PL 351 – PN 27: Nationalist Party Calls PBS Sound Bite Discrepancy ‘Censorship’
The Nationalist Party is alleging that the national broadcaster is “censoring” it, after official statistics that emerged from a hearing in front of the Broadcasting Authority depicted a significant imbalance in coverage of the two parties.
Earlier today, the Opposition released a statement where they alleged that the party is being “discriminated against” by PBS.
PN Secretary General Michael Piccinino and Shadow Minister for Civil Liberties, Social Dialogue, and Diabetes Claudette Buttigieg asserted during a press conference that for every instance PN’s message aired on national television, PL’s was broadcasted 13 times more.
They stated that official statistics from a Broadcasting Authority hearing regarding this purported bias indicated that between 29th March 2023, and 22nd February 2024, there were 351 sound bites associated with the Labour Party and the Government. In contrast, during the same timeframe, the national broadcaster featured only 27 sound bites related to the Nationalist Party and the Opposition.
According to PN, these numbers evidently illustrate “discrimination that not only censors the Nationalist Party but also anyone who criticises Robert Abela’s government.”
These statistics surfaced after a Broadcasting Authority hearing, during which the Nationalist Party raised 11 complaints regarding this “persistent imbalance” in the portrayal of parties by the public broadcaster.
Among other requests, the Nationalist Party sought official data concerning the disparity in the number of sound bites featuring the Government aired by the national broadcaster compared to those featuring the Opposition aired by PBS.
Piccinino and Buttigieg asserted that “these figures unequivocally highlight the detriment PBS is causing to the public, and vividly portray the management of our country’s public broadcaster.”
“PBS is failing to deliver the truth and present the facts as they truly are, instead of providing information that is manipulated,” they continued.
The PN spokespersons further stated that it is unacceptable for the national broadcaster to persist in such behaviour. They added that the party cannot tolerate PBS continuing to “manipulate people’s opinions in such an overt manner.”
This is not the first time PN called foul, with 2021 bulletin coverage figures depicting yet another huge discrepancy. In 2023 representatives from the party hung TV channel One’s logo onto the sign at the entrance of PBS.
What do you make of these figures?