Lack of communication fires journalists' ire

The saga of the Spanish trawler Francesco Catalina, stranded at sea for a week with 51 illegal immigrants on board, has exposed shortcomings in the manner in which the government deals with the media, the Journalists' Committee said yesterday.

The committee said that on Thursday, journalists were informed they would be granted access to Haywharf where the trawler was expected to berth, after reports that the diplomatic impasse among Spain, Malta and Libya had been bridged.

At 8.36 p.m. of the same day, however, a The Times journalist was informed by Parliamentary Secretary Tony Abela that the media would not be allowed to enter the wharf, claiming that media presence may pose a "security risk".

To complicate matters, the official reason for the denial appears to have changed the moment it became clear that the trawler would not berth at Haywharf at all that night, with an official from the Office of the Prime Minister claiming yesterday the reason for denying access was that "there was nothing to report".

Apart from exposing a basic misunderstanding of the role of the press in issues of national importance, these inconsistencies and contradictions are attributable to a lack of communications by the government, which appears to take its decisions on an ad hoc basis, the committee said.

The dearth of proper communication fuelled by rumours and speculation resulted in journalists having to struggle to confirm even the most basic details about the case.

The committee called on the government to formulate a clear and consistent press communications plan, so that misunderstandings such as these are not repeated, or worse still, institutionalised.

In a reaction to statements by the Journalists' Committee and the Institute of Journalists on Thursday regarding claims of discrimination vis-à-vis access by the army to the media to cover the plight of the immigrants' on the trawler, the Office of the Prime Minister said a number of newsrooms, news agencies and journalists had filed requests to be ferried to the trawler by the army.

The OPM insisted it was logistically impossible to accept all the calls and, as a result, a decision was made to accept only the request by the state broadcaster (PBS) which had "a particular role and responsibility".

The OPM added that pictures of the situation on the trawler were passed on to the media by the army.

The OPM said it was open to suggestions as to how one can ensure access to everyone in such circumstances.