13 appearances don't make a permanent fixture
It is rather flattering that Clare Bonello saw fit to dedicate most of her column (June 27) to attack my integrity. For starters, I shall limit myself to gently pointing out her errors of fact - a very grave sin for a columnist to commit. Dr Bonello...
It is rather flattering that Clare Bonello saw fit to dedicate most of her column (June 27) to attack my integrity. For starters, I shall limit myself to gently pointing out her errors of fact - a very grave sin for a columnist to commit.
Dr Bonello wrote that I have become "a quasi-permanent fixture on the programme" (Xarabank) and that I have "also achieved semi-permanent resident status on... Bondiplus".
According to my fellow columnist in this newspaper, I "turn up at practically every Where's Everybody programme". The insinuation is that I sell my soul for publicity on these programmes.
Wrong. Since January 2006, a total of 386 editions of Bondiplus and Xarabank were aired. I participated in a grand total of 13! According to Dr Bonello, this qualifies me for the dubious title of "a quasi-permanent fixture" on these programmes.
I certainly hope Dr Bonello's grasp of journalistic ethics is better than her ability for being accurate!
Dr Bonello's disregard for facts was supplemented with another, worse mistake for a columnist to commit.
She failed to inform readers that in two editions of Xarabank I was invited to lambast Bondiplus, as I also did in my recent blog post, entitled 'Ban Lowell', www.timesofmalta.com/blogs/view/20100504/fr-joeborg/ban-the-buffoon.
It seems that Where's Everybody's sense of self-critical journalism is stronger than Dr Bonello's commitment to facts.