Having been the most reliable and trustworthy media company since 1990, in the past couple of years KOHA has found itself competing in an increasingly aggressive market, characterised with unfair competition. Preserving our editorial independence while striving to maintain and safeguard fundamental principles of fairness, accurate and verified reporting has been an enormous challenge, especially since the Corona virus pandemic. Through the Western Balkans for Media Change programme and its support, we’ve sought the opportunity to enhance our ongoing reporting on underserved communities and implement our initiative ‘Hear us!’/‘Dëgjonani!’, giving greater attention to the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptians, as well as to youth, women and the elderly.
KOHA gained access to and valuable knowledge on how to use the Engaged Citizens Reporting (ECR) Tool, which enabled us to hear more from underserved communities and report on stories that have had an impact on their everyday lives and representation. Reporting on the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities was especially challenging due to their limited access to the questionnaires we prepared. However, with the assistance of the NGO we partnered with to implement our initiative, we overcame this obstacle and gained deeper insights into their struggles with unemployment. Similarly, we co-operated with two other NGOs, with whom we have signed a Memorandum of Understanding under our initiative, to cover youth issues and discrimination against women – one prominent example being property rights.
There are many stories covered by KOHA within its ‘Hear us!’/‘Dëgjonani!’ initiative that we can be proud of and which truly made a difference. One example is the story on the elderly (65+), who are forced to pay for surgery and hip replacement implants in public hospitals, whereas younger patients are provided the service for free. This story prompted the Ombudsperson to investigate this discrimination faced by this segment of the population.
Another story highlighted the hardships young people with disabilities endure when trying to access education due to a shortage of personal assistants who can accompany them to classes and help during the learning process. After KOHA’s story was published, the Ministry of Education, following a government decision, increased the number of personal assistants – budgeting salaries for 500 such positions to support students with disabilities.
Education also remains one of the most pressing issues for the Roma, Ashkali and Egyptian communities, given the serious challenges they face. The high number of school dropouts due to poverty – which we reported on – prompted the authorities to allocate 500 scholarships for children from these communities. Moreover, only 145 students from these communities are currently enrolled in college studies. After our stories were published, institutions allocated scholarships, opened a Student Resource Centre and launched a programme to provide additional support.
Another outstanding story addressed the alarming rise in incidents around schools, where firearms and cold weapons were used. Following our coverage, the police conducted several raids in and around schools and confiscated knives and other weapons.
We have had excellent collaboration with the Western Balkans Media for Change programme throughout the project and have also benefited from workshops organised by the programme’s implementing partners. Our team learned how to use the ECR Tool and develop call outs/questionnaires to engage citizens. We have also gained valuable insights from workshops on data visualisation, using AI in newsrooms, automation and various AI tools.
Above all, the programme’s support allowed us to connect more closely with communities in need of representation and to hear their grievances. Moreover, it enabled us to share their stories with a wider audience and trigger a response from both institutions and society.
KOHA newsroom