I was reading an interview with Nicola Benedetti, the 26-year-old violin virtuoso, holder of an MBE, who, at 16, was the BBC’s Young Musician of the Year.

Apart from discussing music, the interviewer brought out the political side of Benedetti. She spoke about the situation concerning the state of arts funding; what she describes as a lack of discipline among young people and the debate on sexism in the classical music scene.

Seeing how opinionated she is, the interviewer asked her whether she was interested in becoming a member of Parliament, to which Benedetti replied: “I don’t know, because I see so much untruth being spoken I would worry that, if I stepped in that direction, I would end up playing a media game and I would rather do something else.”

I was not surprised that this is how politics is viewed by an intelligent, successful, young person.

In my work and life I deal with people who have a similar perspective on politics. There is a lot of truth in her observation.

The media game is an intrinsic part of politics. It always has been. In a time when newspapers and other mass media did not exist, the ancient Greeks used coins as a medium for disseminating the political propaganda of their choice. Today, the immediacy and ubiquity of modern mass media make competition tougher and, thus, the game gets rougher.

Benedetti’s statement brought to mind an article I read recently, written by - the much older and more experienced in the field of politics - former State senator and political journalism professor, George Bachrach.

Bachrach’s piece, Stop Covering Politics As If It’s A Game, validates Benedetti’s statement.

He makes the point that politics is not a game. “It’s great if a candidate can be inspiring. But there are serious issues at stake and real differences between the candidates. It’s more important we’re clear that candidates say what they mean and mean what they say on important issues. How about that for a new standard?”

Bachrach speaks about politics not being reality TV. That running for public office is no piece of cake and politicians - rightly so - subject themselves to scrutiny. But it’s not just that, politicians are also exposed to “ever-increasing cynicism and ridicule”.

Those who shout the loudest stupidity sometimes do get the big headlines they so crave

He questions who in his or her right senses would opt for a life in politics. And then, on the other hand, asks what will happen to democracy if there are no people ready to do this.

“If candidates deserve to be held accountable, so too must the media whose prism we use to view the process. The media is fixated on the ‘game’ of politics…”

He goes on to remind us that writing about serious issues is not about “entertainment value”. Issues that touch people’s lives directly, such as work, housing, healthcare and foreign affairs, are “complicated and nuanced” but it’s true that polling and name-calling are “sexier”.

News media tell us that viewers and readers don’t want to hear about serious issues.

“They love the game and want to be entertained.”

Bachrach asks whether this is what we really want. He does not believe it to be so.

He thus goes on to point out that if those running for office don’t like this kind of thing why do they run foul campaigns?

Bachrach answers his own question: “Candidates know if they hold a news conference offering their views on serious issues, few if any media outlets will show up. But if they issue a statement calling the other guy an extremist and an empty suit, everyone will cover it.

“The same is true of debates and paid advertising. It’s Pavlovian. Candidates learn not to waste their time promoting a positive message. The media (and public) want ‘red meat’… so they deliver. If the news media prized substance, and put it on page one, (trust me) candidates would deliver that instead.”

This, of course, is a generalisation, as Bachrach himself asserts, but he also says that thoughtful journalists are going against the current. It is because the game is on all the time with the worst offenders being failed candidates and wannabe politicians who want to leave their mark at all cost. Those who shout the loudest stupidity sometimes do get the big headlines they so crave, even if they don’t know what they’re talking about. Facts are not checked and a dramatic title does attract attention, even if it’s an untruth.

It happened the other week here when the death of SMEs was solemnly announced by one of the aforementioned, who was not even present at meetings when this death sentence was supposed to have been pronounced. Of course, he got it all wrong.

But, then, that’s the media game for you.

Helena Dalli is Minister for Social Dialogue, Consumer Affairs and Civil Liberties.