Dritan Hoxha

Dritan Hoxha (16 October 1968 – 23 May 2008) was an Albanian businessman. He was the founder of Top Media, Albania's largest media company.

Hoxha, who started his business career as a coffee importer for Lori Caffe, founded the Top Media group in 1998.

Media career
Firstly he founded Albanian radio station "Top Albania Radio" in 1998 and then he founded an Albanian channel named "Top Channel" in 2001. Along with Top Media he also founded the digital platform "DigitAlb" in 2004, the newspaper "Shqip" in 2006, and another channel for 24/7 news coverage named "Top News" in 2007. In 2008, DigitAlb became the first European Platform with six High Definition Channels and the second in the world. This was a big achievement for Albania. He clashed with Prime Minister Sali Berisha over satellite broadcasting rights. Berisha fined Hoxha's group 13 million euros, but they later reached a compromise. During this time he also faced accusations of tax evasion which he denied.

Top Media
On 14 February 1998, Dritan Hoxha founded the Top Media Group shortly after creating Top Albania Radio.

Death
On 23 May 2008 at about 01:50 on the "Bajram Curri" boulevard in Tirana, Hoxha crashed his Ferrari 599 with the license plate "DK 3892 H" into a maple tree in a flower garden near the Lana river. His car split in two and was completely destroyed upon impact. He survived the crash and his body was taken out from his vehicle after a few minutes. However, before he would be sent to Tirana Military Hospital, he died on his way to the hospital.

Response
Shortly after Hoxha's death, there were many responses from news and media organisations, and even Hashim Thaçi, who was prime minister of Kosovo during that time. Even Menduh Thaçi, leader of the Democratic Party of Albanians in North Macedonia, responded to his death.

Hashim Thaçi's response: "It was with sadness that we received the news of the tragic death of the President of the company Top Media, Dritan Hoxha. The Hoxha family lost their most beloved, while the journalism community lost a name and diligent leader in the field of modern information. Please accept my deepest condolences on behalf of the government of Kosovo, and on my behalf."

Menduh Thaçi's response: "We are deeply saddened to hear of the tragic death of your son, husband and father. Allow me to express my sincere condolences to you and the staff of Top Media and the party I represent. I estimate that with the untimely death of Dritan, the family has lost the most precious person, while the media space has lost the creator of modern information. Dritan Hoxha created and built the big modern informative house for all Albanians wherever they live. Dritan will always be remembered by Macedonian Albanians as the man who, through 'Top Media', brought to these spaces the values of the spiritual union of Albanians. I honestly think that the tragic loss of the life of the founder of Top Media is a great loss for the contemporary media spirit, western and digital technology."

Response from Koha Ditore: "It is with great pain that we heard about the sudden death of our colleague and friend, Dritan Hoxha. All of us, here at Koha Ditore, sympathize with you, and we want you to know that we stand by you in these difficult moments. Our condolences go first to Dritan's family, and all his employees and associates at Top Media. But also to the entire media community around the Albanian world, to whom Dritani brought a new informative and media approach at a time of great social and political ruptures, not only in Albania. In these difficult moments for all of us, we feel, however, the premature demise of Tani (nickname for Dritan) will in no way be the end of his exemplary work with Top Media. Moreover, we are convinced that his image will continue even further through the media that he created and left behind, which, without any doubt, will not stop following the professional spirit that Tani established. On behalf of the 'Koha Ditore' newspaper, please accept our sincere condolences."

Response from RTK: "After the tragic death of our respected friend and colleague Mr. Dritan Hoxha, we express our most sincere condolences to the family and the entire staff of the Top Media company."

Response from the Koha media group: "With deep regret, the Koha group received the news of the tragic loss of life of the President of Top Media, Dritan Hoxha. We feel it is our duty to emphasize that with his loss, we have lost a colleague, a friend, but above all a man who has done a lot for the Albanian media in general. The Koha group expresses its sincere condolences to his family, as well as to all the employees at Top Channel, Top Albania Radio and DigitAlb."

Response from RTV21: "The management board of Radiotelevision 21 in Kosovo expresses its sincere condolences to the family and representatives of Top Channel for this great loss both for Top Channel and for the media of Albania, all Albanian and beyond. On this occasion, RTV21 has lost a colleague, through whom it developed important cooperation between the two media houses."

Response from newspaper company Kosova Sot: "With deep and sincere condolences, we bring on behalf of the 'Kosova Sot' newspaper. We express our deepest condolences to all the staff of the newspaper for the loss of Mr. Dritan Hoxha. With the hope that his traces, as the creator of the largest Albanian mass media, will never be erased. The deceased, now, with his media company was and will remain, the most explosive voice in the Albanian media opinion."