Readers of The Malta Independent on Sunday will have wondered what judgment of the Press Ethics Commission your editorial writer must have been referring to in his editorial of 16 June 2013.

For the newspaper did not do them the courtesy of publishing even its own abridged version of this judgment, which can be viewed in full on the website of the Institute of Maltese Journalists (IGM), www.igm.org.mt/ethics/decisions-by-the-press-ethics-commission/.

The Press Ethics Commission, a totally independent entity set up by the IGM but operating completely autonomously to the IGM, is tasked to investigate any complaint against a journalist, whether a member of the Institute or not.

The Commission is composed of 10 members, chaired by an eminent lawyer and has another member of the legal profession among its members, who all have long years of experience in journalism.

Their task is to interpret the Code of Ethics and it is against this code that the front-page story of 12 May 2013 was found to be in breach. In all such cases the Commission hears both sides and reaches a decision that should be heeded by all members of the profession and, in time, should add to case law in the ethical field.

As was rightly stated in the editorial, the Press Ethics Commission has no legal standing, but it is a moral institution that has the power to name and shame. In terms of sanctions, it can disapprove of a journalist’s actions, censure that journalist or gravely censure the journalist.

While every journalist has the right and the duty to investigate issues of public interest, these investigations have to be carried out in an ethical manner. Any story should be fair and balanced, multi-sourced and based on facts.

Surely these are standards of journalism that are eminently desirably in any democracy and lend credibility and moral authority to all media that practise them.

It is for the reason mentioned in the editorial that the IGM is planning to hold a national conference during which a common Code of Ethics for all media will be discussed later on this year. We welcome the participation of your journalists in this endeavour.

Malcolm J Naudi

Chairman

Institute of Maltese Journalists (IGM)