I try to go over all the local newspapers and media in order to update myself as well as to arrive at a balanced view of what goes on in my country – since I am aware that no single local entity can give me that on its own. So, browsing through the English-language electronic newspaper www.maltastar.com, on 1 May, I came across an interesting article entitled Free no more? Malta’s freedom of press dwindles.
To be honest, I was taken aback, since I am a Maltese citizen for whom a high degree of freedom is paramount. So, I took a closer look at this article, and believe it or not, the maltastar journalist was quoting the American association Freedom House which annually gives each country a graded report with regard to the level of freedom that that country upholds and practices.
Well, the maltastar article was based on Freedom House’s 2007 Report on Malta; it claimed that the level of freedom in Malta is going down and that this trend is expected to go down for the 2008 Report, due to a “troublesome 2008”. I asked myself: Why “troublesome”? Was there some revolt, or acts of violence of any kind? I must have missed them.
Rather than presenting the facts as presented by Freedom House, Maltastar continued harping on what, in the opinion of the journalist, will cause Malta’s freedom level to continue declining.
Well, I wish to quote the facts which were mentioned by Freedom House in its 2007 Report, and for which it deemed the freedom level in our country to go down, and this is as I read it in its official website – yes, thank God we have internet today, and can get things from the horse’s mouth, so to speak.
I quote: “Several journalists were injured while covering a protest by hunters and trappers in the capital city of Malta. The attack was the latest of a series of threats and attacks against journalists covering public demonstrations and debates in Malta. The police continue to investigate an arson attack directed against a journalist and an editor covering issues of immigration, racism and intolerance towards immigrants.”
The excerpt was taken from the original Freedom House website, any may be read from the webpage at this address: http://
www.freedomhouse.org/uploads/fop08/
CountryReportsFOTP2008.pdf.
I think that authentic journalism – journalism which is not tainted through political bias – should essentially mean a quest for truth; it should ensure that items of news value are given in their original. This applies especially when it is related to how foreigners perceive our country.
If we only had a dash of self-respect and pride in our country, I believe that we would behave otherwise.
No further comments necessary.
Franco Farrugia
Pietà