This morning PBS announced that TVM presenters have been told in anonymous letters that come Monday morning, when Labour is in government, they will be swept out of TVM.“Nixkanawkom il-barra mill-istazzjon” was the phrase used in letters sent to the presenters as a prelude to the election weekend.

The letters claimed the station militates against the Labour Party.

On the other hand, Joseph Muscat reportedly issued a stern warning to trouble makers and thugs. He said that such trouble makers would not be tolerated and that such people weere causing a great disservice to the Partit Laburista. He emphasised that such people would be reported to the police.

This warning is something positive and should be lauded. However, one notes that the Labour media is guilty of reportage that can inflame passions. It is a great pity that the Dr Muscat’s attempts to restrain the party’s own media through a code of ethics have not succeeded.

It is pertinent to note that the Labour Party weekly Kullhadd, its electronic sister Maltastar and the GWU media over the past months not only systematically attacked the PBS stations but also targeted particular journalists. PBS noted that since the October, Kulhadd and Maltastar carried over 120 articles attacking TVM, its management and journalists.

I wish to show my solidarity with the journalists in question. I have myself been at the receiving end of character assassination and intimidation campaigns by the Labour media, particularly before the 1996 general elections. Those who conduct such campaigns seem to be ignorant of the fact that any journalist worth his salt will not be intimidated.

One hopes that Dr Muscat succeeds in controlling the hot heads within the Partit Laburista.

One also hopes that in the coming days the media of both political parties will do their utmost to calm their suppporters instead of the other way around.