Albanian diaspora is keen to follow and support Albanian-based media. Support is based upon the content quality and proven professionalism, while personal attachment to media and its mission is the lowest preferred one. Preferred modalities of support include membership and subscription. These are some of significant results of the study conducted within the Media for All project from July to September 2021.
“Our aim was to systematize existing data on Albanian diaspora and conduct a focused and in-depth research on their profiles, connection to Albania, information and media consumption habits and overall interest to support media outlets from their homeland. Thomson Foundation intensively work with local media and try to explore different ways of engaging audience, including diaspora which is, in the case of Albania, very peculiar and distinct. Results of research will inform us and our partners on how to direct and plan future activities and assistance towards media in Albania, and wider,”
explained Davor Marko, Thomson Foundation program manager for the Western Balkans.
Research was consisted of desk review, in depth interviews with 17 representatives of Albanian diaspora associations, organisations and media, and online survey with 500 representatives of diaspora from seven countries – Australia, United States, Canada, Italy, Germany, Greece, and United Kingdom.
“More than half of respondents in the diaspora are willing to provide support to media in Albania provided that they are independent and professional local media. Knowledge sharing is the most type of non-financial assistance preferred to Albanian media with at least 58.5%. Access to information is the second one mostly preferred with 29.6% followed by Networking with 25.2 % and Content production with 22.6% of the cases. Financial assistance is preferred in 15.9% of the cases mostly with less than 100 USD followed by 100-500 USD of financial support. Membership and subscription models are the most preferred, followed by crowdfunding and one-off donations,”
explained Blerjana Bino, co-founder and executive director of the Science and Innovation for Development Center (SCiDEV) from Tirana who conducted the research.
