The Joe Mercieca I knew

Beacons of light mark our respective journeys as they voyage stormy waters. Joe Mercieca was one such a beacon in a special way.

Rain or shine, Joe was early at his desk. He was the hard-working type, dreaming of change in lofty ways and working very silently to make it happen. His work, both as Head of News at PBS and as coordinator of journalism studies at the University of Malta, were driven by his burning desire to improve journalism writing and content in Malta.

He was well aware of how difficult it was to be a fair and professional journalist. Therefore, he worked incessantly to create a breed of good people who could entertain the challenge.

Joe nourished his dream with every student's success. He laboured unremittingly correcting students' work. He was bothered by the time it took students to develop their "questioning power".

For Joe, correcting was hard work because he was a heavy editor. And that meant more than a 150 pieces of work each week.

He was concerned about students' success well after they graduated and liberally provided insights driven by lessons he leart through "hard experiences". He would miss no opportunity to provide feedback or advice wherever and whenever required.

A frequent topic of concern was whether students were getting enough coaching and what would stimulate their imagination to go one step further. With every visiting scholar, he discussed recent best practices in the field and ways of improving his own materials and teaching methods. He was a man totally dedicated to his work.

I knew Joe before he came to lecture at University. Our first meeting was during a visit at the library of the US Embassy Information Service. Years later, I distinctly remember discussing with him his impending move to PBS. He had discussed matters with a number of people and had conducted a situation analysis. He was planning what needed to be done in a proposal to bring together everyone's effort. He had identified the training and potential mentoring required.

I remember asking one very simple question: "Joe where is your rest in all this?" In his eagerness for fulfilling his mission, he had forgotten that he needed to rest. But that was Joe's quality.

Joe was an information resource. He was privy to so much information due to networks and mentoring. And yet, he would never use it to a person's detriment. If he was not able to talk positively about a person, he would just shut up.

Joe was a person for whom words meant a tremendous amount and for whom silence was pregnant with meaning. He was adamant that he would never undergo a general anaesthetic. Nothing would go to print if not double or triple sourced, even if that meant losing a story to a competitor. Joe was a journalist to the hilt.

As a print journalist, Joe would always feel uncomfortable under a spotlight. But then, no spotlight will ever do him justice. He was always a back stage person.

We lost a great colleague, a gentleman and a journalist.

Joe it was a pleasure for me, and my colleagues, sharing our experiences throughout all these years.