Many are feeling totally at sea regarding the issue of media balance. Our nation’s Constitution declares there has to be equal balance of political views in all the media.

It’s good to know our Constitution is upheld, occasionally. The Broadcasting Authority have ordered B’kull dritt, a political programme on Smash TV, to pay the tidy sum of Lm500 for infringing Articles 13(2)(f) and 41 of the Broadcasting Act (Media Release 44/07 Broadcasting Authority).

B’kull dritt has interviewed and dedicated several programmes to Alleanza Nazzjonali and another one to Alternattiva Demokratika without producing any programme about the two other parties. As the media release explains, the BA has found them guilty of not keeping the balance as required by law.

This is a privately funded programme on a private TV channel. Being private doesn’t mean it is exempt from going against the law, but merely highlights the wrongdoings of the other TV channels, the website espresso.com.mt commented. One and Net TV should be sentenced to pay an off-the-cuff and discounted estimate of thousands of liri fines each week for not keeping a balance. What’s worse is paying taxes for a national TV station like PBS and being insulted with programmes like Bondiplus. Does Bondiplus provide a political balance when it invites PN and MLP members only? Does Bondiplus provide a political balance when it dedicates one whole programme to a PN general meeting?

Do we have to pay taxes just to have another TV station that breaks our Constitution and the Broadcasting law? Is this the broadcasting reform promised by Austin Gatt for PBS? Go home failed politicians prostituting our democracy, the website concluded.