Watch: Peppi Azzopardi Explains What New EU Media Law Could Mean For TVM
TVM will be forced to radically cut its umbilical cord from the government once a new EU media law comes into force, veteran broadcaster Peppi Azzopardi has said.
During an interview on Lovin Malta, Azzopardi delved into the implications of the European Media Freedom Act, a proposed set of EU media rules that are currently being negotiated on between the European Council and the European Parliament.
One of its key proposals will oblige the head and governing board of public service media to be appointed in a “transparent, open and non-discriminatory manner” and public broadcasters to “provide a plurality of information and opinions in an impartial manner”.
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“TVM’s news bulletins have become boring, they’re basically government noticeboards that lead with government news even if other important things are going on,” Azzopardi said. “The time has come for TVM to no longer belong to the state but to the people.”
“If the EU directive comes into force, PBS’ board will no longer be chosen by the government but by civil society, unions, NGOs – a mix of society.”
As a concrete example of how he expects things to change, Azzopardi recounted how the prison had aired promotional features on TVM in an attempt to counter criticism of the state of affairs under then-director Alex Dalli.
“The features made the prison seem like somewhere you would want to book a weekend break at, which of course was a blatant lie,” he said. “Rather than investigating the atrocities and deaths that were taking place at the prison, TVM united with the powers that be to expand the lie further.”
The Broadcasting Authority ended up ruling in favour of a complaint filed by Azzopardi and Professor Andrew Azzopardi, and ordered TVM to air a feature whereby the two men explained what was going on in prison.
This article is part of a content series called Ewropej. This is a multi-newsroom initiative part-funded by the European Parliament to bring the work of the EP closer to the citizens of Malta and keep them informed about matters that affect their daily lives. This article reflects only the author’s view. The European Parliament is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains.
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