After being assigned the task of reforming One News, Labour MP Evarist Bartolo will soon embark on another challenge: bringing the party’s English-language news site, Maltastar.com, up to scratch.
Mr Bartolo, a media lecturer by profession, will in August be replaced as head of One News by Mark Farrugia, currently PA to Labour leader Joseph Muscat.
The former Education Minister will be tasked with upgrading Maltastar, which today is edited by former MEP Glenn Bedingfield. The chairman of Maltastar is Stefan Zrinzo Azzopardi, the party’s president.
Labour sources say that Mr Bartolo will not replace either and both will be involved in reforming the website.
Maltastar was originally launched by Dr Muscat as an evening electronic newspaper in 2001. It was later revamped as a constantly updated news site but has recently become a notice board for You Tube versions of One News features.
The hierarchical changes in Labour’s media had been proposed last year after an internal review. Back then, Dr Zrinzo Azzopardi and Mr Bedingfield feared they were being sidelined and the party decided to prioritise the reform of One News over that of Maltastar, sources said.
The plan was that a successor for Mr Bartolo at One News would be chosen and the role would be handed over by December of this year, but the process seems to have been accelerated.
When contacted, Mr Bartolo confirmed that he would be replaced by Mr Farrugia. He declined to give more information but added, jokingly: “My death (from One News) has been announced prematurely. I’m going to be around for a while longer.”
Meanwhile, Labour sources, who confirmed the changes, said the website has now become a priority for the party and that Mr Bartolo was the best person for the job.
The party considers Mr Bartolo’s efforts at refreshing One News to have been a success.
While the sources were cagey when asked to identify the problems in the website’s current management, the party does not seem to blame Dr Zrinzo Azzopardi, who one source described as “the driving force in keeping Maltastar alive”.
“He will oversee the changes at Maltastar and remain chairman of the company,” the source said.
However, it is not yet known how the position of Mr Bedingfield will be affected by this reform.
Mr Bartolo, who took a very active role during the divorce debate, has become increasingly close to Dr Muscat despite having contested against him for the party’s leadership in 2008.