Joseph Mizzi has been reinstated as chairman of state broadcaster PBS, 24-hours after the Press Ethics Commission rapped the editor of the Sunday newspaper Illum and found her guilty of character assassination.
The government announced Mr Mizzi's reappointment in a statement in which it also thanked Kenneth Pullicino who had been serving as an acting chairman since May, when Mr Mizzi resigned. He remains deputy chairman.
Mr Mizzi had resigned on May 23 after Illum carried a story about him having been in an apparent drunk state,
The commission found editor Julia Farrugia had acted unethically when she published damaging information and footage about Mr Mizzi without verifying the facts.
Mr Mizzi had complained against Ms Farrugia over an article published in Illum on May 22. The article, entitled Iċ-Chairman tal-PBS Patata (PBS chairman was drunk). The report was accompanied by a series of photos showing him in a bad state following an after-party organised by the European Broadcasting Union in Düsseldorf at the Eurovision Song Contest.
The newspaper’s news portal also uploaded footage showing Mr Mizzi falling to the ground and lying flat in what looked like an apparent state of drunkenness. This led to Mr Mizzi’s resignation just 14 months into his appointment as chairman.
Mr Mizzi has indicated that his drink may have been spiked.
He told the Commission that he did not drink excessively that evening and friends even teased him when he ordered a Coca Cola. He testified that he had left his Coke unattended when he approached the Azerbaijan delegation at the party at about 4 a.m.
The commission noted that although Mr Mizzi was a public figure, and it was the responsibility of the media to expose any bad behaviour, in this case Ms Farrugia had failed to verify the complete story and presented a misleading picture of what may have happened.
While it was not the role of the commission to determine what actually happened, it noted that Mr Mizzi had told Illum, when contacted before publication, that he had a stomach bug and had not exceeded his drinking limit.
It added that Ms Farrugia wanted to produce a sensational story and the aim of the story’s publication, including captions and photos, was to attack the reputation of Mr Mizzi as PBS chairman. As a result, he suffered serious consequences.
Mr Mizzi has also filed a criminal complaint asking Police Commissioner John Rizzo to investigate the incident. Investigations are still ongoing.