Since its heydays under the Rediffusion company, broadcasting in Malta has always been marred with political and legal controversies, the intensity and the gravity of which varied through different eras.
In the early 1990s, the Nationalist government ushered in a new and a long-awaited era of broadcast pluralism. The Broadcasting Authority, however, disagreed with the political parties’ interpretation that having two separate political stations is a balancing act of impartiality. Consequently, both parties, which were already publishing daily and Sunday newspapers, began transmitting through their own radio and television stations.
On January 2, 2010, Kevin Aquilina, an academic and a seasoned practitioner in broadcasting, had no qualms on the sector. This is how he concluded a very pragmatic paper: “One expects a quantum leap forward in the broadcasting sector intended to enshrine in our law a more updated legal framework which respects freedom of expression in a democratic society under the rule of law and ensures that viewers/listeners/consumers of the broadcasting media are given what they deserve: quality programmes which respect their intelligence.”
In 2011, the Broadcasting Authority marked its 50th anniversary. One of the events it held to mark the occasion was an international conference. President Emeritus George Abela, one of the speakers at the conference, aptly described the broadcasting regulatory scene as follows:
“Even in the field of Maltese broadcasting law, there are certain anomalies which need to be addressed, most notably the discrepancy between the Broadcasting Act and the Constitution where balance in broadcasting is concerned... Impartiality, transparency and accountability should be the hallmark of all broadcasting authorities whose existence is justified only if they serve the public good. In order to achieve this goal, broadcasting authorities should be free to exercise their functions impartially and without fear or favour.”
Both Aquilina and Abela made some very diligent and compelling contributions to the subject.
On March 23, 2012, the editorial of this newspaper focused on local political parties’ stations: “Most of what they dish out, particularly in their prime time programmes, is hardly of any news value. They revel in political commentaries loaded with so much one-sided material slanted in a way that is meant to constantly put the other party in a bad light, that many of the viewers have become distrustful of the programmes and, consequently, of the stations.”
And what about PBS?
On The Sunday Times of Malta of April 8, 2012, even former Labour Cabinet minister Lino Spiteri admitted that, in Malta, the “political class, particularly that part of it in office, has been pampered ever since TVM went on air. The time has come for that to end”.
On June 1, 2012, all PBS producers and contributors, in terms of both in-house or outsourced programmes, were required to abide by the station’s Guidelines on the Obligation of Due Impartiality.
Malta should be given what it truly deserves with regard to broadcasting
On June 6, 2013, Times of Malta carried an article titled ‘Dissecting the PN’s dramatic defeat’. It was reported that the Nationalist Party formally acknowledged that “it relied on the State broadcaster but this worked against the party when people felt PBS programmes were all in favour of the administration”.
Audience ratings for PBS seem to augur well, at least for the short-term. But digital technology and foreign media sources pose unprecedented competition. As a consequence of the millions of euros spent in the setting up of its ‘creativity hub’, PBS now shoulders a far greater responsibility and accountability towards taxpayers.
While justifying and wisely securing the hefty ‘investment’, PBS ought to sustain and even boost the progress registered over the past two years.
As a public broadcaster it must also strive harder to move closer to Lord Reith’s commandment, namely, to “inform, educate and entertain”.
But can this leap forward be achieved under its current structure? Does it have the correct mix of outsourced programmes and in-house productions? Is PBS training, empowering and trusting its staff so that it will have a truly motivated and engaged workforce?
In a year when Malta is celebrating its birth as an independent and free nation with a Republican constitution, let’s give our island what it truly deserves with regard to broadcasting.
Political consensus on the way forward is a prime requisite.
Tony Micallef is a former broadcaster.