Maltese in broadcasting

It is heartening to learn that the Broadcasting Authority (BA) is revising its policy on the use of the Maltese language in the broadcasting media.

The current policy, which has been in place for several years, does not seem to have had any effect on the use/destruction of Maltese in the broadcasting media.

After working in or following the broadcasting media for over 40 years, I venture to list some of the difficulties facing the media and the BA itself on the question.

Mistakes and difficulties in the media could be due to various factors, namely:

a) Newsroom staff: Due to pressure, journalists are writing in Maltese but often thinking in English, especially when translating foreign news items. In the past, PBS took several steps to improve the situation by employing part-time linguists to correct news items in Maltese before transmission.

The step, laudable though it was, was perceived mainly as a short break before deadline, and it soon died a natural death.

b) Sport: Commentators also often speak Maltese with Italian or English in mind, even when a Maltese word could easily work. Is it a question of intellectual laziness or pressure of time?

c) Recorded TV/radio programmes: Here the deadly sins persist and are worse because they could be remedied on recording.

Mistakes persist in orthography, in captions and in the new system of transmitting SMS messages as they come in.

d) Live TV/radio programmes: The same mistakes occur here, particularly in cookery and beauty programmes.

e) Advertising/teleshopping: Telephone numbers are read in English even if the advertisement is in Maltese.

During advertisements/ teleshopping, sizes, e.g. of suits and dresses, are given in English and some terms which could easily be translated into Maltese are retained in English.

The BA did not successfully implement its previous policy including that every broadcasting station should have a person responsible for Maltese.

This could have proved expensive for the stations themselves.

What should be done?

Serious monitoring and follow-up decisions should be made by the BA on the same lines, or even harsher, when dealing with infringements of the other authority rules for broadcasting.

The authority should lay down criteria for those aiming to make a career in broadcasting, among them that they must have good credentials for speaking and writing Maltese.