"We interrupt this reality show to bring you some bogus stuff" was the caption in a recent Ziggy cartoon. The speech bubble was coming out of a television set with its back to the reader, so we do not know who was supposed to be saying it.

However, it seems to me that, the way some local media personalities interpret it, even reality is bogus.

One tiny example: it is 'not natural' to wash cats. Ah, but then it is 'natural' to dress up dogs in designer gear.

The 'Station of the Nation' remains by far the worst offender where the use of the dreaded word familjari is concerned. The rot has permeated the news division, the sports section and even the obituary forms such that the people who read what they did not write think it would cause bad blood between them and the scriptwriters (or are they on automatic pilot?) to edit as they go along.

We all know how the Broadcasting Authority comes down like the proverbial tonne of bricks upon those who incur its wrath for various reasons. But what amazes me is that 'violence' and other no-nos have a watershed when it comes to television, but apparently not on radio.

We pride ourselves in being a bi-lingual nation. So children are bound to understand risqué jokes made in English (and if they don't, they are probably bound to ask what the innuendo or punch-lines mean).

They might also ask for the clarification of certain phrases in clips that are lifted from foreign newsservices, in programmes where platter-chatter is dished out together with 'news items' that are intended to shock rather than inform.

What makes this attitude worse is that just for good measure, the said clip is translated into Maltese, so that we buy-one-get-one-free, just in case we would not have understood the gist of the English version.

One of my bugbears has always been the fact that donations to L-Istrina were often made by people who hoped to win one of the gifts offered by sponsors. My complaints were often met by a 'that's the way it is' attitude.

Enter Dr George Abela as President, and patron of the Community Chest Fund, and, finally, the much-needed change was wrought.

Marica Mizzi, head of communications at the Office of the President, said: "The President insisted from day one that when one gives something, one ought never to expect anything in return. The Malta Community Chest Fund is the national philanthropic society that reaches out to individuals and NGOs. The MCCF supports many different causes, and President Abela believes that our society does not need compensation by way of gifts when one wants to donate to those really in need. One ought simply to offer support for a cause in which he believes."

This year, the producers of Replay, NET Television's weekly two-hour football show, will be organising Gowl għall-Istrina, a triangular football tournament intended to raise more funds through fun. This will take place tomorrow, and battling it out will be specially-selected teams comprising players who, at some point in their lives, have been touched by football.

The event will be held under the patronage of Dr Abela, who will literally kick-start the match. There will be three matches of 30 minutes duration, and comperes will be Louise Tedesco and Ronald Briffa. Entrance is free, but spectators might wish to pay for the pleasure of watching the show by making a donation.

I hear there will also be some kind of bike-a-thon, where personalities from different audio/visual media are being invited to pedal away on a stationary bike; the number of SMSs received will 'make' them do this for longer.

Anyone whose favourite channel really is Favourite Channel has now acquired bonus time. This station has combined with the Malta Media Online Network such that viewers may access video clips of the main news features online. One may also watch live webcasting of the station at www.favouritechannel.tv.

This video-on-demand service was originally 'an experiment' initiated in June, during the European Parliament elections. The most popular news videos attracted a few thousand clicks in the span of a few hours. When I asked Toni Sant, creative director of the Malta Media Online Network, about this collaboration, he said, "We have chosen to synergise the Malta Media Online Network with Favourite Channel TV because we see huge potential in the convergence of local traditional TV and our online news and information services. Both our companies are small in terms of resources, yet we have solid experience and a pioneering vision. Maltamedia.com was launched in 1998, as the first online news service in Malta."

Manuel Micallef, chief executive officer of Favourite Channel TV, added: "Notwithstanding our limited resources, we strongly believe that through our collaboration with Malta Media Online Network we can achieve our medium-term target of promoting interactivity between television and internet. Our recent experience had shown that through the expertise of Malta Media and our professional set-up, not only can we reach a wider audience, but we can jointly come up with innovative initiatives that blend the traditional with state-of-the-art technological advances, reflecting the digital era in broadcasting."

television@timesofmalta.com