Albanian Talk Show Hosts Slam TV Regulator’s ‘Orwellian’ Fines

Journalist Blendi Fevziu opened his TV programme “Opinion” last Thursday evening with a symbolic protest. Wearing a uniform bearing the inscription “AMA Police”, Fevziu mocked the imposition of a fine for “content containing inappropriate language” imposed by the Audiovisual Media Authority, AMA – the body regulating television broadcasts in Albania. “I am not complaining about the fine but about the fact that, after 30 years in this studio ... they want to turn my normal attire into the uniform of an AMA police officer,” Fevziu said.