Party-Owned TV Stations ‘Not Helping’ Maltese Democracy, Jason Azzopardi Warns
Party-owned TV stations are“not helping” strengthen Maltese democracy, former PN MP Jason Azzopardi has warned.
During a recent discussion on TVM show Popolin, Azzopardi flagged party-owned media as a problem contributing to a growing sense of political disenchantment in the country.
“Some people won’t be glad I’m saying this but I said a few years ago that I don’t believe party media stations are helping strengthen democracy,” he said.
Azzopardi said the first step must be a major revamp in public broadcasting to ensure PBS’ independence from the government, using the “Scandinavian model” as an ideal example.
Public broadcasting in the likes of Norway and Sweden is funded through annual license fees that are paid by everyone who owns a TV or device capable of receiving television broadcasts.
“TVM requires a completely independent and transparent structure so that people won’t need to depend on political parties for the news,” he said. “When you watch ONE and NET, it’s as though you’re living in completely different countries. We all know the truth.”
Lovin Malta has long been calling for more transparency and better rules for broadcasting and has opened a constitutional case to challenge a proviso in the Broadcasting Act that allows party media stations to circumvent their impartiality obligations.
Further delving into the issue of political disenchantment, Azzopardi flagged a lack of “inspirational leadership” and a failure by political failures to update the Constitution.
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