‘Can It Get Any Worse?’: Roberta Metsola Calls For Mature Discussion About National Media
MEP Roberta Metsola called for a mature discussion about media, public broadcasting, and reform at the Broadcasting Authority.
“We have seen the government removing journalists from public broadcasts, stopping television programmes, journalists asking for information and not being given it, Ministers refusing to give interviews yet spending our money to advertise their personal Facebook page for their own gain,” Metsola said.
“A journalist was killed – Daphne Caruana Galizia – who was uncovering the corruption of the corrupt clique of Castille. Can it get any worse?”
Panel talk show Xarabank was only recently axed from TVM, after 23 years of weekly episodes. The show remained one of the most popular shows on Maltese television for over two decades.
Last month, Lovin Malta filed a complaint with the Data Protection Commissioner after the government refused to provide basic details about money spent by ministers on Facebook.
Malta’s Ministers are currently under a magisterial inquiry after a Standards Commissioner report found “widespread misuse of public resources” by ministers who used taxpayer money and resources to fund their personal Facebook pages.
Journalist questions during political press conferences were banned from being broadcasted on Maltese national TV by the Broadcasting Authority last month. The only exceptions to this rule are medical bulletins.
“We need to have a mature discussion about media, public broadcasting, and the reform at the Broadcasting Authority,” Metsola concluded.
“This is in the interest of people who deserve to know the truth, and not the government’s spin.”