It is important to point out some very important facts with regard to press legislation. Labour Party MPs are deliberately lying in order to justify their systematic attack against the press.
First of all, there already exists in our libel laws the provision for the Court to enforce economic damages on the journalist. This is article 16 of the Media and Defamation Act and it is called Trade Libel. Economic damages are rewarded on top of the €11,640. It is not true that there are no provisions in the law which cater for material damages of libel.
Labour Party politicians often lie about the need to introduce laws on cyber bullying. These laws already exist and there is even act specifically for this purposes called the Electronic Communications Act.
Libel cases are mostly used by powerful people against journalists and only in exceptional cases are libel cases are initiated by ordinary civilians. Statistics show that most libel and defamation cases are started by politicians and big businesses (mostly when involved with politicians).
Malta’s libel damages are capped at €11,640. This is basically half the annual salary of most journalists and press reporters. Senior journalists and editors would earn more.
On the other hand, editors like Caroline Muscat who runs The Shift News or myself have basically, no income as we struggle to cover the costs of our operations. In reality, we all know what’s this is all about and Labour MPs themselves have no qualms in mentioning names and making direct references to journalists in Parliament. They want to scare into submission the press reporters of the mainstream outlets while praising their work as they simultaneously legislate against them. However, fundamentally they are aiming to threaten investigative journalists with economic damage. Saviour Balzan who owns and runs MaltaToday doesn’t need to worry about the government increasing libel damages because he can always get a PR contract from the government.
Labour wants a compliant press and editors like Saviour Balzan which it can buy. As for those of us who can’t be bought, we are threatened with further restrictions and economic damages on top of being already systematically discriminated by state entities and authorities. Fundamentally, Labour’s antics aren’t about the press. The Labour government is on the offensive to silence its critics and Labour MPs have no sympathy for the press or publication industry.
Website Editor
Historian and Publisher
Leave a Reply