Study shows that AMA data contradicts claims of media bias in favor of government

A new study by Shqiptarja.com, based on official data from the Audiovisual Media Authority (AMA) and approved by the Central Election Commission (CEC), challenges a long-standing narrative promoted by Albania’s opposition and some of its affiliated analysts that the government dominates the media space and leaves little room for alternative voices.

Why is this important: The claim that “Rama controls the media” has been a recurring talking point for opposition figures, echoed by allied pundits and even referenced in the preliminary OSCE/ODIHR report on the May 11 election. But the actual numbers from a month-long monitoring of 29 national broadcasters show the opposite: the Democratic Party (DP), led by Sali Berisha, received more total TV airtime than the Socialist Party (SP) across news, live broadcasts, talk shows, and paid advertisements.

Context: In the 30-day campaign period, DP and its alliance (ASHM) received over 16,038 minutes in total news coverage—compared to 13,000 minutes for SP. A major factor: Syri TV, owned by Berisha’s family, aired 2,146 minutes for the opposition but only 438 for the government—a nearly fivefold difference. This balance also extended to the broadcast of leaders’ statements, where Berisha again edged out Rama in total coverage.

Furthermore, despite organizing more events with longer formats, PS still received less live airtime overall. From 16 monitored media outlets DP-ASHM was broadcast live for 28,098 minutes while SP received 27,138 minutes. The gap widened sharply in specific outlets. Syri TV devoted just 722 minutes to SP’s events, but 5,134 minutes to Berisha and allies.

Across 25 monitored networks, DP-ASHM was given 28,145 minutes of airtime in political talk shows—more than double the 11,353 minutes given to SP.

In total, of 25 stations monitored 22 gave more time to DP-ASHM and only 2 gave more time to SP.

Political ads: Despite being in opposition, Berisha’s coalition outspent the ruling party in buying campaign airtime.

DP paid for 1,085 minutes of ads

SP paid for 843 minutes

Tone matters: Beyond the numbers, experience often shows that the tone of coverage often runs contrary to the assumption of pro-government bias. In many programs, including televisions that are accused of being biased towards the government, the government faced harsh criticism, while opposition voices were given platforms to attack with few filters. This nuance is missing from simplified narratives and was largely absent from the OSCE/ODIHR’s preliminary remarks.

Bottom line: The AMA report paints a very different media landscape than what is often described by opposition rhetoric. Rather than being silenced, Berisha’s alliance dominated TV airtime across most categories. The persistent claim of media capture by the government does not appear to hold up under scrutiny—at least not when measured in minutes.