"Look at you. Half your visage is covered with facial hair; half of it is hidden by a pair of sunspecs..."

This was but one sentence from a conversation about how a print article (especially ones like this) must be accompanied by a photograph, and not a caricature or an Avatar, in order to confer credibility upon its writer.

Apart from the fact that a newspaper would end up looking like a photo gallery were this to be actuated, we all know there are different reasons why columnists do not always use photographs - or even real names - for their work. In any case, a photograph may be morphed midway between your own and someone else's likeness, to create a totally new countenance.

Credibility comes through other things - the fact that one does not play favourites; the fact that one acquires information from the sources it mentions and then double-checks even that; and the fact that you do not sign your name to something someone else has written.

This is especially important in an opinion column such as this one. Indeed, I am sick and tired of reading half-truths that are being fed to journalists of late, and misinformation that is bandied about by those who just copy-and-paste bits and bobs from other people's work.

Citing 'other commitments', Clare Thake Vassallo has asked not to be re-appointed chairperson of Public Broadcasting Services, after a two-year term expired. The new incumbent is Joseph Mizzi.

Incidentally, the name of one of the people on the (relatively) new board is being misspelled by several writers - how do they expect us to trust what they have to say in other matters, seeing that they cannot be bothered to verify such a simple issue?

The board members are Josef Grech, Anson Aquilina, Isabelle Gatt, Kenneth Pullicino and Claire Azzopardi, and the board secretary is lawyer Joseph Refalo.

Meanwhile, Dr Thake Vassallo will retain a consultative capacity on the PBS board, in connection with several projects that she had set in motion.

"Among (these projects) is the very recent arrangement with the EBU for prices for programmes which small countries can afford. TVM is benefitting from this with the imminent World Cup package. There are other projects with EBU that should be followed up. I also signed a production agreement with CCTV China which needs follow through, among other initiatives," Dr Thake Vassallo said.

The swift appointment of Mr Mizzi, so soon after Dr Thake Vassallo's resignation, is quite a change from the usual leisurely manner in which things are done at the State broadcaster.

Of course, one cannot expect a new chief executive just yet, seeing that the contract of the previous one has not yet expired. This, in itself, has been the cause of much conjecturing on the part of those who have nothing better to do than plant rumours.

The term of the board is of one year; in my opinion, it needs to be at least three times that to implement any changes envisaged by the chairman, let alone come to fruition.

Meanwhile, this is the month in which the term of the PBS editorial board expires, and therefore, the rumours have been flying fast and furiously. Despite the fact that the function of the said board is also supposed to be 'consultative', there appears to be great interest as to which of the members will be retained, who will be let go, and who the new appointees will be.

Crime historian Eddie Attard will be back on TVM with Reati. This is a six-episode docudrama series, with each episode containing three vignettes, depicting crimes that occurred locally.

Inevitably, there will be crimes of passion - but there will also be infanticide and thefts from holy places aggravated by violence. This, however, has been kept to a minimum to respect the watershed, and to command a wider audience. Narration is by Ġorġ Peresso. Cases will be discussed by legal and forensics experts.

What makes this concept interesting is that the talent scouts did their job properly - they scoured the streets and other places for 'faces' of characters, rather than relying on the hackneyed method of using well-known actors because they command an audience.

Incidentally, the casting of an 'unknown' as the eponymous child was one of the many things that made the Passion play Tamara such a success. I would suggest that these seasonal dramas be aired on E22 instead of certain programmes that have bad visuals and sound, and repeats of repeats.

Where or not you agree with the domes over the Unesco World Heritage Sites Ħaġar Qim and Mnajdra, Tempji għall-Kenn, which will be broadcast on TVM next Wednesday at 10 p.m. is worth watching. This opus is produced by Studio 7 Limited in collaboration with Heritage Malta.

It features the building of the aforementioned protective shelters, meant to guard against further pollution, erosion, and heat stress. This project was co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund.

As with the City Gate project, some laud the result as a 'feat of engineering' - others, fond of awful puns, say that upon seeing it, our ancestors would have run for cover.

And here is a tiny reminder that television may be bad for your health; television remote controls in hotel rooms harbour more germs than toilet seats, computer keyboards or mattresses. The solution is easy - a custom cover sold as a 'sanitary solution to germ-infested TV remotes' ... or a plastic bag.