I intended to write this article last Friday, but I didn’t have time and space due to the other more pressing news items of last week.
Last Friday, on Press Freedom Day, the Institute of Maltese Journalists, headed by MaltaToday editor Kurt Sansone, issued a press statement insisting on the importance of recognising the media as the fourth pillar of democracy in the constitution. Practically, and materially this is a gimmick that won’t have any affect on the press industry or journalism in Malta as whole. The law, proposed by the government and endorsed by a fake consultative committee appointed by Robert Abela, will introduce new legal provisions against the publication of “private details” of individuals.
Primarily, Labour wants to pass a press reform to introduce a new press restriction on “private matters”. There is, strangely enough, little push-back about this reform from the press, but the reality is that the Institute of Maltese Journalists has never been a pinnacle of press freedom in Malta, either. Malta still lacks an independent organisation that actively and professionally fights for journalists and supports them. Then there is the element of government funding on which most of the press depends, and the gatekeepers to this funding, such as government propagandist Saviour Balzan, who takes most of the public funding in the industry. Basically, the press industry in Malta is publicly funded so unless you intend to do government propaganda, there is a strong barrier of entry to the industry for new participants. There is little to no support from abroad either, so we are basically on our own.
Journalists face legal costs on vexatious court and criminal cases due to badly written or outdated laws. Powerful individuals like MPs can sue journalists, lose or drop their case without facing any consequences. Then there are the blatant and serious security risks for independent journalists. There is also a hostile environment with the Labour Party literally fighting independent journalists and describing us as part of “The establishment”.
Malta deserves to be the second-last European country in the Press Freedom Index. I’m pretty sure, that if Saviour Balzan sells his business and retires, we’ll start moving upwards, but a change in government would hopefully also bring a whole new set-up to the industry along with legislation that does not bring in new restrictions.
Website Editor
Historian and Publisher
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