Area Handbook for Albania Part 15

The information media are controlled by the Party directly or indirectly through the government and such organizations as labor unions, youth groups, and cultural societies. Private owners.h.i.+p of such media has been prohibited since the Communist regime came to power.

NATURE AND FUNCTIONS OF THE INFORMATION MEDIA

The media are invaluable instruments for the achievement of the goals of the Communist leaders. When the Communist regime came to power in November 1944, it seized control of all such media, although they were not formally nationalized until 1946. From the outset, the press and radio were used to justify and extend Communist rule. In general, the function of the media has been to propagate Marxist-Leninist ideology, as modified to relate to the specific conditions in Albania, and to liquidate the traditional religious, social, and economic beliefs of the people (see ch. 4, The People; ch. 2, Historical Setting).

The functions of the media have remained essentially unchanged throughout the twenty-six years of rule by the Albanian Workers' Party.

The leaders have used the media extensively in their efforts to revolutionize all aspects of the national life. In this connection, there are many specific functions performed by the press and radio that generally fall into the categories of education, organization, and control.

The first functional category has two aspects: the press and radio are instruments of political and social indoctrination, and they help to raise the educational and cultural levels of the ma.s.ses. In practice, however, these two aspects are often combined--that is, in the process of education, Marxist-Leninist ideology is usually interjected. In general, the educational function has been performed by conducting campaigns against illiteracy and ignorance, encouraging maximum utilization of the educational and cultural facilities set up throughout the country, and making literary works accessible to the population (see ch. 5, Social System).

The media, in the final a.n.a.lysis, are used to saturate the population with Marxist-Leninist ideology. The content of the media--whether it is news, music, or literature--is structured to promote the goals of the Party and designed to further the building of a Communist society. In order to facilitate ideological indoctrination, content is devised to appeal to sentiments of Albanian nationalism. The development of communism, for example, is related to the theme of developing the nation and preserving its independence; and Enver Hoxha, the Party leader, is quoted as frequently as are Marx and Lenin.

One of the most important uses of the press and radio, which falls into the category of organization, has been to mobilize the people actively to support, and partic.i.p.ate in, the implementation of specific policies, such as the fulfillment of economic plans or antireligious campaigns.

Often, in conjunction with mobilization campaigns, the media are used to transmit specific information that is necessary for the implementation of various aspects of the policies. In the economic sphere, for example, discussions of industrial processes or agriculture often appear in the press.

The media are also means of Party control over officials at all levels of the government and the Party hierarchies, as well as over the population in general. This function is performed primarily through exposure of corruption, negligence, and inefficiency on the part of various officials or workers or by issuing warnings against such crimes and behavior. In addition, the press and radio are channels through which the top leaders issue directives or communicate changes in the Party line to the lower level administrators and activists throughout the country.

The importance of the pervasive role of the press was stressed in the following statement by Enver Hoxha that was quoted in the December 1965 issue of _Rruga e Partise_ (Party Path): "Without the press there can be no education of the ma.s.ses; without the press there can be no conscientious mobilization of them, organization, nor solution to the problems of the economic and cultural construction in the new socialist society." Although the article dealt specifically with the press, it can be a.s.sumed that the role a.s.signed to it also pertains to the other media of communication.

The functions a.s.signed to the media necessitate strict control over their operation and content by the Party. Although there appears to be no formal inst.i.tution for censors.h.i.+p, an elaborate system was created whereby the Party leaders could maintain the necessary control either directly or indirectly through the government and ma.s.s organizations.

Fragmentary information suggests that the Party leaders have several mechanisms for the maintenance of control over the dissemination of information. Within the Party there is a hierarchical organization that implements decisions made by the Party leaders concerning public information and propaganda activities. It is headed by the Directorate of Agitation and Propaganda, which is directly under the Central Committee of the Party. The directorate is divided into various functional sectors, for example, one dealing with the press. Throughout the Party and government hierarchies, as well as in the ma.s.s organizations, there are sections for agitation and propaganda that are directed by the central directorate.

The Political Bureau (Politburo), the highest decision-making body of the Albanian Workers' Party, formulates policy concerning ideological indoctrination and the use of the media of ma.s.s communication. The Directorate of Agitation and Propaganda coordinates the implementation of such policy (see ch. 6, Government Structure and Political System).

Perhaps the most effective control mechanism is that which is built into the Party structure and in the Party's relations.h.i.+p to the government and to society in general. The media are formally owned and operated by the government with the exception of the Party press and publications of the ma.s.s organizations. Since all government officials are members of the Party or its front organization, the Democratic Front, and since the ma.s.s organizations are dominated by Party members, Party supervision of all publications is a.s.sured. Radio broadcasters, film directors and editors, administrators and editors of the publis.h.i.+ng houses, journalists, and newspaper editors are also Party members.

Thus all individuals who work with the ma.s.s media, either directly or indirectly, are subject to Party discipline. Failure to adhere to directives from the Politburo is a crime against the Party, and punishment for such crimes can be severe (see ch. 6, Government Structure and Political System).

To supplement the formal media of communication, there are about 25,000 Party agitators who propagandize among the ma.s.ses. These agitators work in factories, villages, neighborhoods, and on farms with the objective of bringing the Party line to every individual. Besides explaining the content of the press and radio to the people, the agitators conduct courses, present lectures, and guide discussions on Party history, the oppressiveness of religion, friends.h.i.+p with Communist China, Soviet revisionism, and other such topics. For example, in the weekly meetings held for women, emphasis is placed upon how religion causes discrimination against them.

In the factories the agitators explain the Party line to their coworkers and rally them to compete to outproduce each other, a practice called socialist compet.i.tion. Agitators in rural areas are usually of peasant origin and consequently are better able to gain the trust of the peasantry. They explain the Party line to them in a manner that is relevant to local conditions and mobilize them to produce their quotas.

The agitators also sponsor cultural and sports activities, such as organizing trips to museums and arranging for athletic events. When new laws are pa.s.sed, the agitators explain them to the ma.s.ses in terms that they will understand. Before elections the agitators mobilize the people to go out and vote, even though there is only one candidate on the ballot.

To aid the agitators in their work, the _Agitators' Notebook_ is published monthly listing the various points of the Party line which do change from time to time. The agitators also have books, pamphlets, pictures, and films to facilitate the indoctrination of the ma.s.ses. In addition to the activities of the agitators, the Statutes of the Albanian Workers' Party require that all Party members work to educate the ma.s.ses in Marxist-Leninist ideology. The same requirement is made of the members of the Union of Albanian Working Youth.

THE PRESS

The press is the most developed of the information media. According to official statistics, in 1967 there were nineteen newspapers and thirty-four periodicals as compared with six and fifteen, respectively, in 1938. Circulation figures per issue for all newspapers and periodicals are not available, but the government statistics indicate that total circulation for newspapers increased by about sixteen times between 1938 and 1967, and the figures for periodicals indicate a sixfold increase for the same period.

Most publications originate in Tirana, although during the 1960s the regime began to establish local newspapers. Information on the press is spa.r.s.e, and it is difficult to ascertain how many publications were in circulation in 1970; there are indications that new publications were added, while others were consolidated after 1967.

There are three daily newspapers, all of which are published in Tirana (see table 7). _Zeri i Popullit_ (The Voice of the People) is published by the Central Committee of the Albanian Workers' Party, and in 1967 it had a daily circulation of 86,000. _Bashkimi_ (Union) is published by the Democratic Front and is the mouthpiece of the government. It had a daily circulation of 20,000 in 1967. _Puna_ (Work) is the daily newspaper of the Central Council of the United Trade Unions of Albania.

In 1967 it reportedly had a circulation of 18,000. _Zeri i Rinise_ (The Voice of Youth), a twice weekly newspaper of the Central Committee of the Union of Albanian Working Youth, had a circulation of 36,000 in 1967.

Circulation figures do not necessarily give an accurate picture, however, because many of the subscriptions are held by inst.i.tutions, libraries, and cultural houses rather than by individuals. Factories, farms, schools, and other inst.i.tutions have reading rooms with subscriptions to newspapers and magazines. In addition, the Party agitators frequently read articles aloud to groups. Thus there is greater exposure to the press than the circulation figures indicate.

Local newspapers are all published by the local Party committees.

Examples of such newspapers are: _Jeta e Re_ (New Life), published in Shkoder; _Perpara_ (Forward), published in Korce; _Pararoja_ (Vanguard), published in Gjirokaster; and _Adriatic_, which is published in Durres.

These newspapers have been a.s.signed the function of explaining Party policies in relation to the specific conditions found in the various localities. They also propagandize against religion and such so-called crimes as laziness and indifference. Local newspapers give a great deal of attention to the economic, social, cultural, and political problems that are specific to their districts.

_Table 7. Selected Albanian Newspapers, 1967_

-------------------------------------------------------------------- Newspaper Frequency Publisher Circulation -------------------------------------------------------------------- _Zeri i Popullit_ daily Central Committee 86,000 (The Voice of the of the Albanian People) Workers' Party

_Bashkimi_ do. Democratic Front 20,000 (Union)

_Puna_ do. Central Council 18,000 (Work) of Albanian Trade Unions

_Zeri i Rinise_ twice Central Committee 36,000 (The Voice of the weekly of the Union of Youth) Albanian Working Youth

_Jeta e Re_ n.a. Shkoder Party n.a.

(New Life) Committee

_Perpara_ n.a. Korce Party n.a.

(Forward) Committee

_Pararoja_ n.a. Gjirokaster Party n.a.

(Vanguard) Committee

_Adriatic_ n.a. Durres Party n.a.

(Adriatic) Committee ---------------------------------------------------------------------- n.a.--not available.

In addition to the local newspapers there are wall newspapers, or flash bulletins, as they began to be called after the 1966 initiation of the so-called Cultural Revolution in the Party drive to rekindle among the people a Marxist-Leninist revolutionary spirit. These wall newspapers are usually single sheets that are posted on bulletin boards in factories, farms, schools, offices, cultural houses, and other such places. They are usually written by either the Party agitators or members of the youth organization, and they serve the same purposes as the formal press--that is, agitation for increased productivity by workers and peasants, antireligious campaigns, and so on (see ch. 6, Government Structure and Political System).

The periodical press is as important as the newspaper press and is slightly more diversified. The number of periodicals published grew from fifteen in 1938 to thirty-four in 1967. In 1967 there were almost twice as many periodicals published as newspapers. Thus it is possible to design many of the periodicals for consumption by specific audiences.

The Party, many government ministries, and each of the various ma.s.s organizations publish periodicals (see table 8). _Rruga e Partise_ (Party Path) is the theoretical journal of the Party and is published by its Central Committee. _Ylli_ (Star) is the monthly ill.u.s.trated review that supplements _Zeri i Popullit_. It was first published in 1960.

_Table 8. Selected Albanian Periodicals, 1967_

-------------------------------------------------------------------------- t.i.tle Publisher -------------------------------------------------------------------------- _Arsimi Popullor_ Ministry of Education and Culture (People's Education)

_Bujqesia Socialiste_ Ministry of Agriculture (Socialist Agriculture)

_Buletin i Shkencave High Agricultural Inst.i.tute Bujqesore_ (Bulletin of Agricultural Sciences)

_Drita_ Union of Albanian Artists and Writers (Light)

_Fatosi_ Central Committee of the Union of (The Brave One) Albanian Working Youth

_Hosteni_ Union of Journalists (The Goad)

_Kultura Popullore_ Ministry of Education and Culture (People's Culture)

_Llaiko Vima_ Democratic Front (in Greek) (The People's Voice)