I was one of those cynics who had reservations when the Malta Press Club was set up 25 years ago. I had publicly expressed my doubts whether the venture could succeed, given the erratic behaviour of our journalists when it came to uniting and showing one solid front, whether against the owners, their employers, or other sectors of society. Perhaps what made me do it was this persistent inner belief of mine that journalists don't just need an organisation of their own but also a proper instrument to use in the much-desired effort to raise the profession to acceptable standards, both in terms of public perception and job attraction.
At the time, I had been involved in previous efforts to unite print and broadcast journalists. With the likes of Anton Cassar, Tony Montanaro, Tony Mallia, Mario Schiavone and some others, we had actually got going and even embarked on several initiatives. This was the early 80s when Malta's political world was in turmoil and most of us journalists had to cope with all the usual idiosyncrasies, contradictions and embarrassments that many of us were entwined with as part of the whole mad scene. To think that on one particular occasion, we wrote officially to the then Police Commissioner to complain about the inhumane, mid-night treatment of a fellow Press Club member sounds almost surreal given the atmosphere then, but we did it.
However, as with earlier attempts when my generation was still grappling with its O and A levels, the whole undertaking soon came to a quiet end. Like our predecessors, we were all just too busy working shifts and keeping news operations running to keep up with it. Add to that the acute political divide sadly cutting through the profession like a surgeon's knife and the owners' preoccupation, some of them even frantic, at the thought of us developing into a journalists' trade union. The army and the police today have that. We still don't.
So there really is no one to blame for the early cynicism and doubts expressed 25 years ago when another group of journalists, strangely at the positive instigation of a leader from the advertising and PR sector, announced the creation of yet another Malta Press Club. I am sure that most of those doubters, like me, today feel OK for having been proved wrong. Some of us will be actually celebrating the occasion!
It would be absurd, however, to claim that things have changed much since then. What is now known as the Institute of Maltese Journalists has done some remarkable work in various fields concerning the profession, from education and training to ethics and recognition of the good work being produced in both the traditional and new media, but there is still so much more to be done. Unfortunately, the people who need most convincing on this are the journalists themselves. Too many of them still don't belong, too many of them still remain unconvinced and too many of them do not seem to feel the need to unite either because of some ill-conceived mistrust or sheer nonchalance.
Whatever it is, this 25th anniversary could prove to be an occasion when the message is delivered in stronger terms. Journalists simply have to help themselves. That is why the Institute is working to help provide a better academic and practical course somewhere outside the University of Malta which still produces journalists incredibly unprepared for proper use of their linguistic tools, let alone the professional nous. It is also why the IĠM is actively seeking to eventually have a national and hopefully legally-binding code of ethics and, one day, a new Press-card-issuing system that does not rely strictly on formal State approval, as the current one inherited from colonial times still does.
The IĠM has in recent months also worked hard at getting the media houses involved in all its work on behalf of the profession. The verbal agreements to attend (and vote at) council meetings have sadly not been matched by a real commitment which, for some at least, may not be exactly surprising. Staying away will always give them the old and cantankerous excuse of bygone days when journalists were expected to remain stuck inside that cosy little groove on a His Master's Voice disc.
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Refreshingly not new
There is something about Ian Castaldi Deparis, the ex-mayor of Ħal Lija who, last July, resigned from his post as well as from the Nationalist Party he represented, that makes you want to listen to him. And I mean this to be true even before his decision to do so.
The man has the credentials, the presence and the guts to call a spade a spade. It is always refreshing to have people like him in the minuscule world of Maltese politics, i.e. dissenting not just for the sake of putting up a short-lived personal show for the media or because of a massive chip on the shoulder, but out of self-respect and respect to their own constituents.
His recent "revelations" on the Nationalist Party during a television interview, however, can hardly be described as ground-breaking news. Who doesn't recognise today that the PN under Lawrence Gonzi had become an exclusive, close-knit inner circle afraid of new faces and new ideas? Or that bona-fide Nationalists with a break-with-the-past attitude could hardly expect to avoid isolation? Or that Simon Busuttil is merely a continuation of all that, a stop-gap solution to help plaster the cracks over? Or that his decision to quit was to be misinterpreted in the official party reaction? Or that party officials are only interested in retaining their posts?
All déjà-vu, some of it even cross-party, I'm afraid, but still refreshing.
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Television fun
Given how the new media has deftly dealt the elbow to prime-time television viewing, and despite the whole convergence business, it is good to see someone coming up with an idea on how to revamp the "old" medium by making it more fun. The news that a patent has been filed by Sony, which could allow television viewers to skip adverts by shouting out the name of the product being promoted, has released the fun vibes in many of us who cannot take the exaggerated commercial breaks.
There are some interesting ideas on how to beat the boredom. In one example, a user is asked to "throw the pickle to speed up commercial" alongside a diagram of a man using a hand-held device to throw a virtual pickle at the screen during a burger advert. Voice recognition, Bluetooth, motion sensing and networked tablets are also mentioned in the filing. Exciting days ahead in front of the telly?
Funnily enough, the whole idea is pro-advertising rather than this writer's misinterpretation of it. Several pieces of research have shown that the human brain is becoming better at tuning out of television and digital commercials, meaning that advertisers have to find new ways to engage.
Silly of me to think it would be enough just hurling the odd insult or swearword, which one already does, to skip the adverts.