Press ethics watchdog throws out two complaints

The Press Ethics' Commission has dismissed two complaints filed by the president of the General Workers' Union, Salvu Sammut, and by the head of the union's media relations unit, Charles Vella, against journalist Nathaniel Attard.

Mr Vella filed a complaint on September 6 against Mr Attard, a Nationalist Party media journalist, over an article published in In-Nazzjon on August 31 following a telephone conversation between them.

Mr Vella claimed he was quoted as the source of information when he had not been informed that the telephone conversation was being recorded.

Mr Vella accused Mr Attard of breaching article 4 (b) of the Code of Journalistic Ethics which lays down that it is unethical to divulge a source of information without obtaining an explicit permission so to do.

The commission ruled that it satisfied that Mr Vella was aware that the conversation was being recorded and added that, as the union's media officer, Mr Vella should have assumed that he could be quoted by the media when he spoke about issues related to the GWU.

Although it would have been better had Mr Attard explicitly made his intentions clear, the commission found there had been no breach of ethics.

Mr Sammut had complained with the commission that Mr Attard had broadcast his comment on Net Television following a conversation on August 17.

Mr Sammut based his complaint on the same article 4 but did not specify on which ground Mr Attard had been unethical. For this reason the commission found that Mr Sammut's complaint was unfounded.