It takes a lot to admit that you are wrong, especially when you are passionate about the subject matter. Yet that is exactly what Lou Bondi admitted in one of his latest blog entries. He was one of the pioneers of the local media scene, on the PN side. In his blog entry, he admits that while at the time, he and others from both sides of the political scene believed that the setting up of One and 101 would lead to pluralism and ethical reporting, others foresaw what would happen.

Lou is completely correct in his short analysis. The fact that other countries have moved away from politically owned media, while Malta continues to lap it up just goes to show that while the country’s democracy has matured, we are still toddlers in areas such as this.

One wonders if there is any other modern country in the world where politically-owned radio and television stations are a mainstay of the country’s media spectrum. It is beyond bizarre. When one watches the news reports on One or Net, one sometimes cannot believe that they followed the same story.

The outright spin and lies are sometimes beyond belief. Yet, because it is radio and television, they get away with it, because it is not permanent – it is not the written word. There are instances that the author can recall where two people wrote about a completely innocuous statistics report. On the news in the evening, Net splashed the fact that employment in a sector had risen substantially – what they failed to report was that six jobs had been created. On the flipside, One reported that there had been a drop in another sector – again, what they failed to report was that two jobs were lost.

This is the kind of shoddy, dishonest and deceitful reporting that the politically owned media resort to. There is never a sense of digging for the truth; the radio and television stations in question are merely an extension of their political masters. Every now and again, we do see the occasional good ‘off diary’ story which appears, but by and large, the stations are used to repeat mantra, to lie, to belittle, to berate and to continue to brainwash a very, it must be said, malleable and impressionable audience.

This leading article will cause ripples. The author has had several instances, on both sides of the political spectrum, in being met with aggressive ‘arguments’ of defence, when pointing out that ‘journalists’ for these mediums are not journalists at all, but an extension of political machinery. In essence, they are propagandists and political activists, not the truth seekers which they are supposed to be.

But, how could they be expected to do otherwise? Their salaries are paid for by the parties, which are in turn financed by the people who support those parties, so they have no choice. They are already tal-qalba in terms of politics (that’s the only way to get a job with the Labour or PN media) and they must do as their paymasters command. What can be said of the practice of some ‘journalists’ shuttling from a job with a minister to be redeployed with a television station when the need arises? It’s beyond belief.

There are a few exceptions, but that is the way it goes. How can these mediums ever be impartial with such goings on? The Prime Minister has indicated that he is mulling over his stance on the matter and does believe that something must be done. But what can be done? If the stations are shut down, they will re-open as a private enterprise and they will keep their political allegiance.

However, it will at least open the companies up to financial scrutiny – it is an open secret that both One and the Medialink lose money hand over fist and are kept afloat by the parties, through the funds of supporters. Surely, Europe must have something to say about that, especially when we are not allowed to bail out, Air Malta, for example. The fundamental role of the journalist is to seek the truth, not to distort facts to suit political agendas. It is absolutely shameful and it has to stop.