In a statement released yesterday by Istitut tal-Ġurnalisti Maltin (Institute of Maltese Journalists), the institute rejected the idea put forward by Opposition Leader Alex Borg to introduce a journalist’s warrant
The Institute argued that journalism should remain an open and accessible profession rather than one restricted through a system of warrants.
Its objection goes beyond the practical question of qualifications. Introducing a warrant would inevitably require some authority or professional body to determine who qualifies as a journalist and who does not, creating a new gatekeeping mechanism around a profession whose democratic function partly depends on remaining open.
Journalism has traditionally attracted people from widely different educational and professional backgrounds, including writers, lawyers, economists, researchers, photographers, activists and people with no formal academic training in journalism. Freelancers, independent publishers and journalists working outside established newsrooms would also have to fit within whatever criteria were established for obtaining a warrant.
The Institute’s argument is that this diversity is not a weakness of journalism but one of its essential characteristics. Restricting entry into the profession risks narrowing the range of people able to participate in the media and, consequently, the range of perspectives, investigations and stories available to the public.
A warrant would also raise the more fundamental question of who ultimately gets to decide who is a journalist. Unlike professions in which practitioners exercise powers granted specifically by law, journalism derives much of its democratic role from the broader freedoms of expression, publication and access to information.
The Institute therefore argues that improving journalistic standards should not come at the expense of making journalism less accessible or placing barriers around who can practise it.
Its full statement follows:
Journalists in Malta come from different backgrounds. Some studied journalism and communications at university, others studied law, languages, economics, even theatre. Some didn’t go to university. There are journalists who enjoy being in front of a camera, and others who don’t. Some prefer writing and speaking in Maltese, others prefer in English.
The beauty of journalism is that it is open to everyone; there are no stereotypes. This is important for the sector, as it helps ensure that a variety of stories are being pursued.
But it is also important for democracy.
Journalists have power, and power should be accessible. That might make us uncomfortable, but it is the only way to ensure the media sector as a whole represents the ideas of different communities that make up this small island.
This is why we don’t agree with warrants for journalists. Warrants make journalism far less accessible as a job and would lead to a pool of journalists who write and think the same – to the detriment of the sector and our country’s democracy.
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