Government decides not to reconstitute MaltaSong board

The MaltaSong Board will not be reconstituted and its responsibilities have been transferred to PBS, the government said this afternoon.

MaltaSong was responsible for the organisation of the Song for Europe contest and Malta's participation in the Eurovision Song Contest. Its term is about to expire.

The announcement was made at the same time as the government announced that Clare Thake Vassallo had been appointed chairman of PBS after having served on the board for a number of years.

The other members of the PBS board are Joe G.P. Bonello, Lara Tonna, Josef N. Grech and Isabelle Gatt. Their appointment, for a year, was made by Education and Culture Minister Dolores Cristina.

Dr Thake Vassallo is senior lecturer at the University’s Faculty of Arts and has specialised in the theory of communication.

She was first appointed to the PBS board in 2000 and in 2005 was in charge of the restructuring of children’s programmes.

The PBS board at its first meeting will discuss the creation of a structure within PBS to assume the functions of the MaltaSong board.

It is common practice in many European countries for the selection of their representative to the Eurovision Song Contest to be made through a contest organised by the national broadcaster.