The Broadcasting Authority has this endearing habit of summoning people it would have considered to have erred, at its convenience, for a hearing. Currently, the list of those who are alleged to have committed misdemeanours includes six charges against TVM, three against One TV, one against Smash TV, and two against Net TV, and, in what I am told could be a first, one charge against Radju Malta. And the ridiculous stuff on UTV is not penalised.
My friend Maureen, in fact, took the trouble to record a couple of 'talent' shows for me, and what I saw flew in the face of all the promises that had been made to me, by the owner of the station, that these would be curtailed.
Incidentally, there hangs a hefty fine upon the head of anyone who does not turn up for their BA hearing. People do tend to try and avoid having to pay this, and brave the elements and defer or cancel other appointments, in order to be there. But if this person turns up, and the hearing is not on, they are required to be present at the postponement, with not one euro-cent of the fine being forgiven as a token of goodwill.
The Times paper recently carried a letter to the effect that PBS needs to pull up its socks, yet again regarding the weekly news bulletin broadcast to Australia through SBS TV.
I listened to the interview which Malta's High Commissioner in Australia, Francis Tabone, gave to Marlene Galea about this topic, and the picture that emerged was somewhat different from the one the writer would have had us believe.
Ms Galea referred to the topic as "hot", and indicated that there was often a time-lapse of two weeks between the event and its being broadcast.
Mr Tabone said that if PBS cuts it fine, as happened on Christmas Day and on New Year's Eve, the chances are that the latest news would not be broadcast, and that created even more bad blood. There is a Friday deadline, and when this is not met, the programme does not go out.
SBS had an agreement with PBS to be sent a 30-minute bulletin for broadcast on Sunday morning at 9 sharp. This used to be sent by courier - and sometimes did not arrive at all. At the insistence of SBS, the bulletin was sent two weeks in advance - and this backfired upon the credibility of PBS, because consequently, the news bulletin was stale by the time it was aired.
And since comparisons are odious, Maltese expatriates were not satisfied with what was being given, especially when they compared it with news from other countries, broadcast practically in real time because it was being received by satellite... but this system is too expensive for Malta to initiate as yet.
PBS sources insist that SBS does not, shall we say, go out of its way to co-operate with PBS. I would say that when someone offers you a free service, you milk it to the hilt, to mix a metaphor, without expecting further assistance.
They still insist that the material delivered unto them is on Beta tapes, and will not agree to download material from PBS. So, after it arrives in Australia from Malta via the Internet, the bulletin has to be downloaded and converted, before being forwarded. Since SBS does not download from the Internet, PBS has to go through intermediaries in Australia.
During the trial run, the "quality hurdles" of transmission and sound were overcome, except for a couple of occasions, which my contacts in Australia also confirm.
Just for the record, it is the staff at the Maltese High Commission and the subcontracted company in Australia that do most of the work involved in the protocols.
Eventually, however, the system will involve news being pushed through the Internet, not pulled out of it. This will happen "within days", my PBS sources tell me, when the new, improved Website is up and running. Shall we hold our breath?
I shudder when people take pot-shots at one another - at least, unless they would have smelled their own armpits beforehand.
The columnist sniped at the soprano, denigrating her concert. She bristled; and her response included the mention of his by-line. This is rich, considering that she uses a stage name. How much easier life must be for those of us who put our names to what we write.
This was a week when the gossip mill was grinding fast and fine; these rumours, in no particular order, at least, are true:
Eileen Montesin will be presenting the Dopo (Eurovision) Festival programme, on January 27 at 3 p.m.' Andrea Cassar and Warren Brimmer will be getting married in May.
Natalie Gauci will be the star guest at the Malta Song for Europe finals.
Mark Doneo and his troupe are into filming the final three weeks' worth of Mirjana Coljerò. In what will probably be the biggest scene in local drama, Episode 13 offers a glimpse of the 1429 siege of Mdina, with a 100-strong cast and a crew just shy of 30.
DeeMedia.tv Ltd is behind the production of the award-winning author Joseph A. Cachia's new drama series, It-Tmien Nota, which will begin airing on TVM on Tuesday at 8.45 p.m., under the visual direction of Fabian Mizzi.
Bella's story is set in the esoteric world of classical music, which like its parallel universe, the world of the media, can be a jungle populated with vermin. Starring the fantastically versatile Ruth Sammut Casingena and Theresa Gauci, this is a multifaceted tale of ambition, jealousy, spite, revenge... and ultimately, success... although not before a murder takes place. The title of the series comes from a quote from Bella, a victim of her own success, who says: "Throughout my life, music has been my only solace; yet at this point, the seven notes did not suffice; I needed the eighth one." Meanwhile, Louise tries to live vicariously through her daughter, crippling her emotionally.
television@timesofmalta.com