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Watch: Jason Micallef Predicts Maltese Newspapers Will Go Out Of Print Within The Next Two Years 

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ONE TV chairperson Jason Micallef has predicted that Malta’s newspapers will completely go out of print within the next two years due to a declining readership.

“The media is passing through a global crisis… and we aren’t discussing this enough,” Micallef said during a recent interview with Karl Bonaci on the F Living Show.

“I think that Maltese newspapers will go out of print within the next year and a half or two years. I’m convinced this is the case and I’m not saying anything out of the ordinary here because we are facing huge challenges.”

@lovinmaltaofficial ONE TV chairperson Jason Micallef has predicted that Malta’s newspapers will completely go out of print within the next two years due to a declining readership 👀🤔 #malta #maltatiktok #lovinmalta #fypmalta ♬ original sound – Lovin Malta

He pointed out that the government recently launched a €500,000 fund for newspapers due to a “substantial increase” in the price of paper. Details of how this fund works and how the money is allocated to media houses haven’t been published.

When the fund was announced, the Institute of Maltese Journalists (IĠM) said that around 66 journalists work in the print media sector full-time together with several part-timers, and issue 14 different newspapers between them, published daily, weekly, and on Sundays.

A recent survey by Vincent Marmara found that only 5.6% of people get their news from newspapers, compared to 35.7% from news portals, 56.2% from social media links to news portals, 61% from TV and 25.6% from radio.

However, Micallef also warned that the rise of global social media platforms and streaming services has impacted the popularity of TV. 

“We are all partially to blame for global developments and over the years, perhaps because we love broadcasting, we didn’t realise that things were changing as a result of the internet, Facebook, YouTube, Netflix and so on.”

Obviously, we live off commercialisation and people advertise according to where the numbers are at. No one ever tells you they love you and will give you advertising money for you to do with as you please.”

When was the last time you bought a newspaper?

READ NEXT: Why The €500,000 Rescue Fund For Maltese Newspapers Is A Really Bad Idea

Tim is interested in the rapid evolution of human society and is passionate about justice, human rights and cutting-edge political debates. You can follow him on Instagram or Twitter/X at @timdiacono or reach out to him at [email protected]

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