The position of the PN media on what adverts they accept reflects the policy adopted by the party on the issue of divorce, Nationalist General Secretary Paul Borg Olivier has said.
He also insisted it “is at the absolute discretion of Medialink Communications to allow space for paid adverts in its various media”.
Rebutting accusations by PN MP Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando that Medialink Communications had refused paid adverts from the pro-divorce lobby, Dr Borg Olivier said no “formal” request had been made.
However, Dr Pullicino Orlando stood by his claim in a statement yesterday, saying: “I personally asked Dr Borg Olivier to give us a paid, prime-time advert on Net TV and he turned us down.”
Dr Pullicino Orlando also said he spoke personally to the deputy editor of Il-Mument, asking him to forward a request for paid adverts in Medialink papers, and was later informed this was turned down too. Dr Borg Olivier said the only request made to him by Dr Pullicino Orlando was to advertise on Net TV right before the 7.45 p.m. news bulletin, a few days before an event of the pro-divorce movement, scheduled for April 10. He said: “No other formal request for a paid advert was made, except for an informal one through one of the media deputy editors.”
When asked whether the adverts would have been turned down, irrespective of whether the requests were formal or not, Dr Borg Olivier insisted the policy of the PN media reflected the party’s stand against divorce.
Dr Borg Olivier added, however, that its editorial policy distinguished between paid adverts and the acceptance of divergent views in its newspaper.
“Notwithstanding the PN’s position against the introduction of divorce, its media has always faithfully reported the events and statements of both movements and would continue to do so. “The PN media will keep on offering space and respecting divergent views on the issue of divorce through opinions and articles in the spirit of the motion approved by the party in the executive,” Dr Borg Olivier said.
The fact that no complaints have been lodged against the PN station and newspapers by any of the movements was a clear indication of the PN media’s fair reporting on the issue, he said. Dr Borg Olivier pointed out that the PN newspaper Il-Mument has been giving space to the head of the pro-divorce movement, Deborah Schembri, every fortnight at no charge to freely express her position in favour of divorce.
The outburst by Dr Pullicino Orlando was in reaction to a question from a PN media journalist during a press conference on Tuesday, in which he asked if pro-divorce TV spots had been produced by One Productions, the Labour Party media.
The MP retaliated, saying the PN media had refused their adverts, while offering the anti-divorce lobby free ones – an allegation the Marriage Without Divorce movement immediately denied.
Meanwhile, at another press conference by the Iva campaign in Gozo yesterday, Dr Schembri said the introduction of divorce law would bring about a drop in annulment applications because couples would not have to go through the whole “martyrdom” to have the chance to remarry.