The Broadcasting Authority yesterday condemned the State television for withdrawing, at the last minute, two of its journalists from chairing a series of election debates scheduled to start today.
The regulator deemed the move ‘irresponsible’ behaviour that caused logistical problems and interfered with its constitutional obligations towards the public
Public Broadcasting Services, which runs TVM, insisted that its journalists could only participate in programmes where they would be able to ask questions as opposed to simply chair an event, the regulator said.
In a statement last night, the broadcasting watchdog said everything was in place to start the series of debates after an arrangement was reached with the PBS chief executive.
They agreed that PBS journalists Reno Bugeja and Ruth Amaira would chair the debates. The first one, planned for tonight, included a debate between Finance Minister Tonio Fenech and Labour MP Chris Cardona.
However, fewer than 24 hours before the programme was set to be recorded (at 3pm today), PBS informed the Broadcasting Authority that it had directed its journalists not to simply chair programmes.
The regulator deemed such a move “irresponsible” behaviour that caused logistical problems and interfered with its constitutional obligations towards the public.
This is the second clash, within a few days, between the regulator and PBS. Two Saturdays ago, TVM’s Dissett was meant to air an interview with Labour deputy leader Louis Grech. This did not take place after the Nationalist Party objected.
Last Saturday, Dissett aired a debate between party deputy leaders Simon Busuttil and Mr Grech in line with a Broadcasting Authority recommendation but not before the two bickered over the interpretation of the word “recommendation”.
The two are at loggerheads over which has the prerogative to determine the participants that appear on political and current affairs programmes.
PBS claims the programmes’ producers should decide but the broadcasting watchdog had ruled last October it was up to political parties to decide who represented them.