The Caruana Galizia murder has served to focus attention on the state of the press in Malta. A lot of exaggeration and incorrect information has been published about this issue but it has helped to highlight certain problems that afflict the press in Malta and which need to be urgently addressed.

Let me start with the politicisation of the press in Malta. Obviously, we did not need the European Parliament’s PANA Committee to make us aware of something that has been obvious for many years. Many of us have been writing about this but it is now a very serious problem that has been exacerbated by the intrusion of political parties in all aspects of the work of the press in Malta.

The ordinary layman who is not involved in politics cannot imagine the extent of the pressure exerted by political parties on what is reported in the media. Indeed, many media reports are tailor-made to fit a particular political agenda without any regard to the actual facts or even to the people involved.

I distinctly remember once chairing a seminar where a politician and three other experts were invited. One of the experts gave a particularly interesting presentation. Incredibly, the media reports gave great prominence to the speech by the politician and totally excluded the expert. It was as if he had never participated in the seminar.

The next day he phoned me to express his disgust at being treated in this shabby manner. Unfortunately, this is a common occurrence in Malta. To be fair, not everyone involved in the work of the press is guilty of being a political lackey, but many are.

One must also mention the fact that in Malta there is still the tendency to approach many press matters with a conservative, parochial mindset. Really good investigative journalism cannot be inhibited by such stupidities as diluting a report so as not to offend someone because everyone knows everyone else in Malta.

The most important point remains that of ensuring total freedom of the press

I was amazed recently to note that this inhibition extends even to certain aspects of sports journalism. A sports reporter commented on air that he was being restrained in his comments about the former national football team coach so as not to be too negative! This was said in the context of a disastrous World Cup campaign where Malta finished bottom of its group.

Investigative journalism has to be unfettered to be effective. Its only constraint should be its code of ethics. In other words, if I am a reporter criticising a public figure, I must not involve others who are totally innocent in that person’s actions, like his wife and children.

Neither should I resort to that bane of modern journalism: fake news. Fake news has always been part and parcel of Maltese journalism, especially when reporting about politics. However, it is the increase in the amount of fake news being circulated that is really worrying. For instance, in the political sphere, many Maltese are today baffled by what to believe and what to disbelieve when faced with media reports.

One of the most important aspects of democracy is freedom of the press. We should never denigrate members of the press for carrying out their duty. Even when we vehemently disagree with something that appears in the media, we should still show respect.

That is why the murder of Daphne Caruana Galizia was so horrifying: because she was silenced because of what she had written. Now I was one who totally disagreed with her views and even her style of writing but I still respected her and feel total revulsion by the way she was silenced.

Unfortunately, the advent of the social media has meant that many people who lack control over their emotions can now disseminate even the most stupid ideas to an enormous audience. We have had several instances of people posting unethical comments and not realising that this means of communication is a public one which should not be abused but used responsibly. Many who disseminate their ideas through the social media, do so without having any sense of ethics.

I myself have often had problems with using the social media. I regularly post political messages on Facebook without offending anybody. However, I am often inundated with comments supporting my message but in a totally undesirable manner such as offending in the most blatant manner someone I criticised in my post.

The end result is that I often delete my post altogether rather than leave it online with insulting comments or having to waste a lot of time monitoring every single comment and deleting the offending ones.

To conclude, I have tried to highlight some aspects of the situation of the press in Malta. The most important point remains that of ensuring total freedom of the press, respect for its members and a professional approach to the dissemination of information. The press is a cornerstone of democracy.

Desmond Zammit Marmarà is a Balzan Labour councillor.