Tag: Free Press
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The discussion about punching journalists is redundant: the situation is much more serious (and complex)
It is very clear at this stage that the Labour government, with its myopic, insular and populist ideology, is reducing the debate about protecting journalism into a redundant discussion about higher penalties for punching a journalist. Journalists are clearly falling into this trap. There is no objection to increasing penalties for punching journalists, and clearly…
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No media reform is valuable without the principle of litigation symmetry
Yesterday, EPP and PN MEP David Casa made a very valid point on the media reform that the government wants to bulldoze forward without any consultation. David Casa said that EU anti-SLAPP law should be incorporated into local law to reflect local cases, but I would go even further. David Casa’s proposals also align with…
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Justice Minister denies government will increase libel damages: evasive on criminal libel
Interviewed outside Parliament by Newsbook, Justice Minister Clifton Grima denied that the government will be increasing libel damages. The Labour Party pledged to increase libel damages in its electoral manifesto. Asked about Labour’s proposal to introduce the right to privacy in relation to journalism, the Minister was evasive. Mark CamilleriWebsite Editor Historian and Publisher
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Britain’s Green Party Leader calls for Russian-styled press-control laws
Britain’s Green Party Leader Zack Polanski is calling for Russian-styled control-laws over the press in reaction to Jason Arday’s death. Polanski accuses the British press of racism and of hounding out Jason Arday. Zack Polanski is supporting a petition calling for a ban on foreign-owned media, for media to be registered under a regulator, and…
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The Labour Party has become a movement against the free press
Under the leadership of Robert Abela, the Labour Party has been gradually propagating a negative sentiment against the free press, often accusing it of being negative and defamatory. The Labour Party’s accusations against the free press are also often associated with the “negative faction” of the Opposition and this constant attack against the free press…
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Malta needs a counter-culture intellectual movement: or else we will become another Dubai
Malta’s system of government is rapidly evolving into an illiberal regime and one of the underlying factors that is enabling this process is the manipulation of public discourse and the free press. This process is not fulfilled in isolation – it needs the constant and active collaboration of editors, academics and intellectuals. The government has…
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The Labour government’s Viktor-Orban-styled manipulation of the press
When I founded The Maltese Herald , we started with three employees and myself. After four years locked in a Court battle with the Maltese government, I was finally able to tap public funding and received a government contract. The Maltese press is mostly dependent on public funding. When I received my contract, Saviour Balzan…
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The journalists killed and imprisoned by Nicolás Maduro
During the dictatorial rule of Nicolás Maduro, the Venezuelan regime’s security forces murdered at least up to 4 journalists in deliberate and cold-blooded executions. On February 28th, 2019, activist and independent journalist Alí Domínguez was abducted by a group of men and was brutally beaten and tortured before he was murdered. His body was found…
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Algeria, Turkey and Malta: the Courts that described journalists as terrorists in 2025
There were at least, three countries this year in which Courts described journalism as terrorism: these were Turkey, Algeria and Malta. In 2025, Courts in Turkey condemned up to six Turkish journalists including Rahime Karvar to 25 months in prison on terrorism charges. Turkey frequently uses terrorism laws against journalists especially journalists covering Kurdish issues.…
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NGO Repubblika demand more anti-SLAPP legislation in their latest manifesto
Earlier this week, civil-society NGO Repubblika released their manifesto called Democratic Vision 2050: Truth, Memory and Freedom. The manifesto focuses on 14 main themes stretching from governance to human rights and include the crisis in rule-of-law and constitutional reform. Among the proposals being made by Repubblika are proposals to strengthen Maltese press freedom and the…
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Creating barriers against actual media and journalism: the proliferation of brain-rot
As Labour turns the national broadcaster into its own theatre of propaganda, the remaining political programmes that one could watch with a standard television license are the ones on the political party broadcasts. Then there is the option of Karl Borg Bonaci who doesn’t even know the difference between the words “partial” and “impartial”. On…
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Labour keeps on giving: authoritarianism
The latest Labour Party MP Ramona Attard has reiterated her call for increased libel damages against the press. Her most significant contribution to the Labour Party was, when as an employee of the government under the Joseph Muscat administration, she helped orchestrate a campaign of hatred and vilification against the journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia. Ramona…