The Albanian Media Issue: Between Italian Proximity, Western Influences, And The New Turkish Influence
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.61007/QdC.2026.2.441Keywords:
media studies, international relations, cultural hegemony, italy-albania, turkish influence, European Union, Italian soft power, albanian media, post-communist mediaAbstract
The Albanian media issue examines the television sector’s evolution as a mirror of asymmetric cultural proximity between Italy and Albania, from communist clandestinity to contemporary globalisation. Under Enver Hoxha, RAI schedules were retransmitted and cloned by RTSH despite bans on “alien manifestations,” instilling involuntary Italian soft power that shaped generations through forbidden radio listens and TV variety-neorealism viewings. The 1998 liberalisation sparked 31 private broadcasters emulating Mediaset formats, like talk shows fostering post-dictatorship self-esteem and satirical programs such as Fiks Fare, inspired by Striscia la notizia – earning Ezio Greggio Albanian citizenship in 2015. The 2000s reveal an oligarchic bubble, with tycoons backed by Edi Rama prioritising commercial interests over editorial sustainability. Italianisms, shared rituals like Sanremo co-hosted by Alketa Vejsiu, and awards to Maria De Filippi endure, yet influence wanes amid Anglo-Saxon winds and Turkish ascent: low-cost series dominate Top Channel and Klan schedules, eroding local production in a European disillusionment context. Albania, as Euro-Mediterranean periphery in flux, calls Italy toward a strategic partnership beyond exotic narratives.
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