Watch: Robert Aquilina – ONE Journalists Who Met Me For A Coffee Banned From Our Press Conferences
Repubblika activist Robert Aquilina said that ONE journalists who recently met him for a casual chat over a coffee were banned from attending the NGO’s press conferences.
Interviewed on Andrew Azzopardi’s RTK103 show last Saturday, Aquilina called out Valletta Cultural Agency chairman and former ONE head Jason Micallef for sharing photos of a Newsbook journalist’s private chats, including with himself, during a press conference with Joseph Muscat.
Micallef alleged that this was evidence of “collusion” between the journalist and Repubblika.
However, Aquilina said he speaks to journalists from all newsrooms, including ONE.
He said that he had a coffee with some ONE journalists a few months ago, but that their employers took action when they found out.
“Unfortunately, when their employer found out about it, they stopped them from attending our press conferences for six months,” Aquilina said.
“The truth is that I treat every journalist with dignity because I have a lot of respect for whoever works in the profession, and you need to communicate with them. They often ask you questions themselves and sometimes you contact them yourself to get your message across.”
Aquilina told Lovin Malta that the casual meeting took place between a recent Repubblika court sitting and a press conference.
“The court sitting had ended, and I asked the journalists present if they wanted to have a coffee while waiting for the press conference about it. Some people flagged the fact that there were ONE journalists too, but I didn’t have a problem with it at all and invited them along too.”
He said it turned out to be a cordial chat.
READ NEXT: 'A New Chapter': MP Rebecca Buttigieg Welcomes Baby Girl Valentina
