimes,theanalysedvisitrelatestothespecificmomentoftheapprovalofthedecriminalizationlawinAlbaniaandsubmissiontoVeniceCommissionofthefinaldraftofthejusticereform.Forthepurposesofthiscasestudyarticlesfrom4–12February2016wereexaminedandatotalof23articleswereidentified,respectivelydividedaccordingtothenewspapersinfigure5.

Figure 5: Numberofarticlesaccordingtothenewspapers

Asnoticed,thegreatestnumberofarticleshasbeenidentifiedinShqiptarja.com.However,itisnoticedthatonly14articlesinallfournewspapershavereportedthevisitoftheMEPsandonly3ofthemhavedisplayedtheauthorshipofthejournalists:11Shqiptarja.comhasreportedthevisitin5articles,Panoramaintwo,GazetaShqiptarein3andMapoin4articles.TheotherevidencedarticleshavereportedeventsandstatementsbythechairsoftheparliamentarygroupsortheDPChairman,wherethevisitoftheMEPissuperficiallymentioned,asamomentthatindicatesthecontinuityofthelatestagendasorstatements,forexample,Shqiptarja.comwrites:“As the Democrat Chairman Basha declared on Monday following the meeting with MEPs Kukan and Fleckenstein”12.

11.LeonardQukuandMimozaHaxhirajfor“Shqiptarja.com”andValentinaMadanifor“GazetaShqiptare”.12.Shqiptarja.com,“Reform,theessenceofconsensus,notthenumberofvotes”,10.02.2016.

16

Vizita e Komisionerit Evropian për Fqinjësinë dhe Negociatat për Anëtarësim, Johannes Hahn, më 30 mars 2016; dhe,

9 maji – Dita e Evropës.

Kjo analizë mundëson identifikimin e mënyrës së strukturimit të lajmit dhe inkuadrimin e ngjarjes nga gazetat. Për këtë qëllim, është përdorur instrumenti i kuadrimit, i cili përcakton se si mbulimi i ngjarjeve nga media ndikon në farkëtimin e opinionit publik.

3.1 Vizita e Knut Fleckenstein dhe Eduard Kukan

Në këtë studim është marrë si rast studimor vizita që kanë kryer së bashku në Shqipëri, në datën 8 shkurt 2016, dy raportuesit për Shqipërinë dhe njëkohësisht eurodeputetë, Knut Fleckenstein dhe Eduard Kukan. Pavarësisht se gjatë periudhës së studimit ka patur një sërë vizitash nga përfaqësues të ndryshëm, vizita e dy eurodeputetëve është parë me rëndësi, në kuadër të ecurisë së zhvillimeve politike në vend, të cilat lidhen me miratimin e reformës në drejtësi. Raportuesi Fleckenstein ka vizituar disa herë Shqipërinë, megjithatë, vizita e marrë në analizë, lidhet me momentin kur në vend sapo ishte miratuar ligji për dekriminalizimin dhe ishte dërguar në Venecia drafti përfundimtar i reformës në drejtësi. Në këtë rast studimor janë vëzhguar artikujt nga data 4 – 12 shkurt 2016 dhe gjithsej janë identifikuar 23 artikuj, të ndarë përkatësisht sipas gazetave në figurën 5.

Figura 5: Numri i artikujve sipas gazetave

Sikundër vërehet, tek gazeta Shqiptarja.com janë identifikuar më tepër artikuj. Megjithatë, nga të gjithë artikujt, vërejmë se vetëm 14 artikuj në të katërta gazetat raportojnë vizitën e eurodeputetëve dhe vetëm 3 prej këtyre përmbajnë autorësinë e gazetarëve11: Shqiptarja.com ka pasqyruar këtë vizitë në 5 artikuj, gazeta Panorama në dy, Gazeta Shqiptare me 3 artikuj dhe gazeta Mapo në 4 artikuj. Pjesa tjetër e artikujve të evidentuar raportojnë mbi ngjarje e deklarata të kryetarëve të grupeve parlamentare apo të kryetarit të PD-së, ku vizita e europarlamentarëve përmendet përciptaz si moment për të treguar vazhdimësinë e agjendave apo deklaratave të këtyre të fundit, p.sh. tek gazeta Shqiptarja.com shkruhet: ”Sikundër

11 Leonard Quku dhe Mimoza Haxhiraj për gazetën “Shqiptarja.com” dhe Valentina Madani për “Gazetën Shqiptare”.

4 5

7

4

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Mapo Shqiptarja.com Panorama Gazeta Shqiptare


20

Concerningthecoherenceofreportingthevisit,almostallarticleshavebeenpublishedbetween9and10February2016,exceptforanarticleinPanoramanewspaperpublishedonFebruary11,whichmentionsameetingbetweentheDPrepresentativesandFleckensteinandKukan,aspartoftheDPnegotiationsintheframeworkoftheissueoftheNationalInvestigationBureau:“Together with the Chairman Basha, we participated these days in intensive meetings with MEPs Eduard Kukan and Knut Fleckenstein”13.

Table 20: Classificationofthearticlesaccordingtotheirlength14

Meanwhile,thisanalysisindicatesnocorrelationbetweenthenumberofthewordsandthephotosthathavebeenusedforthearticles.Thewaythenewsisreportedinthefrontpagesofthenewspapersisinteresting.MapoandPanoramadisplayednoneofthetitlescloselyrelatedtoFleckensteinandKukanvisit in their frontpages,unlikeShqiptarja.com, thatdisplayed in its frontpageall the titlesof thearticlesrelatedtothisissue.GazetaShqiptarehasdisplayedonearticleinitsfrontpage,asasecondarytitle.TheonlyarticlerelatedtooneofFleckenstein’sstatementsduringhisvisittoTirana,positionedintheheadlineofthefrontpage,istobefoundinShqiptarja.com.However,evenforthistitle,itwasdecidedtoselectFleckenstein’sstatementinrelationtotheSocialistParty,duetothespecificmomentwhentheSPwaspreparingfortheelectionofitsChairman,consideringthatthisissueoccupiedahugespaceinthenewsrange.

Asconcernsthetitlesofthearticles,threenewspapers:Shqiptarja.com,GazetaShqiptareandMapohave generally emphasized the issues mentioned in the statements issued by MEP Fleckenstein:NationalInvestigationBureau,justicereformandtheSocialistPartymodel.Fleckenstein’semphasizeon the significance of the approval of the justice reform and fulfilling other criteria related to thedecriminalizationlawasaconditionforAlbania’sEuropeanintegration,isonlynoticedinonearticleinShqiptarja.com, titled: “EP, MEP: Pass the “justice” for the EU to open the negotiations”, andPanoramatitled:“Justice reform - a condition for the EU negotiations”.ReportsonthisvisitunderlinethestatementsissuedbyMr.Fleckenstein,whileKukan’sstatementshavebeenbrieflymentionedattheendofthearticles.ThereareonlytwoarticlesrelatedtoKukan,buttheyhavenorelationtotheagendaofhisvisit,exceptatthemomentwhenKukantookanumberofphotos,forexample:“Eduart Kukan, with a “photograph” mission in the joint conference with Meta”(GazetaShqiptare,dated10.02.2016).

Coveragefromtheanalysednewspapersisalmostidentical,withtheonlydifferencenotedinthespaceand number of articles “dedicated” to this visit. Shqiptarja.com stands out among the others,withspecial articleson several issuesdiscussedbyFleckenstein andKukanduring the joint conferencewiththeSpeakeroftheAssemblyMeta.Theothernewspapershavesummarizedtheirstatementsandpositionsintwoorthreearticles.

13.Panorama,“Basha’sdebateintheDPgrouprevealed,Selami:Youaretakingpersonaldecisions”,11/02/2016.14.Anarticleisconsidered“short”ifitcontains300wordsorless,“medium”ifitcontains301to600words,and“long”withmorethan601words.

Nameofnewspaper/numberofwords

≤300 301-600 ≥601 Total

Mapo 3 1 2 6


Panorama 1 1 2 4

GSH 3 1 1 5


21

Thetoneofthesearticlesisgenerallypositive,duetothefactthatthestatementsissuedbybothMEPscontainedoptimisticandencouraging tones forbothpoliticalpartiesconcerning theachievementofanagreementfortheapprovalofthejusticereform.ArticlesreflectingBasha’sstatementcontainnegativetones,thisrelatedtothedebateofthemomentbetweenthepoliticalparties.Whatisnoticedis the lack of coverage of the discussions between theMEPs and PrimeMinisterRama and theMinisterofForeignAffairsBushati.Thelatesthavemainlybeenmentionedatthebeginningofthearticles, aspart ofFleckenstein andKukanagenda.Thearticles contain abrief reportonMeta’sstatement in the joint conference.Meanwhile, theMinister for the European Integration KlajdaGjosha is onlymentioned in one article publishedbyMaponewspaper (dated 09/02/2016, titled“Integration, Gjosha criticizes ministries for negligence”),whichhasnorelationtothevisitoftheMEPs.

The visit of the European Parliament Rapporteur onAlbaniawas not covered by themonitorednewspaperspriortotheirarrivalinAlbania.ReportsontheirvisitstartonFebruary9,2016andthe“echo”ofthisvisit,asmentionedabove,lastsuntilFebruary10,thisalsorelatedtothevisitoftheAmericanSecretaryofState JohnKerryonFebruary14,2016,whichwas largelycoveredby thenewspapers.

3.2 Federica Mogherini visit

FedericaMogheriniistheHighRepresentativeoftheEuropeanUnionforForeignAffairsandSecurityPolicyandVice-PresidentoftheEuropeanCommissionsinceNovember2014.ShehadherfirstvisitinTiranaon3and4March2016.

Mogherini’svisit is a significantmomentnotonly forAlbania,whenat themomentofher arrivalthekeywordofpoliticaldevelopmentswasthejusticereform,butalsoinaregionalcontext,wherethe refugecrisisandviolentextremismwhere issues forwhichAlbania should take itsappropriatecommitments.DespitetheregionalcontextorAlbania’sownissuesintheframeworkoftheEuropeanintegration,newspublishedbytheanalysednewspapersfocusonmessagesdeliveredbyMogheriniintheframeworkofthejusticereform.

Asmentioned in themethodology of survey and selection of the case studies concerning the keymoments,articlesthatreflectMogherini’svisitinAlbaniaaremostlyfoundonMarch4,adatethatcoincideswiththeseconddayoftheEUHighRepresentativevisit.Assuch,newsgiventhedayafterthe event,while visual and onlinemedia had directly broadcasted the visit, brought no novelty oradditionalinformationtothereader.


22

Figure 6: Classificationofthearticlesaccordingtodates

This case study has monitored articles of high relevance as concerns the European integration,whichsuperficiallymentionthevisitof theEUHighRepresentative.Fromthedatabasecoveringtheperiodfrom1to8March2016,atotalof20articleshavebeenidentified,ofwhich14reflectMogherini’sspeechesinmeetingsheldthedaybefore(March3).Concerningtheother6articlesrelated to her visit: 3 of them cover the statement by the Speaker of theAssemblyMeta on theachievementoftheconsensusbetweenSPandDP,issuedrightafter theendoftheparliamentarysessionwhereMogherinideliveredherspeech,thushavinganon-directrelationwithMogherini’svisit; two articles analyse the justice reform (GazetaShqiptare, dt. 04/03/2016, Mimoza Koçiu“Time to speak with concrete names”)andtherefugecrisis(Mapo,dt.05/03/2016,VladimirKaraj-“Albania, a country that sends and receives refuges”),whichalsomentionMogherini’sspeechandthepurposeofhervisit.

Panoramanewspaperhasdedicated6articles toMogherini’svisit inAlbaniaandcomparedto theothernewspapershasthehighestnumberofarticlesonthisissue.Meanwhile,MapohasreportedMogherini’svisitintwoarticles;Shqiptarja.cominsixarticles;andGazetaShqiptarein2articles.Generally speaking, all the articles were included under the politics rubric of each newspaper,exceptfortwoarticlesincludedunder“opinion”and“social”rubrics.

The authorship appears only in 6 out of 20 articles. There is a difference among the analysednewspapers in the space that articlesoccupy in theirpages (table21), the relevanceof thenewssuggestedbyitspositioninginthefrontpageandthenumberofarticles(figure7)coveringMogherinimeetingswitheveryAlbanianpoliticalrepresentative.

Table 21: Classificationofthearticlesaccordingtotheirlength

Nameofthenewspaper/numberofwords

≤300 301-600 ≥601 Totali

Mapo 1 2 1 4


Panorama 4 1 2 7

GSH 1 1 2 4

19

kur ndërkohë media vizive dhe ajo online ka transmetuar drejtpërdrejt këtë vizitë, nuk sjellin risi apo informacion shtesë për lexuesin.

Figura 6: Ndarja e artikujve sipas datave

Në këtë rast studimor janë vëzhguar artikujt me rëndësi të lartë ndaj integrimit evropian dhe ato me rëndësi të ulët, të cilat përmendin përciptazi vizitën e përfaqësuese së lartë të BE-së. Nga baza e të dhënave, nga data 1 deri në 8 mars 2016, janë identifikuar gjithsej 20 artikuj, nga të cilët 14 artikuj pasqyrojnë fjalimet e Mogherinit gjatë takimeve të kryera një ditë më parë (në datën 3 mars). Në 6 artikujt e tjerë të cilët lidhen me këtë vizitë veçojmë se: 3 prej tyre raportojnë deklaratën e dhënë nga Kryetari i Kuvendit për ecurinë e konsensusit mes dy partive PS dhe PD, e cila është dhënë fill pas përfundimit të seancës parlamentare ku edhe ka mbajtur fjalimin Mogherini, duke pasur në këtë mënyrë raportim jo të drejtpërdrejtë me vizitën e Mogherinit; dy artikuj janë analiza mbi çështjen e reformës në drejtësi (Gazeta Shqiptare, dt. 04/03/2016, Mimoza Kociu “Koha që të flitet me emra konkretë”) dhe krizën e refugjatëve (Mapo, dt. 05/03/2016, Vladimir Karaj - “Shqipëria, vendi që çon dhe pret refugjatë”), në të cilat përmendet dhe fjalimi apo qëllimi i vizitës së Mogherinit.

Gazeta Panorama i kushton 6 artikuj vizitës së Mogherinit në Shqipëri dhe krahasuar me gazetat e tjera, ka numrin më të lartë të artikujve për këtë çështje. Ndërkohë që gazeta Mapo pasqyron këtë vizitë me dy artikuj; Shqiptarja.com me gjashtë artikuj; dhe Gazeta Shqiptare me 2 artikuj. Përgjithësisht, të gjithë artikujt janë të vendosur tek rubrika e politikës së secilës gazetë, me përjashtim të dy artikujve, të cilët janë të vendosur tek rubrika opinion dhe sociale.

Autorësia e artikulli vërehet vetëm në 6 nga 20 artikuj. Ndërmjet 4 gazetave të shqyrtuara, vërehet ndryshim tek hapësira që artikujt zenë në faqen e gazetës (tabela 21), rëndësia e lajmit nëpërmjet pozicionimit të tij në faqen e parë të gazetës dhe numri i artikujve (figura 7) që secila prej tyre ka pasqyruar takimet me secilin prej përfaqësuesve të politikës shqiptare.

Emri i gazetës/ numri i fjalëve

≤ 300 301 - 600 ≥ 601 Totali

Mapo 1 2 1 4 Shqiptarja.com 2 3 0 5 Panorama 4 1 2 7 GSH 1 1 2 4 Tabela 21: Ndarja e artikujve sipas gjatësisë

1 1 1

14

2 1

12 Shkurt 1 Mars 3 mars 4 Mars 5 Mars 6 Mars12February1March3March4March5March6March


23

Figure 7: Classificationofthearticlesaccordingtothenewspapers

10outof20articles identifiedinthisanalysis,havealsobeenpositionedinthefront pages of thenewspapers,whereonlyoneofthemisaheadline,whiletheother9aresecondarytitles.Theonlyarticleoccupyingtheheadlineinthefrontpageisananalysisoftherefugeecrisis“Albania, a country that sends and receives refugees”,publishedbyMapoWeekend.Thisfrontpagenewswasaccompaniedbyacartoon,wherePrimeMinisterRamaandtheEURepresentativeMogheriniaretheleadingcharacters.

Photos thathavebeenusedtoreportthenewsaremainlysmallandmediumsized,andtheyallrelateto theactivity. Illustrativephotoshavebeenused tocontextualize thereportedevent in thecaseofarticlesthatmentionMogherini’svisitsuperficially,orinthecaseofarticlescoveringtheagendaofhervisit.Generally,allfournewspapersdelivera“dry”reportingofthenews,“transcribing”Mogherini’sspeechintheAssemblyorspeechesdeliveredinthepressconferencewiththePrimeMinisterRama.Asindicatedbythefiguresabove,suchcoverageandlackofinsideanalysisfromtheeditorialstafforindividualsandexpertsofthefield,isevidencedinthenumberandintensityofthearticlespublishedthedaybeforeandafterthevisit.

Mogherini’sagendaandvisit inAlbaniawerenotappropriatelyprecededin thedaysbeforeMarch3, except in 3 articles covering her agenda:Shqiptarja.com, in a brief article dated February 12,2016,wrote:“After the visit of the American Secretary of State, another high official is expected to visit Albania in March, the Chief of Foreign Policy Mogherini”;Panorama on1March2016andShqiptarja.com on3March2016,respectively.

Thearticlesofthelastcategorymentionedabove,indicateanerroneousreportingofMogherini’svisitdates,withPanoramaandShqiptarja.comwriting:“The EU High Representative will visit Tirana from 4 to 6 March”15 and “Mogherini will address the Assembly of Albania, on Friday, at 11:00 a.m.”16,whileMogherini visitedAlbania on 3 and 4March 2016 instead, and delivered her speech in theAssemblyattheafternoonofMarch3.Inaddition,thearticlesfailtomentionthesourceoftheirnews.

Mogherini’s visitwas not covered by the newspapers the following days, except for 3 articles onMarch5:onefromShqiptarja.comandonefromGazetaShqiptare–coveringthemeetingbetweentheDPChairmanLulzimBashaandMogherini,which isnot theessenceof thearticle.Thesameday,March5,MapohasdedicatedananalysistotherefugeecrisisinitsweeklyeditorialMapoWeekend,alsoreferringtoMogherini’svisit.Inthefollowingdays,onlyashortarticleinPanoramaisnoticed,coveringastatementissuedbyMogheriniforthemedia.Thisarticletoolacksthesourceofthenews,failingtoexplainwherethestatementwasissuedandforwhichmedia.

15.Shqiptarja.com,Integration,ChiefofForeignPolicyinMarchinTirana”,12.02.2016.16.Panorama,“Mogherini’sspeechintheAssembly”,01.03.2016.

20

Figura 7: Ndarja e artikujve sipas gazetave

Ndër 20 artikujt e identifikuar në këtë analizë, 10 prej tyre janë vendosur dhe në faqen e parë të gazetave, ku vetëm njëri prej tyre përbën titullin kryesor dhe 9 të tjerë janë tituj dytësorë të faqeve të para. Artikulli i vetëm që zë titull kryesor në faqen e parë është një analizë mbi çështjen e refugjatëve “Shqipëria vendi që çon dhe pret refugjatë”, e cili është publikuar nga gazeta Mapo Weekend. Ky lajm në faqen e parë shoqërohet me një karikaturë ku personazhet kryesorë janë kryeministri Rama dhe përfaqësuesja e BE-së, Mogherini.

Fotot e përdorura për pasqyrimin e lajmit janë kryesisht të vogla dhe të mesme, dhe janë të gjitha të lidhura me aktivitetin. Në rastin e artikujve ku vizita e Mogherinit është përmendur kalimthi, me qëllim kontekstualizimin e ngjarjes për të cilën raportohet, apo dhe në artikujt ku raportohet axhenda e vizitës së saj, vërehet përdorim i fotove ilustruese. Përgjithësisht të katërta gazetat bëjnë raportim "të thatë” të lajmit, duke “zbardhur” fjalimin e Mogherinit në Kuvend apo dhe fjalimet e konferencës për shtyp të dhënë me Kryeministrin. Ky pasqyrim dhe mungesa e analizës, qoftë në brendësi të artikullit nga redaksia, qoftë në analiza të veçanta nga individë dhe ekspertë të fushës, vërehet sikundër u tregua në shifrat më lart, në numrin e artikujve dhe në intensitetin e tyre në ditët para dhe pas vizitës.

Agjenda dhe vizita e Mogherinit në Shqipëri nuk është paraprirë mirëfilli në ditët para datës 3 mars, përveçse në 3 artikuj që pasqyrojnë agjendën e vizitës, përkatësisht nga Shqiptarja.com, e cila në një artikull të shkurtër të datës 12 shkurt 2016 shkruan se “Pasvizitës së Sekretarit Amerikan të Shtetit, një tjetër zyrtar i lartë pritet të vizitojë Shqipërinë në mars, shefja e politikës së jashtme, Mogherini”; Panorama në datën 1 mars 2016 dhe Shqiptarja.com në datën 3 mars 2016.

Në artikujt e kategorisë së fundit të përmendur më sipër, vërehet raportim i gabuar i datave të vizitës së Mogherinit ku: gazeta Panorama dhe Shqiptarja.com shkruajnë se”Përfaqësuesja e Lartë e BE-së do të vizitojë Tiranën në datat 4 deri 6 mars”15dhe ”Mogherini do t’i drejtohet me një fjalë të premten në orën 11:00 Kuvendit të Shqipërisë”16, ndërkohë që Mogherini ka kryer vizitën e saj në Shqipëri në datat 3 dhe 4 mars 2016 dhe në Kuvend ka mbajtur fjalimin mbasditen e datës 3 mars. Në këto artikuj vërehet gjithashtu dhe mungesa e burimit të lajmit.

Kjo vizitë, nuk ka pasur jehonë në këto gazeta gjatë ditëve në vazhdim, përveçse 3 artikujve në datën 5 mars, përkatësisht: një artikull i gazetës Shqiptarja.com dhe një i Gazetës

15 Shqiptarja.com, Integrimi, Shefja e politikës së jashtme në mars në Tiranë”, 12.02.2016. 16 Panorama, “Mogherini fjalë në kuvend”, 01.03.2016.

4 5

7

4

012345678

Mapo Shqiptarja.com Panorama Gazeta Shqiptare


24

Despitetheidenticalreportingstyle,thedifferenceincoveringMogherini’svisitfromonenewspapertotheothersisnoticedintheissuewhichhasbeenmostlyemphasizedinthetitleandcontentofthearticle,aswellasthetonethathasbeenused.

Theway this visitwas covered complicates anobjectivedefinitionof the tone and framingof thearticles.Thetone of thearticlesrelates to the toneusedbypoliticalfiguresandthewaytheyhaveaddressedthejusticereformandtheintegrationissue.7oftheanalysedarticlescontainpositivetonesand they reportmainlyRama,Meta andNishani’s statements.Meanwhile, 4 other articles containnegativetones:twoarticlesreflectingthemeetingbetweenBashaandMogheriniandtheopposition’scriticsonjusticereformandlackofagreementbetweenparties,oneisanopinionanalysingtheeventsandpoliticalpartiesdebatesthatareimpedingthejusticereformandtheEuropeanintegration;whileanother article (notdirectly related toMogherini’svisit)reflects thedisagreementbetweenpoliticalpartiesontheapprovalofthesecondarylegislation.Generally,articlesdefinedas“negative”,reportconflict situations between the main political parties, while articles defined as “positive”, despitethecritical toneofMogherini’sstatements,simplyreportstatements issuedby theabovementionedpoliticians.

Mogherini’s visit is a significant event for the Albanian politics, reported by all the monitorednewspapers. Titles used for this purpose focused on the justice reform/decriminalization, as aconditionforopeningthenegotiationsandAlbania’sEUintegration,suchas:“Mogherini: You have made progress, approve the justice reform” (GazetaShqiptare,dt.4/03/2016); “Mogherini: Justice reform, a condition for the EU integration”(Panorama,dt.4/03/2016);“Mogherini: Do the right thing, approve the reform”(Mapo,dt.4/03/2016);“Mogherini: Approve the justice reform, bring Albania to the EU”(Shqiptarja.com,dt.4/03/2016).Unlikely,2articlescoveringthestatementbytheChairmanoftheoppositioncontaintheworld“integration”–andduetothenegativetoneofthestatement–thejusticereformislaughedatusingthename“Prenga”(“Basha: Our country in the EU, not belonging to Prenga”-GazetaShqiptare).

AllfournewspapershavereportedMogherini’sspeechtotheAssemblyandRama’sstatementatthejointpressconference.However,notallofthemhavereportedinthesameway.Forexample,Panoramaistheonlynewspapertohavededicatedspecialarticlesto:(i)Mogherini’sspeechattheAssembly;(ii)Rama’sconference;(iii)meetingwithPresidentNishani;(iv)andmeetingwithBasha.Inaddition,unlikeothernewspapers,PanoramahasfullypublishedMogherini’sspeechattheAssembly,dividingitaccordingtotheaddressedtopics.Meanwhile,GazetaShqiptarehasjointlyaddressedthesepartsoftheagendaofMogherini’svisit,whileMapoandShqiptarja.comhavepublishedanarticleforeachofthem.Asconcernsthemostemphasizedtopicsintitlesandarticles,anarticlebyMaponewspapermakesadifference,emphasizingtherefugeecrisiswhilecoveringthePrimeMinisterspeechatthepressconference.Thisisanapproachthathasonlybeennoticedinthisnewspaper,unliketheothersthatemphasizethejusticereformanditssignificanceforAlbania’sEUintegration.

TheanalysisindicatesthatMogherini’sagendahasnotbeenequallycoveredbyallthenewspapers.Inparticular,MogherinimeetingwithPresidentBujuarNishaniwascoveredonlybyPanorama;hermeetingwith theMinisterofForeignAffairswasnotcoveredbyanyof thenewspapers,while themeetingwiththeChairmanoftheDemocraticPartyLulzimBashawasonlycoveredbyPanoramaandGazetaShqiptare.

Theuniformityinthewaynewsiscoveredfromtheanalysednewspapersanddifferencesamongthemin


25

elementsmostlyrelatedtothelengthofthearticleandfullorpartialcoverageoftheofficialstatements,doesnotaddressinessenceAlbania’sEUintegrationissue.Almostallevidencedarticles,address(ormention)theEuropeanintegrationissueduetothereportingperiod,whichcoincideswithdebatesontheapprovalofthejusticereformasoneoftheconditionsestablishedbytheEuropeanCommissionforopeningthenegotiations.Butthecoverageoftheeventslacksanalyticalorargumentativearticlesby the editorial staff.No other issues related to the conditions and priorities for the country’sEUintegrationseemtohavebeenaddressedduringthisperiod.

3.3 Johannes Hahn visit

OnMarch30, thesixthroundof theHighLevelDialoguebetweenAlbaniaand theEuropeanUnionwas held,with the presence of the EUCommissioner for theNeighbourhood Policy andAccessionNegotiations Johannes Hahn. Themeeting took place in aggravated political conditions, due to theimpasseof the justice reform.PartiesconsideredCommissionerHahnpresenceas thatofapotentialnegotiatortofindacompromiseamongpoliticalparties.

InadditiontothemeetingintheframeworkoftheHighLevelDialogue,CommissionerHahnhadatightagendaofothermeetingswiththekeypersonalitiesofthepoliticallifeinthecountry,whereemphasiswasgiventotheimplementationofthefivepriorities,inparticulartogivinganendtothewanderingrelatedtothejusticereformandfindingacommonlanguageamongpoliticalparties.

In addition, on March 31, Commissioner Hahn participated in the Ministerial of the Ministers ofForeignAffairsinDurres,intheframeworkoftheBerlinProcess.However,thispartoftheagendaofCommissionerHahninAlbania(duetoitsfocusandpotentialinfluenceonthefinaleresults)wasnotcoveredinthefollowinganalysis.

CommissionerHahn’sagendaofMarch30wascoveredinthewrittenmediainatotalof31articles.Thisincluded the time span from29March–2April.Asindicatedingraphic5,Maponewspaperleadswithaconsiderablecoverageof10articles,whilePanoramahasthelowestnumberofarticles-6.Asconcernsthe rubrics,29articleswereincludedunder“politics”andonly2under“economy”(i.e.Mapo).ThecoverageofthenewscoincidesmostlywiththecoverageofCommissionerHahnagendathedaybeforehisvisittoTirana,aswellastheeventitself,thedayaftertakingplace.


26

Figure 8:Classificationofthearticlesaccordingtothenewspapers

Figure9indicatesthenumberofthearticlesforeachdate,reachingthepeakwith23articlesthedayaftertheofficialvisit.Focusingonthecoverage for each date,on29 March,MapowastheonlynewspapertohavededicatedanarticletoCommissionerHahnvisit,analysingthedifficultpoliticalsituation,issuesremainingtobesolvedandthechancesforadirectinvolvementofCommissionerHahnasanegotiatorwiththecountry’sleaderstoovercometheimpasseofthejusticereform.Thearticleisofamediumlength(555words)andcontainsanargumentativeframing,mentioningthesourcesandrespectivepositionsofbothpoliticalparties.

Figure 9: Classification of the articles according to the date

On March 30,bothGazetaShqiptareandMapopublishedtwoarticleseach,whilePanoramaandShqiptarja.comonearticleeach.ThreearticlesarededicatedtotheagendaofCommissionerHahnmeetings,whiletheotherthreecovertheinterviewofMinisterGjoshaforNews24TVontheexpectanciesofthevisit.CoverageofCommissionerHahnagendaisaccompaniedwithdetailsconcerningthepoliticalsituationinthecountry.Twooutofthreearticleshavespecifiedauthorships(i.e.EsionaKonomiforShqiptarja.comandDarinaTanushi forGazetaShqiptare).Meanwhile, thecoverageofMinisterGjosha interviewwasequally“dry”fromallthenewspapers.

On March 31, Mapodedicated7articlestoCommissionerHahnvisit,GazetaShqiptare6articles,whileShqiptarja.comandPanorama5articles,respectively.Referringtotheposition of the news ofthisdate,PanoramaandGazetaShqiptarehavededicatedpages 2-3 toCommissionerHahnvisit,whileMapoandShqiptarja.comhavededicatedpages 4-5.InadditiontothecoverageofJohannesHahnmeetingswiththekeypoliticalfigures,aswellastherespectivestatementsandmessagesforeachparty,itisevidencedthatbothGazetaShqiptareandPanoramahavereportedCommissionerHahn’smeetingwiththeNational

i këtij lavizitës në

Figura 8: N

Figura 9 pas vizitëe vetmjasituatën edirekt të krijuar mkuadrim politike.

Figura 9: N

Përsa i pëartikuj, npasqyrimintervistëvizite. Pavend. PreShqiptarjintervistë

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

ajmi përkon ë Tiranë, si d

Ndarja e artiku

pasqyron nuës zyrtare. Da gazetë që e vështirë pvet Hahnit

me reformënargumentue

Ndarja e artiku

ërket datës 3ndërsa Pano

mit të agjenës së dhënë asqyrimi i aej këtyre tre ja.com dhe Dës së ministr

10

Mapo

1 29 Mars

kryesisht mdhe të vetë n

ujve sipas gaze

umrin e artikDuke u fokus

i ka dedikuolitike, çëshsi negociat

n në drejtësies, ku perm

ujve sipas datës

30 mars, Gaorama dhe Sndës së taki

nga ministrjaxhendës së

artikujve, dDarina Tanues Gjosha, a

7

Shqiptarj

6

30 M

me pasqyrimngjarjes një d

etave

kujve për sesuar tek mbuuar një artikhtjet që mbeor më liderë. Ky artikul

menden burim

s

azeta ShqiptaShqiptarja.coimeve të kja Gjosha nëkomisioneri

dy kanë të spushi për Gazai është bërë

ja.com

Mars

min e agjendditë pas zhvi

ecilën datë, kulimi sipas skull vizitës eten për t’u ët e vendit, ll ka një gjamet dhe qën

are dhe Mapom nga një

komisionerit ë televizioniit shoqërohe

pecifikuar dhzetën Shqiptsipas një rap

6

Panorama

23

31 Mars

dës së komillimit të saj.

ku piku arrihsecilës datë,së komisiozgjidhur dhpër të nxje

atësi mesatandrimet resp

o kanë publië. Prej tyre,

Hahn dhe in News 24 et me detajehe autorësinëtare). Ndërkportimi të th

8

Gazeta Sh

isionerit një

het me 23 ar, në 29 marsnerit, ku ëse mundësia

errë nga ngëare (prej 555pektive të të

ikuar respek, tre artikuj

tre të tjermbi pritshm

e mbi situatëë (i.e. Esionakohë referuahatë nga të tre

hqiptare

1 2 Prill

2

ë ditë përpar

rtikuj një dis, Mapo ëshshtë analizuae angazhim

ërçi situatën 5 fjalësh) dhë dyja palëv

ktivisht nga d i kushtohe

rë pasqyrojnmëritë e kësën politike na Konomi pë

ar mbulimit e gazetat.

23

ra

të të ar

mit e

he ve

dy en në aj në ër të

i këtij lavizitës në

Figura 8: N

Figura 9 pas vizitëe vetmjasituatën edirekt të krijuar mkuadrim politike.

Figura 9: N

Përsa i pëartikuj, npasqyrimintervistëvizite. Pavend. PreShqiptarjintervistë

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

ajmi përkon ë Tiranë, si d

Ndarja e artiku

pasqyron nuës zyrtare. Da gazetë që e vështirë pvet Hahnit

me reformënargumentue

Ndarja e artiku

ërket datës 3ndërsa Pano

mit të agjenës së dhënë asqyrimi i aej këtyre tre ja.com dhe Dës së ministr

10

Mapo

1 29 Mars

kryesisht mdhe të vetë n

ujve sipas gaze

umrin e artikDuke u fokus

i ka dedikuolitike, çëshsi negociat

n në drejtësies, ku perm

ujve sipas datës

30 mars, Gaorama dhe Sndës së taki

nga ministrjaxhendës së

artikujve, dDarina Tanues Gjosha, a

7

Shqiptarj

6

30 M

me pasqyrimngjarjes një d

etave

kujve për sesuar tek mbuuar një artikhtjet që mbeor më liderë. Ky artikul

menden burim

s

azeta ShqiptaShqiptarja.coimeve të kja Gjosha nëkomisioneri

dy kanë të spushi për Gazai është bërë

ja.com

Mars

min e agjendditë pas zhvi

ecilën datë, kulimi sipas skull vizitës eten për t’u ët e vendit, ll ka një gjamet dhe qën

are dhe Mapom nga një

komisionerit ë televizioniit shoqërohe

pecifikuar dhzetën Shqiptsipas një rap

6

Panorama

23

31 Mars

dës së komillimit të saj.

ku piku arrihsecilës datë,së komisiozgjidhur dhpër të nxje

atësi mesatandrimet resp

o kanë publië. Prej tyre,

Hahn dhe in News 24 et me detajehe autorësinëtare). Ndërkportimi të th

8

Gazeta Sh

isionerit një

het me 23 ar, në 29 marsnerit, ku ëse mundësia

errë nga ngëare (prej 555pektive të të

ikuar respek, tre artikuj

tre të tjermbi pritshm

e mbi situatëë (i.e. Esionakohë referuahatë nga të tre

hqiptare

1 2 Prill

2

ë ditë përpar

rtikuj një dis, Mapo ëshshtë analizuae angazhim

ërçi situatën 5 fjalësh) dhë dyja palëv

ktivisht nga d i kushtohe

rë pasqyrojnmëritë e kësën politike na Konomi pë

ar mbulimit e gazetat.

23

ra

të të ar

mit e

he ve

dy en në aj në ër të

29March30March31March2April


27

Council for European Integration.While the article inGazetaShqiptare offers a “dry” report of thenews,throughabriefsummaryofstatementsissuedbythemainexponentsoftheCouncil,PanoramanewspaperoffersonlyapartialcoverageofthespeechdeliveredbyCommissionerJohannesHahn,aswellasthestatementsofthreerepresentativesoftheoppositionwithintheCouncil–Mrs.Bregu,Mr.MediuandMr.Halimi.

Meanwhile,onlyShqiptarja.comhassubmittedafollowup ofCommissionerHahnvisitonApril 2,intheframeworkofthetranscriptionofMinisterGjoshainterviewforReportTVthenightbefore.

Multiplestudiescarriedoutinthemediafieldunderlinetheexistenceofacorrelationbetweenthelength of the article anditsrelevance.17Inthisrespect,basedonthenumberofwordsforeacharticle–excludingentirelythelengthofthetitle–itisevidencedthattheoverwhelmingmajorityofthearticlesareaverage(12articles)orshort(11articles).


Only 8 articles were long and specificallydedicated to thepositionsof thekeyactors: three articlesanalyzePrimeMinisterRamastatementissuedimmediatelyafterthemeeting;twoarticlesarededicatedtothestatementoftheChairmanoftheopposition;twoarticlesanalyzeCommissionerHahnmessages;andonearticletranscribesMinisterGjoshainterviewdeliveredintheeveningofApril1.

30 March 31 March

Headline Secondary title Headline Secondary title

Mapo 2 1

Shqiptarja.com 2

Panorama 1 1

GazetaShqiptare 1 1

Table 23:Positioningofthearticlesinthefrontpage

Asconcernsthepositioning of the news in the front page,table27indicatesthat9titlesoutofatotal31havebeenpublishedinthefrontpagesofallfournewspapers.ThreeoutoffourtitlespublishedonMarch30,specificallyrefer toMinisterGjoshamessage issuedduringher interviewforNews24TV.Meanwhile, threeoutoftheotherfoursecondarytitlesrefertoCommissionerHahnmessage.GazetaShqiptareandPanorama,respectively,focusontheneedtoapprovethejusticereformwithoutadditionalconditions,whileShqiptarja.com focuses on the invitationofPrimeMinisterRama addressed to theHeadoftheopposition,aswellasCommissionerHahnstatementonapositiveProgressReportwithin

17.See:Cissel2012:71

≤ 300 301 - 600 ≥ 601 Total

Mapo 3 4 3 10


Panorama 1 4 1 6

Gazeta Shqiptare 4 2 2 8

Totali 11 12 8 31


28

theyear forAlbania.Mapo is theonlynewspaper tohavepublishedas aheadline,onMarch31, theprogressachievedinsolvingthepoliticalimpasse(“Political impasse, Rama: Why do I invite Basha at the dialogue table”).Meanwhile,Shqiptarja.comhasdedicateditaplaceinthefrontpagecoverageonlyinMarch31,withtwoheadlines.

The analysis of the content of the articles evidencesthatthecoverageofCommissionerHahnmeetingswiththeAlbanianpoliticalpersonalities isdividedintwolevels,asconcernstherelevance.Thefirst level includesarticlesdedicatedtothestatementsoftheheadsofthegovernmentandopposition,whosemeetingswithCommissionerHahnarecoveredindetails.Thesearticlesarecharacterizedbyatonethatreflectsthedisagreementbetweenthemainpartiesandthedifficultsituationfacedbytheparliamentarydialogue.Generally,articlescoveringPrimeMinisterRamastatementsarecharacterizedbyapositivetone(dominatedbythekeywords:consensus,commitment,openingofthenegotiations,agreement,etc.).Special focuswas dedicated to the news of the invitation of PrimeMinisterRama addressed to theChairmanoftheoppositionBasha,toseattogetheraroundthedialoguetable,inordertopushtheprocessofState-consolidatingreformsandAlbania’sEUintegration.Ontheotherhand,thetoneofthearticlescovering the statements of theChairman of the opposition is negative (dominated by the keywords:hostage,disagreement,impasse,precondition,etc.),whichindicatesaconflictingsituationandpolarizedclimate.

Meanwhile,thesecond level includesthePresident,theSpeakeroftheAssemblyandtheChairmanoftheAd-hocParliamentaryCommissionfortheJusticeReform,whichmeetingshavebeencovered–partiallyortotally–throughthepublicationofpressstatementsdraftedbytherespectiveinstitutions.Consideringthatthenewscoverageis“dry”andthelengthofthearticlesismoreorlessthesame,acasebycaseanalysisofthetitlesindicatesasfollows:

• Commissioner Hahn meeting with the Speaker of the Assembly was covered by all thenewspapers. All the titles mention the same group of words (Meta-Hahn) and refer to thejusticereform.WhileMapounderlinesinitstitlethatthejusticereformwillimproveAlbania’sinternationalimage,theotherthreenewspapersfocusonreachingapoliticalagreementonthereform.

• Commissioner Hahn meetingwith President Nishani wascoveredbythreenewspapers(Mapo,Gazeta Shqiptare and Shqiptarja.com).An analysis of the titles of the articles indicates thatMapoemphasizesthePresident’scriticsagainsttheLawonProperty;Shqiptarja.comcitesthePresident’swordsthat thewillof theparties iskeyinthisphaseof theprocess;whileGazetaShqiptarehasfocuseditstitleonthejusticereformaccordingtoVenicerecommendations.

• Commissioner Hahn meetingwithChairmanXhafa,wasonlycoveredbyGazetaShqiptareandMapo,respectivelyemphasizingconsultingonthedraftjusticereformandtheevaluationoftheworkoftheCommission.

Thereproductionofthepressstatementsinthewrittenmediareachestheapproximateamountof33%.Meanwhile,Mapofailstomentiontheauthorsinits31analysedarticles.Thenameoftheauthorisonlymentionedin8casesintheotherthreenewspapers,asfollows:

• ThreearticleswrittenbyEsionaKonomiandonebyDenisMinga(Shqiptarja.com);

• TwoarticleswrittenbyDarinaTanushi(GazetaShqiptare);

• TwoarticleswrittenbyJuxhinMustafarajandAristirLumezi(Panorama),respectively.


29

Althoughtheanalysedsampleislimited,itindicatestheexistenceofadirectcorrelationbetweenarticlesthatdomentiontheauthorandtheargumentativeframing,mostlydominatedbyneutral tones.Thesearticlesarecharacterizedbyamoredetailedanalysisofthecontextandreactions/positionsoftheactorsinrelationtoCommissionerHahnmessages.ThelackoftheauthorshipraisesaquestionmarkonthesignificancethatnewspapersgivetothecoverageoftheEuropeanintegrationnews,aswellasthespecificqualificationofthejournalistsinthissector.

3.4 Europe Day

EveryMay9, theEuropeDay is celebrated as a symbol of peace, union andEuropeanvalues.ThishistoricaldaycoincideswiththedayRobertSchumanannouncedhisstatementforafutureinpeaceandharmonyfortheunitedEurope.

ThisyearthecelebrationoftheEuropeDaytakesaspecialnuance,duetothedifficultpoliticalcontextandmultiplecrisestheEuropeanUnionisfacing.Ononeside,populistandxenophobicmovementshaveinfluenced in increasingdisruptionand fear amongEuropeancitizens,which resultedwith theGreatBritainvotetoexittheUnion.Ontheotherside,therefugeeflowsaswellastheterroristandextremistattacksinseveralsymboliccapitalsoftheunitedEuropehaveadditionallyinfluencedinlosingfaithtotheEUandacommonsolutionforthecrises.

Albaniacannotstandapartandbeindifferentinfrontofsuchchallenges.Reactionsfromdifferentpoliticalfigures,butnotonly,havebeenreflectedin11articlespublishedinallfouranalysednewspapers.MapoandShqiptarja.comhavepublishedonearticleeach,PanoramafourandGazetaShqiptarefivearticles,duringtheperiod7-10May.

Figure10: Classificationofthearticlesaccordingtothenewspapers

TakinginconsiderationthenatureoftheEuropeDayandtheabovementionedchallenges,thearticleshavebeenclassifiedbasedonthegeographicalcontext,where:onearticlereferstotheEuropeancontinent,onearticlehasaregionalcharacterandnineothersarededicatedtotheAlbaniancontext.Asitisalsovalidforothercasestudyanalyses,thehighestnumberofarticlesisnoticedthedayaftertheevent.Thus,onMay9,thenumberofpublishedarticleswasthree,whilethenextdaythisfigurereachedto7.

Figura 10:

Duke makarakterievropianSikurse vnjë ditë mnjë ditë m

Figura 11:

Të gjithëvërehen dkanë preMapo kakushtetutmbajtur nNdërkohshënuar aktivitetenga një aartikullinkurse Ga

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

: Ndarja e artik

arrë parasyshzohen të nda, një artikulvlen edhe pëmbas ngjarjemë pas kjo sh

: Ndarja e artik

ë artikujt e disa variacioferuar të mba zgjedhur tës së togfjanga kryeminë, Panoramapër promov

et ku kanë martikull mbi vn e shkruar nazeta Shqipta

1

Mapo

1

7 Maj

kujve sipas gaz

h natyrën e varë në bazë tll ka karakteër analizat e es. Pra, në dhifër arrin në

kujve sipas dat

marrë në aone në lidhjebajnë një prtë publikoj

lëshit ‘vleranistri gjatë cea dhe Gazetavimin e vlemarrë pjesë vlerat europnga ministriare ka publik

1

Shqiptarja.co

3

9 Ma

zetave

vet ditës së të kontekstiter rajonal dhrasteve të tj

atën 9 maj në 7.

ës

analizë gjende me mbulimrofil të ulët jë një opin

a europiane’,elebrimeve t

a Shqiptare kerave evropikryeministriiane. Përsa ii i Jashtëm,kuar artikulli

4

m Panora

aj

Evropës dhet gjeografik, he nëntë artjera studimonumri i artik

den në rubrmin e ditës s

në krahasimnion mbi pë, ndërsa Shqtë organizuakanë ofruar niane. Të dyi, ministrja Gi përket artikDitmir Bus

in me autorë

ama Gazet

7

10 Maj

e sfidave të ku: një artik

tikuj i dedikore, numri mkujve të publ

rikën e politë Evropës. M

m me dy gazërfshirjen apqiptarja.com ara për 9 majnjë mbulim myja këto gazGjosha, si dkujve mbi vlhti (“9 maji

ësi të Lëvizje

5

ta Shqiptare

sipërpërmenkull i referohkohen kontekmë i lartë i alikuar është

tikës dhe mMapo dhe Shzetat e tjerapo jo në pka raportuarjin në qytetimë të gjerë tzeta kanë rdhe kanë pulerat, Panorai dhe Europes Vetvendo

2

ndura, artikuhet kontinentkstit shqiptartikujve ështre, ndërsa n

midis gazetavhqiptarja.com

a. Specifikishpreambulën r mbi fjalën n e Shkodrë

të kësaj dite traportuar mbublikuar seciama ka botuapa që duam”osja (“9 maji

27

ujt tit ar. të në

ve m ht e e

ës. të bi la ar

”), –


30

Figure11: Classificationofthearticlesaccordingtothedate

All analyzed articles are included under the “politics” rubric and variations are noticed among thenewspapersasconcernsthecoverageoftheEuropeDay.MapoandShqiptarja.comhavepreferredtokeepa lowprofile,compared to theother twonewspapers.Specifically,Mapohaschosen topublishanopiniononwhetherthegroupofwords‘Europeanvalues’shouldorshouldnotbeincludedinthepreamble of theConstitution,while Shqiptarja.com has covered the PrimeMinister’s speech duringthecelebrationsorganizedonMay9inShkodra.Meanwhile,PanoramaandGazetaShqiptareofferalargercoverageofthisimportantdayforthepromotionoftheEuropeanvalues.TheyhavebothreportedtheactivitiesattendedbyPrimeMinisterRamaandMinisterGjosha,publishinganarticleeachontheEuropeanvalues.ConcerningarticlesontheEuropeanvalues,Panoramahaspublishedanarticlewrittenby theMinister of ForeignAffairsDitmirBushti (“9 May and the Europe we want”),whileGazetaShqiptarehaspublishedanarticlewiththeauthorshipoftheMovementforSelf-Determination(“9 May – Europe Day”).Botharticleshaveappearedassecondarytitlesinthefrontpagesofthenewspapers.


Themajorityoftheanalysedarticlesareofmediumlength.Inparticular,threeofthearticlesarededicatedtothePrimeMinister’sspeechduringthecelebrationsinShkoder.Thenumberofshortarticlesisfourand they refer in particular to statements andmessages issued byMinisterGjosha in several publicactivities.Thearticleshaveasignificantsimilarity,whichindicatesthattheymaybereplicationsofthepressstatementsdraftedbytherespectiveinstitutions.However,thishypothesisisnotverifiableinthiscase,duetothelownumberofanalysedsamples.

However,fromthecontentpointofview,thearticleshavebeendividedintothreecategories:(i)articlesfocusedon the challenges facedbyEurope in this remarkableday, under the authorshipofFedericaMogheriniandDitmirBushati;(ii)opinionsontheEuropeanvaluesinthenationalcontext,underthe

Figura 10:

Duke makarakterievropianSikurse vnjë ditë mnjë ditë m

Figura 11:

Të gjithëvërehen dkanë preMapo kakushtetutmbajtur nNdërkohshënuar aktivitetenga një aartikullinkurse Ga

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

: Ndarja e artik

arrë parasyshzohen të nda, një artikulvlen edhe pëmbas ngjarjemë pas kjo sh

: Ndarja e artik

ë artikujt e disa variacioferuar të mba zgjedhur tës së togfjanga kryeminë, Panoramapër promov

et ku kanë martikull mbi vn e shkruar nazeta Shqipta

1

Mapo

1

7 Maj

kujve sipas gaz

h natyrën e varë në bazë tll ka karakteër analizat e es. Pra, në dhifër arrin në

kujve sipas dat

marrë në aone në lidhjebajnë një prtë publikoj

lëshit ‘vleranistri gjatë cea dhe Gazetavimin e vlemarrë pjesë vlerat europnga ministriare ka publik

1

Shqiptarja.co

3

9 Ma

zetave

vet ditës së të kontekstiter rajonal dhrasteve të tj

atën 9 maj në 7.

ës

analizë gjende me mbulimrofil të ulët jë një opin

a europiane’,elebrimeve t

a Shqiptare kerave evropikryeministriiane. Përsa ii i Jashtëm,kuar artikulli

4

m Panora

aj

Evropës dhet gjeografik, he nëntë artjera studimonumri i artik

den në rubrmin e ditës s

në krahasimnion mbi pë, ndërsa Shqtë organizuakanë ofruar niane. Të dyi, ministrja Gi përket artikDitmir Bus

in me autorë

ama Gazet

7

10 Maj

e sfidave të ku: një artik

tikuj i dedikore, numri mkujve të publ

rikën e politë Evropës. M

m me dy gazërfshirjen apqiptarja.com ara për 9 majnjë mbulim myja këto gazGjosha, si dkujve mbi vlhti (“9 maji

ësi të Lëvizje

5

ta Shqiptare

sipërpërmenkull i referohkohen kontekmë i lartë i alikuar është

tikës dhe mMapo dhe Shzetat e tjerapo jo në pka raportuarjin në qytetimë të gjerë tzeta kanë rdhe kanë pulerat, Panorai dhe Europes Vetvendo

2

ndura, artikuhet kontinentkstit shqiptartikujve ështre, ndërsa n

midis gazetavhqiptarja.com

a. Specifikishpreambulën r mbi fjalën n e Shkodrë

të kësaj dite traportuar mbublikuar seciama ka botuapa që duam”osja (“9 maji

27

ujt tit ar. të në

ve m ht e e

ës. të bi la ar

”), –

≤ 300 301 ≥ 600 ≥ 601 Total

Mapo 1 1

Shqiptarja.com 1 1

Panorama 2 2 4

Gazeta Shqiptare 2 3 5

Totali 4 6 1 11

7May 9May 10May


31

authorshipofFlorjanKalajaandtheMovementforSelf-Determination;and(iii)articlescoveringtheactivitiesofthePrimeMinisterandMinisterofIntegrationduringvariousfestiveactivities.

Ingeneral,therearetwomaintopicsthatprevailinall11analysedarticles:

• CurrentchallengesandsurvivaloftheEuropeanvalues;

• Sharing political messages on the progress of Albania’s EU integration process during thecelebrationsfortheEuropeDay.

Finally,theauthorshipismentionedonlyinfourarticles,andonlyoneofthejournalistsisanassociated/employeeofoneoftheanalysednewspapers(thecaseofDarinaTanushiforGazetaShqiptare).Intheframeworkofthepurposesofthisstudy,articleswiththeauthorshipofFlorjanKalaja,DitmirBushatiandtheMovementforSelf-Determinationhavebeenconsideredassporadiccontributions.


32

Conclusions

Theconclusionderivedfromthequantitativeanalysisofthe4dailynewspapersindicatesthatalthoughtherehasbeenaperiodicnumericcoverageoftheEuropeanintegrationissues,thereisalackofdeepandspecializedcoverageofthearticlesintherespectivenewspapers.

Theanalysisindicatesthatthemajorityoftheidentifiedarticleshaveapoliticalcontext,approximately70%,whiletheirrelevancevaries-31.5%ofthearticlesareofhighrelevance,whiletheresthaslowornorelevance.

AgeneralexaminationofthetitlesofthefournewspapersindicatesthattheoverwhelmingmajorityofthearticleshaveadomesticcontextandaredirectlyrelatedtocurrentEuropeanintegrationissues,failingtocoverissuesofalargerEuropeanorinternationalcharacter.

Furtheron,it isevidencedthatapproximately1in3articlesontheEUintegration“hasmanaged”toappearinthefrontpageoftherespectivenewspaper;althoughfewofthemhavemanagedtobe“worthyasapertures’.Evenwhentheydid,theiroverwhelmingmajorityhavebeenpositionedassecondhandtitles(27.5%),andlessthan6%ofalltheintegrationarticleshavebeenheadlines.Inthiscontext,only25articlesofhighrelevancehavebeenintheheadlinesofthefrontpagesofthenewspapersduringthe6monthsofthisstudy,averylownumberconsideringatotalof2012identifiedcases.

Themajorityofthearticles(approximately50.7%)areshort,unabletogointorealanalysestoaddressvarious aspects of the integration. Only 18.6% of the articles are ‘extended’. The majority of the‘extended’articleshavea‘domestic’context,coveringmainlytopicsthataddressordirectlyrelatetodomesticpoliticalevents.ThisisalsoreflectedinthelackoftheauthorshipofthearticleswithEuropeanintegrationcontext.Approximately64%ofthearticlesintotalhavenoauthors,representingmostlyasimplecoverageofspecificeventsorissues.

An analysis of the photos used by the newspapers indicates that 41.5% of the articles in total arecharacterizedbysmallphotos,consideringthatmostofthemoccupysmallspacesinthenewspaper.

The study evidences a lackof constant informationon theEuropean integrationmediadiscourse. Ingeneral,thecoverageofintegrationissuesis‘cyclic’,closelyrelatedtoperiodicalevents,culminatinggenerally(1day)aftertheevents,followedbyasignificantdecline.CoveringEuropeanintegrationnewsmostlyaftertheoccurrenceoftheevent,maybearesultofthelackofspecializedjournalistsonEuropeanissues,orotherwiseanindicatorofthelackofprimaryinterestonEuropeanissues,thereforebasingthenewsonlyonreports,whichareoftenfullorpartialreproductionofpressstatementsissuedbyEuropeaninstitutionsandpersonalities.Inaddition,thelackoftheauthorshipofthearticlesinmostcasesraisesthe samequestionmarkson the relevance that thenewspapersgive to thecoverageof theEuropeanintegrationnews,aswellasthespecificqualificationofjournalistsinthisarea.Theseassumptionsarealsobasedoninterviewswithchiefeditors,whichconfirmthelackofspecializedjournalistsonEuropeanintegrationissues,aswellastheirperceptionofEuropeanissuesasnon-attractivetothereaders,despitebeingsignificantissuesper se.

Furthermore,thecoverageoftheeventswhichderiveorresultfromtheEuropeanintegrationprocessare ‘less European’ as concerns handling their sources and are mostly ‘used’ for national politicalconsumption/debate.ThefrequencyofcoverageoftheEuropeanintegrationnewsdirectlyrelatestothe


33

politicalagendainthecountryandisnotapriorityper se.Inparticular,statementsbykeypersonalitiesfromEUinstitutionsarereflectedbyalltheanalysednewspapersandtransformedfromthelocalpoliticalclassintoprimarymaterialfortheirnationalpoliticalagenda.AverytepidcoverageofstatementsandpositionsoftheMinistryofIntegration,whichisdirectlylinkedtotheprocess,isevidencedevenamongthenationalpoliticalactors.

ThemajorityofthereportsonEuropeanintegrationissuesindicatealackofanalyticalorargumentativearticlesfromtheeditorialstaff.Theuniformityinthewaynewsiscoveredfromtheanalysednewspapersanddifferencesamong theminelementsmostlyrelated to the lengthof thearticleandfullorpartialcoverageoftheofficialstatements,doesnotaddressinessenceAlbania’sEUintegrationissues,oratleastfailstoproduceanalternativeconstructivedebateforthepublic,remainingsimplya“dry”report.

Asaconsequenceof the‘alleviation/nationalization’(usingEuropefornationalconsumption/agenda)of themediadiscourse, there is lessEuropeandmuchmoredomesticdebate in themediadiscourse.Forexample,indifferentpoliticalareas,readers(citizens)arenotinformedwhetherspecificissuesarearesultoftheEuropeanintegrationprocessandifyes,towhatextent(whatistheimpactoftheEuropeanintegrationprocessandtheinfluenceofnationalrepresentativesinthefinalization/adoptionoftheEUrecommendations).


34

Sources

Adam,Silke(2009)“BringingtheMassMediain:TheContributionoftheMassMediaforUnderstandingCitizens‘AttitudestowardstheEuropeanUnion,KFGWorkingPaperSeries,No.4,September2009, Kolleg-Forschergruppe (KFG)„TheTransformative Power of Europe“, FreeUniversityBerlin.

Cissel, Margaret (2012) ‘Media Framing: a comparative content analysis on mainstream andalternativenewscoverageofOccupyWallStreet’,Elon Journal of Undergraduate Research in CommunicationsVol.3,No.1.

IREX(2016)Albania:Europe&EurasiaMediaSustainabilityIndex2016,InternationalResearchandExchangeBoards,US.

ISHM(2014)OwnershipandmediafundinginAlbania,AlbanianMediaInstitute,Tirana

Liperi,Ornela(2016)“Beginningoftheendofprinting”,Monitor.al,19/03/2016,Seehttp://www.monitor.al/fillimi-fundit-te-printit-3/

OSFA (2015) “Final report: National survey on perceptions& expectations towards a potential EUmembershipofAlbania”,Tirana.

RegionalCooperationCouncil(2016)“BalkanOpinionBarometer”.

Riffe,Daniel;Lacy,StephenandFico,Frederick(2014)Analyzing Media Messages: Using Quantitative Content Analysis in Research,ThirdEdition,Routledge,NewYork.

VincentPrice(1988),“OnthePublicAspectsofOpinion:LinkingLevelsofAnalysisinPublicOpinionResearch”,Communication Research,15:659-679.

WilliamA.Gamson&AndreModigliani(1989), “Media discourse and public opinion on nuclear power: A constructionist approach”, American Journal of Sociology,95:1—37.


35

Annex 1: Peak days of European integration articlesin the media

PeakdaysofthepresenceoftheEUintegrationissuesduringtheperiodJanuary-June2016,asfollows:

9 February 2016

OnFebruary8and9,MEPsKukanandFleckenstienhadanofficialvisittoTirana.Theanalysednewspapershaveconsiderablycoveredthisvisitwithatotalof26articles,withShqiptarja.comandMapodedicatingtothevisitonepageeach,andPanoramahalfpage.

4 March 2016

TheEUHighRepresentativeFedericaMogherinivisitedTirana.Thecoveragefromtheanalysednewspapersissatisfactory,witharticlesincludednotonlyinsidethenewspapers,butalsointhefrontpages.Inthisspecificday,allfournewspapershadatotalof20articlescontainingtheanalysedindicators.

19 March 2016

TheEUCommissioneronMigrationDimitrisAvramopoulosvisitedTiranafortheissueoftherefugeesandasylumseekersfromtheMiddleEast.Coveragefromtheanalysednewspaperswasofinformativecharacterinsidethenewspaper,butnotintheirfrontpages.

31 March 2016

CommissionerJohannesHahnvisittoTiranaandmeetingwiththeNationalCouncilforEuropeanIntegrationwascoveredbyallfournewspapers.GazetaShqiptare,Shqiptarja.comandPanoramadedicated1pageeach.Meanwhile,Mapodedicatedalmosttwopagestotheevent.

5-6 May 2016

ThesedatesmarktheactivationoftheAmbassadorsforthejusticereform,aswellasmeetingsbetweengroupsofpoliticalparties.Thesamedaythedraftjusticereformwasalsoannounced.Theseeventswerecoveredindifferentformsfromtheanalysedwrittenmedia.PanoramaandShqiptarja.comcovered theactivationof the foreignAmbassadorswithnewsandopinionsbytheirrespectiveeditorialists.Threeoutoffournewspaperscoveredtheeventsintheirfrontpages,asaperturesorsecondarytitles.OnlyShqiptarja.comdidnotdisplaythenewsinthefrontpageduringthesedays.Inaddition,onMay5,theEuropeanCommissiongaveitsrecommendationforthevisaliberalizationforKosovoandFedericaMogherinihadanofficialvisittoPristina,whichwasreflectedbyallthemonitoredmedia.

3 June 2016

CommissionerJohannesHahnstatementfromBrusselsontheapprovalofthejusticereformiscoveredbythreenewspapers,exceptforShqiptarja.com.

15 June 2016

TheGermanMinisterofForeignAffairsFrankWalterSteinmeierofficiallyvisitedTirana,conveyinganimportantmessageontheapprovalofthejusticereform.Inthesameday,theUSEmbassyandtheEUDelegationOfficetoAlbaniaissuedasupportingstatementonthejusticereform.

28 June 2016

EffectsoftheGreatBritainreferendumtoexittheUnionandthestatementoftheEUAmbassadortoTiranawerecoveredbythewrittenmedia.


36

Newspaper Total

GazetaMapo

GazetaShqiptare

Panorama Shqiptarja.com

09-FEB-2016 7 5 5 9 26

04-MAR-2016 5 3 7 5 20

19-MAR-2016 8 5 6 8 27

31-MAR-2016 8 11 6 7 32

05-MAY-2016 5 8 10 3 26

06-MAY-2016 3 8 7 8 26

03-JUN-2016 6 5 7 7 25

15-JUN-2016 6 6 3 11 26

28-JUN-2016 6 5 7 6 24


37

Annex 2: Codebook

SourceNameJournal Titleofthenewspaper

1=Mapo

2=GazetaShqiptare

3=Panorama

4=Shqiptarja.com

SourceDate Dateofthenewspaper

Date/month/Year

Title Titleofthearticle

SourcePage Numberofthepagewherethearticleappears

Rubric-info Category/Sectionwherethearticleiswritten(rubrics)

1=Current

2=Politics

3=Economy

4=Social

5=Culture

6=International

7=Chronicle-Chronicle

8=Dossier

9=Miscellaneous

10=Advertisement

11=Sports

AuthorName Nameoftheauthorofthearticle

Authorship Ifthearticlecontainstheauthorship,basedonAuthorNamedata

0=Authorshipisnotevidenced/identified

1=Authorshipisclearlyexpressed

ArticleSizeCM2 Lengthofthearticleexpressedincentimetresquares(cm2)


38

ArticleSizeCM2groups Lengthofthearticleexpressedincentimetresquares(cm2),groups.Anewspaperpagehasapproximately1291cm2(onefourth,approximately≈322cm2)

1=Short,articlelessthan322cm2(1/4ofthenewspaper’spage)

2=Medium,articlebetween322and644cm2

3=Extended,articlebiggerthan644cm2

ArticleWordCount Lengthofthearticleexpressedasnumberofusedwords

ArticleWordCountGroup Lengthofthearticleexpressedingroup,basedinthenumberofusedwords.Anewspaperpagecontainsapproximately2000wordswithoutphotos.

1=Short(0-500words)

2=Medium(500–1000words)

3=Extended(morethan1000words)

TitleWordCount Lengthofthetitleofthearticleexpressedasnumberofwords

PhotoSize Photosize

0=Nophoto

1=small(lessthan¼ofthearticle)

2=medium(¼upto½ofthearticle)

3=large(largerthan½ofthearticle)

4=Twoormorephotos

PhotoRelevance Relevance/importanceofusedphoto

1=Illustrative(Nodirectlinktothenews/event)

2=Relevant(Directlinktothenews/event)

3=Undefined(relevanttothenews/event,butnotdirectly)

FrontPage PresenceofthearticleintheFrontPage

0=Doesnotappear

1=Yes,AppearsintheFrontPage

PositionFrontPage PositionofthearticleintheFrontPage

1=Headline

2=Secondary–Allexpecttheheadline


39

Context Contextofthearticle

1=Onlydomesticissues

2 = Regional (excluding Albania / or Albania is not directly included, notextensivelymentioned)

3=International(excludingAlbania /orAlbania isnotdirectly included,notextensivelymentioned)

4=Undefined–whenthearticlecoversavastrangeoflocalandEuropeanissues

Relevance RelationofthearticletotheEuropeanintegrationissues

0 = no relation–The article does not cover issues related to the Europeanintegration,buthasbeenidentifiedduetosomekeywords

1= lowrelation/relevance– thearticle includes indirectly,butnotessentiallyEuropeanintegrationissues

2 = high relation/relevance –the article covers directly andmainly Europeanintegrationissues

NrKeywords Numberof(related)keywordsinthetext

1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,morethan8

NrKeywordsGroup Groupsrelatedtothenumberofthekeywordsinthetext

0=nokeywords

1=1keyword

2=2keywords

3=3keywords

4=4keywords

5=5keywords

6=6keywords

7=morethan7keywords


40

Annex 3: Interview with the chief editors

1. WhatinfluencesthemostthecoverageofEuropeanissuescomparedtodomesticissuesinyournewspaperandwhy:

a. Ownershipofthemedia

b. Editorialpolicies

c. Knowledge/skillsofthejournalists

d. Readersdemand

e. Other(ifitcanbespecified)

2. Are the European integration issues attractive for the newspapers? If yes, are these articles to justify/support aconcretedomesticissueoraretheysignificantperse?

3. AretherespecializedjournalistsinEuropeanissuesinyournewspaper?

4. DoesthenewspaperhaveEUcorrespondentscoveringEuropeanissues?

5. Canyou asses (from1 to 10) theperformanceof your journalists/newspaper as concerns the integration issues,comparedtothenational/domesticissues?

european integration discourse in the albanian newspapers...

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