The functions assigned to the media necessitate strict control over their operation and content by the Party. Although there appears to be no formal institution for censorship, an elaborate system was created whereby the Party leaders could maintain the necessary control either directly or indirectly through the government and mass organizations.

Fragmentary information suggests that the Party leaders have several mechanisms for the maintenance of control over the dissemination of information. Within the Party there is a hierarchical organization that implements decisions made by the Party leaders concerning public information and propaganda activities. It is headed by the Directorate of Agitation and Propaganda, which is directly under the Central Committee of the Party. The directorate is divided into various functional sectors, for example, one dealing with the press. Throughout the Party and government hierarchies, as well as in the mass organizations, there are sections for agitation and propaganda that are directed by the central directorate.

The Political Bureau (Politburo), the highest decision-making body of the Albanian Workers' Party, formulates policy concerning ideological indoctrination and the use of the media of mass communication. The Directorate of Agitation and Propaganda coordinates the implementation of such policy ([see ch. 6], Government Structure and Political System).

Perhaps the most effective control mechanism is that which is built into the Party structure and in the Party's relationship to the government and to society in general. The media are formally owned and operated by the government with the exception of the Party press and publications of the mass organizations. Since all government officials are members of the Party or its front organization, the Democratic Front, and since the mass organizations are dominated by Party members, Party supervision of all publications is assured. Radio broadcasters, film directors and editors, administrators and editors of the publishing houses, journalists, and newspaper editors are also Party members.

Thus all individuals who work with the mass media, either directly or indirectly, are subject to Party discipline. Failure to adhere to directives from the Politburo is a crime against the Party, and punishment for such crimes can be severe ([see ch. 6], Government Structure and Political System).

To supplement the formal media of communication, there are about 25,000 Party agitators who propagandize among the masses. These agitators work in factories, villages, neighborhoods, and on farms with the objective of bringing the Party line to every individual. Besides explaining the content of the press and radio to the people, the agitators conduct courses, present lectures, and guide discussions on Party history, the oppressiveness of religion, friendship with Communist China, Soviet revisionism, and other such topics. For example, in the weekly meetings held for women, emphasis is placed upon how religion causes discrimination against them.

In the factories the agitators explain the Party line to their coworkers and rally them to compete to outproduce each other, a practice called socialist competition. Agitators in rural areas are usually of peasant origin and consequently are better able to gain the trust of the peasantry. They explain the Party line to them in a manner that is relevant to local conditions and mobilize them to produce their quotas.

The agitators also sponsor cultural and sports activities, such as organizing trips to museums and arranging for athletic events. When new laws are passed, the agitators explain them to the masses in terms that they will understand. Before elections the agitators mobilize the people to go out and vote, even though there is only one candidate on the ballot.

To aid the agitators in their work, the Agitators' Notebook is published monthly listing the various points of the Party line which do change from time to time. The agitators also have books, pamphlets, pictures, and films to facilitate the indoctrination of the masses. In addition to the activities of the agitators, the Statutes of the Albanian Workers' Party require that all Party members work to educate the masses in Marxist-Leninist ideology. The same requirement is made of the members of the Union of Albanian Working Youth.

THE PRESS