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).