The press is there to communicate

Even in this era dominated by the internet, social media and citizen journalism, the traditional press still has a leading role to play when it comes to communicate and to put one’s message across. This is evident when a major event is approaching and the organisers want to publicise it.

The political parties are, of course, no exception. They are masters in using the media and their strategists work closely with spin doctors – unless they are one and the same – to push their campaign forward and to paint their adversaries in as bad a picture as possible.

This gains momentum, and, unfortunately, risks becoming nasty or, rather, nastier, the closer we get to an election.

The Labour Party seems to have been in election mode ever since Joseph Muscat succeeded Alfred Sant as leader.

The Nationalist Party says the election is not around the corner, even if its actions indicate otherwise. The precarious situation it has found itself in, as internal dissatisfaction and dissent grows, makes an early election quite a political reality if not a necessity.

For quite some time, the PL has been calling press conferences practically on a daily basis. The PN has not followed suit, though that may be changing. In fact, this week, its general secretary called two press conferences in as many days, both on the same subject – the Mistra development scandal.

In addition, statements and counter-statements flow freely and politicians make constant public appearances, not to mention the regular political events presided over by the leaders, at least on a weekly basis.

This is, of course, healthy because a thriving democracy demands that both the government and the government-in-waiting are constantly accountable. Also, it is imperative that the electorate is kept well informed to be able to make the right decisions when polling day comes.

It is not a matter of the press being at the beck and call of the political parties or these being at the mercy of the media. They both have a role to play and a duty towards society that they serve, each in their own way.

The political parties are expected to present and explain their programmes to the public and the press owes it to society to report fairly and truthfully. But that does not mean that the parties should consider the press as merely some sort of noticeboard or billboard.

When political parties decide to call the press to cover an event they are putting themselves at their disposal and that includes the likelihood that inquisitive journalists would want to ask questions that may not be directly related to the topic of the event in question. Yet, there have been instances – the latest examples being the press conferences addressed by the PN general secretary this week – where questions put by pressmen at such occasions are rejected as “irrelevant” or “out of order”.

They may be deemed “irrelevant” by the party exponent handling the event but very relevant by the journalist and, probably, even by society in general.

That is not to say that a politician is forced to answer a question but, at least, s/he should have the decency to say s/he would not want to reply rather than unilaterally decide that the question is “irrelevant”. Voters can then draw their own conclusions.

There is very little sense in boasting of the right to information and/or a Freedom of Information Act if some politicians, including prominent ones, fail to fully understand the function of the press.