A recent editorial in one of the national newspapers reignited the debate about media ethics in Malta. What provoked this reigniting was the Institute of Maltese Journalists’ announcement that Kevin Aquilina had succeeded Chief Justice Emeritus Giuseppe Mifsud Bonnici as chairman of the Press Ethics Commission.

I am not at all comfortable with the term “reignited the debate”. Media ethics is not a debate that should spend lengthy periods in hibernation and await an extraordinary occurrence to agitate discussion. Media has power and this power should be channelled in the right direction. Media ethics deals with the right use of this power and with the assurance that this power is not abused. Debating this should never be put on the backburner.

The media environment in Malta is relatively varied. Pluralism has brought a significant increase in television and radio stations that transmit on a national basis while a good number of radio stations transmit on a community basis. Operators of these television and radio stations are guided by the set of guidelines and regulations which are enforced by the Broadcasting Authority.

Unlike the broadcasting sector, we have no regulatory statutory body to handle the press. Instead we have a self-regulating mechanism in the form of the Institute of Maltese Journalists which issues a code of ethics, organises press events and handles press complaints.

This in a nutshell is the situation regarding media ethics and its regulation in Malta. In all honesty I do not think it is enough. The IGM’s announcement about the appointment of the new chairman should act as a spur for new stronger discussion. And the first subject matter on the agenda should be the setting up a single code of ethics for all journalists in Malta.

This does not exist at present. The IGM and the Malta Broadcasting Authority have their own separate code of ethics. A number of media houses also have their own code of ethics. This is not a healthy environment for ethics to flourish in our media.

As Prime Minister Dr Lawrence Gonzi stated in his address on Fondazzjoni ghall-Gurnalizmu Tumas Fenech’s 9th anniversary, the fragmentation that exists in this context does not in anyway induce the practice of professional ethos in Maltese journalists. The strengthening of ethics in journalism is one of the most important challenges we have in front of us.

It is not the only challenge we have to surmount. Another challenge which I strongly feel should be tackled is the shift in focus from the issues to sensationalism. Unfortunately we have the tendency to sensationalise news and this has serious implications. By doing this, journalists move away from their prime duty that is to satisfy people’s rights for information. In sensationalising, the news journalists are simply satisfying the instinct of curiosity which should not be their prime target.

The popularity of the journalist and the medium should not be measured by the sensationalism of the story. Sensationalism and popularity is not a measure of professionalism. Truth and objectivity are.

One other point I wish to dwell upon is the difference we need to make between the journalist and the issue itself. The readers’ attention should not be focused on the journalist but on the story. The protagonist is the issue not the journalist. Unfortunately there are journalists who, consciously or unconsciously, swing the attention from the story to themselves. They want to be the centre of attraction. Sometimes the journalist becomes the issue while the issue simply becomes a prop for the journalist.

This betrays the true principles of journalism. Director of the Project for Excellence in Journalism Tom Rosenstiel outlined four main roles for today’s journalist. These are the role of authenticator, sense-maker, navigator and forum leader. These roles basically imply that the journalist has to authenticate facts, help the audience derive meaning from what is happening in the world, help the audience find the real substance of the story and help the audience engage in a discussion in an intelligent and informed manner.

The role of the journalist is to sort through the information available and to determine how much of it is valuable and reliable before passing it on to the public. News stories must be accurate. The Handbook of Independent Journalism makes it clear that journalists should not only collect the information they need to tell the story but they also have to verify the information before they can use it.

Chris Said is

parliamentary secretary

in the Office of

the Prime Minister