Following Jason Micallef’s admission that the government is spying on journalists, it is time for Labour’s top propagandist Saviour Balzan to publish a libelous attack against me to further exhibit the Labour Party’s startling free press credentials. Saviour Balzan’s attack against me may have something to do with the fact that I am currently, one of the most read journalists in Malta, by far surpassing him and all of his employees combined in terms of popularity. I am just saying this because as a journalist who writes facts, I think there are many more Maltese people out there who are familiar with my name than the name “Saviour Balzan”. Readers prefer independent journalism and I don’t make the rules.
Saviour Balzan published a libelous attack that smeared me with lies and he did so because he knows very well that I am currently not in Malta and don’t have the means to sue him. He lied, claiming that I am somehow paid by government ministers, while in the same breath stating that I have financial problems.
This is an outright lie and he already published this libelous attack before and when he did, a free press organisation described his article as a smear campaign. I don’t receive money from Ministers and I have never received money from Ministers except for when I sold them my books, just as I sold my books to Saviour Balzan himself and many other PEPs. It’s very sad that I have to say this and have to spend my time renouncing such ridiculous and libelous claims.
The claim that I am bankrolled by government ministers is so lame and ridiculous that I can’t help but smile at it, although given that this is the second time that Saviour Balzan is publishing this lie, I am compelled to deny it in a serious manner. It’s also strange that Saviour Balzan says that I receive money from Ministers and the government yet says that I still have financial problems. I am either paid and funded by Ministers or I am completely broke, it can’t be both. I don’t think a person would be broke if he is funded by the government and ministers. Saviour Balzan himself should know this since during Lawrence Gonzi’s administration he used to complain regularly and publicly that the government wasn’t paying him enough and when Joseph Muscat entered office in 2013 he begged him for money for the sake of saving his business from collapse.
Another lie published by Saviour Balzan is that I have left Malta to escape the authorities. This is not true and Saviour Balzan knows very well that this is also not true. I did not leave Malta to escape the authorities and the authorities in Malta are the least of my concern. I am also a private person and I don’t need to explain my reasons. I don’t have a public position and neither am I politician. I don’t need to explain to anyone why I don’t spend time in my country. Last time that he smeared me, Saviour Balzn was the first media-owner to try and dox me by supposedly revealing my location.
Saviour Balzan also lies that his newspapers are independent and that his journalists are free to write and investigate whatever they want. MaltaToday is used as a government propaganda prop, its editor Kurt Sansone is a die-hard Labourite and more specifically, Saviour Balzan and Kurt Sansone publish articles and write editorials against government financing with the aim to directly help and abet the Labour Party government’s actions and activities – just like when MaltaToday was used as a government prop to save Robert Abela from the protests and national dissent caused by the Magisterial inquiry over Jean Paul Sofia’s death and the refusal of Labour MPs to vote in favor of a public inquiry on Jean Paul Sofia’s death.
On a regular basis, I am offered money (bribes) by unscurpulous individuals and criminals whom I investigate very often in the form of stupid services such as “biographies” and ghost writing. I have always refused these offers. Not the same can be said of Saviour Balzan.
Saviour Balzan also conspires with known and corrupt criminals to attack the Labour Party’s harshest critics. He is, of course, paid for this PR and popaganda work, although he used to lie and deny this. So, basically, you can pay Saviour Balzan to plant and concoct your PR through one of his media services and products (one of his recent clients was Miriam Dalli who asked Saviour to help Steve Ellul’s campaign). I never did this kidn of thing. Like Saviour Balzan, I too was offered money from the Fenech family and I was even invited to a meeting with them at Portamaso. I declined. Saviour Balzan took money from Yorgen Fenech when it was known that Yorgen Fenech was the owner of 17 Black. In fact, Saviour Balzan was paid by Yorgen Fenech to do PR for him and also help him attack Jason Azzopardi. Saviour Balzan still did PR for Yorgen Fenech as of very recently while Yorgen Fenech is facing murder charges (he murdered a journalist).
As I explained in this article, MaltaToday published a fake story about me also with libellous allegations behind the “anonymous” commentary of the current Executive Chairman of the National Book Council. The National Book Council (a public entity which I built in eight years from a 0 budget and 1 employee, to 6 employees and a budget of €1.5 million per year), decided to unilaterally disclose false details to MaltaToday about a mediation settlement over my constitutional case gainst it. Following this erratic behaviour, I have decided to continue the case in court until the Executive Chairman resigns.
This website recieves no private or government funding whatsoever. The only State funding we have recieved this year for this website was a 450 advert from the Malta Financial Services Authority for which we are grateful given that we believe it is our mission to collaborate and support our financial regulators. I also apply for the local government funds on publications and cultural exports that are not profitable as do all Maltese publishers and my competitors (the Book Fund provides a maximum of €5,000 per year to a publisher, if we are lucky, with publication costs soaring up to tens of thousands of Euros per publication). Saviour Balzan recieves millions of Euros of government funding every year to produce and conduct pro-Labour propaganda and criminal schemes with the government and organised criminals.
It’s incredibly crass and abusive what Saviour Balzan is doing. Basically, this is a government funded millionaire who is attacking a young man who started an independent media and publishing startup. This is why when he attacks me for having financial difficulties he loses his argument and his point and I come on top without having the need to even say anything. Ironically, he says that he is not afraid of me. Then why would he dedicate as nearly a whole page to attack a young man who is building a business in an economic sector that is barely profitable? I have been attacked by Saviour multiple times that I have “financial difficulties” and I don’t understand his point other than for the sake of being crass and evil.
I never replied to this stuff because I am a private person, but for those who are curious, I don’t have financial difficulties. I have severe financial challanges to keep my business going because it is barely profitable and most of what I did has been funded by my financial activities that I don’t like promoting or talking about (such as the fact that I bought bitcoin in 2019 and kept it until I turned it into published paper and other stuff I needed for the business). I have severe liquidity problems but my debt-to-equity ratio is much better than the average person because my home mortgage has been paid off (although I highly doubt Saviour knows what that means). Honestly, I don’t know how I am keeping it all together apart from the fact that I work very hard and all the time, it’s very tough, and all I do in my life is work on my business and on this website. Yet, I have never been happier because I am building something that I own, in contrast to having spent eight years working for the public building things for others for meagre economic returns – something Saviour knows nothing about.
Saviour Balzan started out differently from me. Saviour Balzan started his media business with the support of big Maltese business, he has a big business partner (Roger Degiorgio), for a long time was bankrolled by the Nationalist Party’s most corrupt Minister, John Dalli, and today he is a millionaire thanks to the Labour Party through government funding and by working with organised criminals. I have a very different story. I started and built my business from my own grit and steam and no one has any claim to what I did and what I do – unlike Saviour.
My last three Dar Camilleri publications and my ventures in London were unprofitable (so far) and I always knew this in advance before I did them. I am not in the media and publishing business to get rich. Had I wanted to get rich quickly I could have done other things. I do this because it is my passion and I simply like it (and I also love my country). The book publishing and press business in Malta are very dangerous businesses because it’s nearly impossible to make money from them. This not a unique situation to Malta and I have had in my life, many friends and acquaintances who got killed by the publishing industries: either by economic collapse, getting sick, bankruptcy, overwork, suicde and much more. When a publishing millionaire moghul funded by the Labour government attacks me for having financial difficulties, I remember about these people and a chill goes down my spine. I don’t want to end up like them, but then again, I am trying very hard not to become just another Saviour Balzan.
The reality is that unlike Saviour Balzan, I am from the South, so I am accustomed to having everything and life against me. I know that life is not fair and Saviour Balzan has the upper hand in this game. It’s also what makes me inherently dangerous – not in a violent way (no political terrorism is being conducted as I write this article). Saviour Balzan is right to fear me, because I am coming for his market share. What’s his total percentage of private income versus government income? I’d be surprised if it’s more than 5% and it’s probably 1 orf 2%. My team and I are crawling upward in numbers as one of Malta’s most popular media sites and the state support so far has been just €450. That’s a pretty good result if I may say.
To conclude, I am not going to get personal like Saviour did. If anyone would like to read about the personal history of Saviour Balzan, there’s plenty of it on Daphne Caruana Galizia’s website. It’s pretty ironic that he describes her as an intelligent person after all those years attacking her. Well, what do you expect from a sad little man whose success in life is based on other men? He’s pathetic to pick up a fight with me, someone who is by far less resourceful and powerful than he is. A sad little bully. His crass behaviour by itself shows very well who is the better of us. I also think I am better looking than him and it’s not just because I am younger. It’s because my mind is full of beautiful things and his mind is full of shit.
Note: despite the fact that Saviour Balzan is a milionare and his business is fully funded by the government, I pay my employees better rates than him.
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