Journalist guilty of breaching ethics code

The Commission for Journalistic Ethics has found Super 1 journalist Charlon Gouder guilty of breaching journalistic ethics, the commission said in a statement.

The commission censored Mr Gouder for breaching the code especially since he had already been found guilty of violating it less than a year ago.

Former Mosta mayor Joe De Martino wrote to the commission on February 28, complaining that Mr Gouder had, on February 6, broadcast on Super 1 a telephone interview on the candidature of Lawrence Gatt for the March Mosta council election.

The complaint was that the report of the interview was abusive, mentioning what were supposed to be facts to justify the news invented by Mr Gouder, the commission said.

Because of several developments, the commission had to hear the case over more than one sitting. The parties could not agree on what was said and what was not said over the phone. In the end, a conclusive meeting was held when the commission had the opportunity to see and listen to what was said in the report broadcast by Mr Gouder.

This showed that Mr Gouder was not faithful to what was stated by Mr De Martino.

The commission found Mr Gouder guilty of breaching the code clause which says that whenever an interview is given, all of what is said should be published bona fide or nothing at all.

If the editor wanted to change this, it could be done with the consent of the interviewee.

In a statement, the Nationalist Party College of Councillors said the commission's decision confirmed the strategy of deceit used by the Labour Party during the local councils election campaign and against Mr De Martino.

The strategy was used to create unfounded doubts and launch personal attacks.