Klodiana Lala

Klodiana Lala
Born
Albania
CitizenshipAlbania
OccupationsInvestigative journalist
Reporter
TV host
Employer(s)News 24 (TV channel)
BalkanInsight
Reporter.al
Known forInvestigative reporting on organized crime and corruption in Albania

Klodiana Lala is an Albanian investigative journalist and TV presenter specializing in organized crime, corruption and the judicial system in Albania.[1] She is currently a lead reporter for News 24, where she hosts the investigative program Në Shënjestër (On Target),[2] and is also a frequent contributor to Balkan Insight (BIRN) and Reporter.al.[3][4]

Lala's career spans over two decades and is defined by high-stakes reporting on transnational drug trafficking,[5] money laundering, and the infiltration of criminal networks into Albanian politics,[6] and often provides in-depth coverage and analysis on the Special Anti-Corruption Structure (SPAK) investigations.[7]

Threats and intimidation

While covering high-profile organized crime and governmental scandals she has been faced with severe intimidation tactics.[8] In 2018, her family home was targeted in a gunfire attack linked to her reporting on political-criminal ties,[9] an incident widely condemned by press freedom organizations like Reporters Without Borders (RSF) as an attempt to silence her reporting.[10][8]

During the announcement of life sentences in a criminal case, chaos erupted in the courtroom as defendants tried to escape and relatives hurled chairs at judges and journalists, including Klodiana Lala, who reported that “The court officers didn’t intervene” as reporters were physically threatened.[11]

Another episode, on 24 October 2024, involved journalist Andi Bushati who verbally abused Lala, by calling her a “parrot” of SPAK, in relation to her reporting on the arrest of Ilir Meta, a remark viewed as contributing to the broader climate of intimidation and hostility toward journalists in Albania.[12][13]

Lala has also faced physical obstruction by police during field operations,[14] and the seizure of professional journalistic files and devices during a 2025 police raid on News 24.[15]

Journalistic awards

Her journalistic commitment has earned her international acclaim and awards, including the 2019 Free Speech Award from the South East Europe Coalition of Whistleblower Protection[16] and multiple EU Investigative Journalism Awards for her exposés on cocaine supply chains and electoral corruption.[17]

She also won the prize Vangjush Gambeta "Reporteri i Vitit 2018" (Reporter of 2018) given by the Union of Journalists of Albania.[18]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Sulmohet me breshëri plumbash shtëpia e prindërve të gazetares Klodiana Lala". Reporter.al (in Albanian). 2018-08-30. Archived from the original on 28 Jan 2023. Retrieved 2026-04-17. Klodiana Lala është gazetare e News 24 dhe mbulon prej më shumë se një dekade raportimin e çështjeve të kriminalitetit dhe sistemit gjyqësor në Shqipëri. Ajo ka raportuar gjithashtu mbi hetime të kryera ndaj figurave të krimit të organizuar.
  2. ↑ Kadriu, Elira (2025-08-12). "News 24 raid: Journalists face seizure of materials". Citizens.al. Archived from the original on 18 Apr 2026. Retrieved 2026-04-17. "In the first building are the materials of investigative shows, such as the show "Veting", or "Në Shënjestër" by Klodiana Lala"- journalist Klevin Muka tells Citizens.al.
  3. ↑ "Articles by Klodiana Lala". Balkan Insight. Retrieved 2026-04-17.
  4. ↑ "Articles by Klodiana Lala". Reporter.al (in Albanian). Retrieved 2026-04-17.
  5. ↑ Lala, Klodiana (2024-09-11). "From Dubai to Albania: How Drug Money Fuelled Tirana's Real Estate Boom". Balkan Insight. Retrieved 2026-04-17.
  6. ↑ CPJ Europe Representative, Attila Mong (2019-07-05). "Albania's journalists tread fine line when covering organized crime, politics". Committee to Protect Journalists. Archived from the original on 11 March 2026. Retrieved 2026-04-17. ...Nearly a year later, no one has been arrested. Lala said the only motive she can think of for the attack is her reporting on apparent links between organized crime and politics, which this year earned her an international award.
  7. ↑ ""Biznesmenëve dhe zyrtarëve u janë sekuestruar telefonat dhe kompjuterat", Lala: SPAK ka përgjime ku përfshihen drejtues të Policisë". GAZETA EURO ALBANIA. 2025-12-30. Archived from the original on 18 Apr 2026. Retrieved 2026-04-17.
  8. 1 2 "Freedom of press threatened by organized crime in Western Balkans". Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime. Archived from the original on 14 Jan 2026. Retrieved 2026-04-17. The Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime strongly condemns the attack on Klodiana Lala. ...In the case of Lala, the message was unequivocal: it was an attempt to silence an outspoken critic of the Albanian criminal network.
  9. ↑ Mejdini, Fatjona (2018-09-21). "Iron bars, automatic gunfire and impunity stalk Albania's journalists". Index on Censorship. Archived from the original on 8 Feb 2026. Retrieved 2026-04-17. In the early hours of 30 August, investigative journalist Klodiana Lala's parental home was sprayed with bullets. Luckily no one was injured. Lala, a crime reporter for Albania's News 24 TV, connected the incident with her work as a journalist, saying that neither she nor her family had any personal conflicts that would spur this type of incident.
  10. ↑ "Albanian journalists repeatedly threatened, attacked | RSF". Reporters Without Borders (rsf.org). 2018-09-04. Archived from the original on 25 Sep 2025. Retrieved 2026-04-17.
  11. ↑ Hoxhaj, Edmond (2019-11-25). "Albania Failing to Act on Threats to Crime Reporters". Balkan Insight. Retrieved 2026-04-17. "Their family members grabbed chairs and tried to hit us, not just members of the panel [of judges] but journalists too," said Klodiana Lala, a reporter for News 24 TV. "The court officers didn't intervene."
  12. ↑ "Other threats to journalist (BIRN, Ermal Vija – ABC News, Klodiana Lala and other journalists) following the arrest of former President of Albania Ilir Meta, Tirana, 24.10.2024". SafeJournalists. 2024-10-24. Retrieved 2026-04-17. Another episode involved a prominent public figure and journalist Andi Bushati, who publicly criticized Klodiana Lala, an investigative reporter, by labeling her a "parrot" for SPAK, implying collaboration with the prosecution. Such inflammatory rhetoric fosters an atmosphere of intimidation and hostility among journalists, intensifying the polarization within Albania's media sector and contributing to an environment where press freedom is increasingly under threat.
  13. ↑ "Mapping Media Freedom: Albania: Investigative journalist Klodiana Lala told "SPAK's parrot" over reporting on former President Meta's arrest (2024-10-24)". Mapping Media Freedom. Retrieved 2026-04-17. On 24 October 2024, analyst Andi Bushati verbally abused investigative journalist Klodiana Lala, who works for News24 TV, on Top Channel's "the unexposed" programme. Bushati discredited Lala in relation to her reporting on the arrest of the former president of Llir Meta, who was arrested by the Special Court for Corruption and Organised Crime (SPAK) on alleged charges of corruption, money laundering and concealment of personal income and assets. "This is called making SPAK's parrot what you are doing," Bushati told Lala, among others, while the journalist called him Meta's parrot to defend herself on air.
  14. ↑ Erebara, Gjergj (2021-07-27). "Albanian Police Filmed Mistreating TV News Journalists". Balkan Insight. Retrieved 2026-04-17. Albanian police on Tuesday manhandled Ergjys Gjencaj, a journalist for the News 24 TV channel, and pushed his colleague Klodiana Lala after failing to detain a suspected criminal.
  15. ↑ Sinoruka, Fjori (2025-08-12). "Media Unions Criticise Albanian Police Operation Targeting TV Station". Balkan Insight. Retrieved 2026-04-17. "My files, which contain many secrets … my computer and every other device I need to practice my profession have been arbitrarily confiscated," Klodiana Lala, an investigative journalist who covers crime and corruption, wrote on Facebook.
  16. ↑ "International Whistleblower Day organized in Tirana". CSDG. 2019-04-01. Retrieved 2026-04-17. In the third year of this event the "Free Speech Award" was given to the investigative journalist Klodiana Lala, who has reported on a number of cases of corruption and misuse of power.
  17. ↑ birnEU (2019-03-25). "BIRN-Supported Journalist Wins Whistleblower Award". BIRN. Retrieved 2026-04-17. Investigative journalist Klodiana Lala was given the Free Speech Award by the South East Europe Coalition of Whistleblower Protection
  18. ↑ "Çmimet 'Vangjush Gambeta" vlerësohen dy gazetaret e News24" (in Albanian). Retrieved 2026-04-17.
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