Exploring the Maltese Media Landscape

Last Tuesday the Strickland Foundation hosted the launch of the book Exploring the Maltese Media Landscape. The book was edited by me together with Adrian Hillman and Mary Anne Lauri. It is the first collection of studies carried out by 14 leading Maltese academics wholly dedicated to the study of different aspects of the Maltese mediascape.

The book has a preface by President Emeritus Prof Guido DeMarco.

The editors are actively involved with Malta's main print and broadcasting media as well as in teaching different aspects of media studies at the University of Malta.

The book has been published at an interesting point in the development of broadcasting in Malta. The provisions of the Audio Visual Media Services Directive of the EU has to become part of our legislation by the end of the year. By the end of next year Malta will be effecting the digital switchover in the TV area. The government has to negotiate the public service agreement with PBS Ltd. Meanwhile, a select committee of Parliament is discussing among other things, the future of broadcasting structures. It will look at the governance of PBS, the composition of the Broadcasting Authority and the future of politically owned stations.

Structures and technology

Dr Lauri looked at the changing media in Maltese society in the light of different paradigms of mass media research, while I gave an overview of Malta's mediascape. The digital revolution surrounding - not to say engulfing - us, together with the legal and political developments which are happening should provide us with the possibility of effecting a new beginning to our broadcasting landscape.

Dr Toni Sant described the characteristics of growing up in the global village studies and the implications of the Internet revolution. We talk a lot about illegal immigrants but we generally forget the fact that the digital revolution is making many of us digital immigrants in our own culture. The digital natives are generally the young people although Sant has an unusual take on that one.

Generally, we use TV to watch the news or watch entertainment programmes. TV is also useful as a language teacher. Dr Sandro Caruana showed how TV helped the Maltese learn Italian. The increase in the use of the new Internet media will probably change this trend as the most commonly used language of these media is English. This will probably take some time since, according to research carried out by Dr Sandra Dingli and Shirly Pulis Xerxen, Maltese children still use TV as their main medium. However, the new media will probably are giving new scope to satirical cartoonists as Dr Gorg Mallia aptly explained.

New marketing strategies, as Prof Albert Caruana argued, opened new possibilities to our firms, only if they take them up.

One law, one regulator, one court

Prof Kevin Aquilina gave a wide panorama of the laws and structures regulating all different aspects of the media in Malta and made his case for "one media law, one convergent media regulator and one media court." The logic is very simple: converged technology is better governed by a converged regulator.

Dr Carmen Sammut analysed the role of political parties in broadcasting. She saw a role for renewed media organizations run by political parties alongside commercial organizations and public broadcasters.

I will be addressing this topic in the soon-to-be published book INSERVI - a book in honour of one of Malta's greatest citizens: Dr Eddie Fenech Adami. My chapter entitled "Beyond the Paradise Lost, Paradise Regained Syndrome" makes concrete proposals for this sector as well as for the sector of public service broadcasting.

We do not need more political control as is being proposed by some. I think that the setting up of the Editorial Board was another step guaranteeing editorial independence for PBS. The next step should be a charter on the lines of the BBC charter. Besides the financing model of PBS should be changed so that it is assured that most of its income comes from public money and not from commercial sources.

Stereotypes are dangerous

Three different chapters discuss gender (by Dr Brenda Murphy), vulnerable people (Christina Borg and Joe Camilleri) and youths (by Dr Marylyn Clark). The research done by these different authors shows that all these segments are stereotyped in one way or another. Many people do not take stereotyping seriously. They are wrong to do so. These writers show that stereotyping is dangerous and harmful.

What can we do?

The answer lies in media education. Dr Griscti in his research with young people in Malta said that students who did good programmes of media education are much better prepared to handle the media and their content. A lot has been done in this area, especially by Church schools. More should be done, especially by state schools. Active and mature citizenship happens only when citizens are media educated.

Where can you but the book:

Exploring the Maltese Media Landscape.

Editors: Joseph Borg, Adrian Hillman, Mary Anne Lauri.

Publishers. Allied Publications

The book can be bought on line from the "books" section of www.timesofmalta.com for the price of €9.95.