President George Abela yesterday called for reforms in the broadcasting sector during a visit to Broadcasting Authority offices on Ħamrun on the occasion of the authority’s 50th anniversary.
The President expressed his intention to dedicate the second edition of the President’s Forum, which will be held in the first months of 2012, to discuss institutional and constitutional reforms, including broadcasting. The forum will serve as a platform for an in-depth discussion on the constitution, so that it could serve the Maltese people better, Dr Abela said.
“It is high time that parliament’s select committee on constitutional reform and strengthening of democracy reconvenes so that the necessary proposals would be put forward to revise the Broadcasting Act, 20 years after it was last revised and 50 years after the Broadcasting Authority was set up. This should take place after a wide consultation process with all stakeholders. The reform should be in line with today’s reality and fast technological advances in the area,” the President said.
We also need to evaluate whether certain institutional reforms are needed, such as the possibility of amalgamating the Broadcasting Authority and the Communications Authority, like what happened in the UK, Dr Abela added.
He asked whether the Broadcasting Authority should remain the regulator and the operator simultaneously, how the public service broadcaster’s independence and impartiality can be strengthened and what the political party TV and radio stations’ future is in the light of the singular experience after they were set up around 16 years ago.
Transparency, accountability, ethical correctness, impartiality and fairness should be a central part of the reform and should be ensured by public and private broadcasters, he said. This would ensure that the right to freedom of expression is respected in the interest of Maltese citizenship, as should happen in a democratic society, rather than abusing the Maltese people’s intelligence.
Earlier on the President wondered whether the system currently in use is actually contributing to balanced broadcasting, as requested by law. “The tendency is that while the public TV stations are followed by the public, the political party stations are in their majority followed by staunch party followers or viewers who are loyal to their political party, thus absorbing partisan and unbalanced opinions, fuelling further polarisation,” he noted.
“Is the Broadcasting Act 1991, an ordinary law that makes a distinction between the two forms of broadcasting and which imposes an onus on public broadcasting, compatible with the constitution’s spirit, which is a supreme law that urges balance and impartiality without a distinction between the two forms of broadcasting?” he asked.
One should also consider the fact that not every political current has the means to own a private station and therefore not all opinions are necessarily being given the same opportunities to voice their perspectives, he said.
The situation is not guaranteeing a level playing field for all parties, undermining the citizens’ interest, who have the right to be aware of the different perspectives to take well informed decisions, he added.
The concept of balance also applies to the way in which the Broadcasting Authority is composed, he said. The current Broadcasting Authority set-up leaves much to be desired because when the members representing the political parties disagree, decisions have to be taken by the chairman on his own, not in the interest of public opinion but in the interest of political parties.
“This creates a conflict of interest because the political parties have their own television stations. As a constitutional institution the authority should not be a partisan instrument,” he said.
Broadcasting Authority chairman Anthony Tabone said that very often the authority’s work appears in a negative light in the midst of controversies, however, the authority’s work is necessary to protect the people’s interests.
Mr Tabone said that over the years the nature of the authority’s work changed drastically as the nature of broadcasting in Malta was completely different from what it is today. “Our work is not simply about ensuring that the political parties get the exact time to air their views but also to protect viewers and listeners from various angles, which entails work from the authority’s different departments and to be totally impartial and just without fear or favour,” he said.
When asked to comment on the letter sent by the Labour Party to the authority urging it to be proactive in ensuring impartiality, Mr Tabone said that it is too early to comment as the board has not discussed the letter’s content yet.