Malta has risen three places in the World Press Freedom Index, but remains one of the European countries with the worst record, according to an annual assessment carried out by Reporters Without Borders.

The NGO’s report was published on Tuesday on the occasion of World Press Freedom Day.

Malta’s 2022 ranking of 78^th place out of 180 countries is a marginal increase from 81^st place, and the first time since 2016, when Malta ranked in 46^th place, that the country’s ranking has improved.

In its report, the NGO says that “journalists have to cope with a highly polarised environment under the strong influence of political parties.”

It also notes the conclusion of the Daphne Caruana Galizia public inquiry in 2021 and the comprehensive set of reforms which were recommended; reforms which the experts say the government “has been reluctant to implement.”

Speaking on the political context in the country, the report reads that the government wields a strong influence over the public broadcaster and “uses public advertising to exert pressure on private media.”

“Many politicians select specific journalists for exclusive interviews, while those considered “hostile” are ignored, including within the party media,” the report reads.

On the legal framework in the country, the report says that while freedom of the press is guaranteed by the constitution, the legal and regulatory framework is not conducive to journalists exercising their rights.

“Independent media are discriminated against in access to information and journalists are targets of Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs). Family members of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, who was murdered in 2017, are targeted by posthumous defamation lawsuits,” it says.

Economically, the report says that while it is relatively easy to open a media outlet, the small market offers limited sources of funding for independent media “whose sustainability is undermined by non-transparent and discriminatory distribution of public funds.”

The report notes how Maltese society “suffers from deep polarization.”

“Reporting on certain topics such as migration or abortion remains unpopular and incites abuse towards journalists covering these topics. Very few journalists from minority groups work for the mainstream media. Investigative reporting is carried out by a handful of journalists, almost exclusively men,” it reads.

Finally, the report notes how none of the suspects arrested for the Daphne Caruana Galizia murder have been tried and convicted, and that the recommendations from the public inquiry into her death are being implemented too slowly.

In a more general sense, the ranking is topped by Scandinavian countries: Norway leads, followed by Denmark and Sweden.  Estonia ranks 4^th, while Finland and Ireland rank 5^th and 6^th respectively.

Malta ranks just above Serbia, Malawi, Northern Cyprus, and Chile and just below Peru, Nepal, Liberia, and Panama.

In terms of European Union countries, only Hungary (85^th), Bulgaria (91^st), and Greece (108^th) rank below Malta although other European countries not part of the EU such as Serbia (79^th), Ukraine (106^th), and Belarus (153^rd) also rank lower.

For this year, Reporters Without Borders said that a new methodology had been used to come up with the ranking; one determined with the aid of a committee of seven experts from the academic and media field.

The methodology used defines press freedom as “the effective possibility for journalists, as individuals and as groups, to select, produce and disseminate news and information in the public interest, independently from political, economic, legal and social interference, and without threats to their physical and mental safety.”

In order to reflect press freedom’s complexity, five new indicators were used to compile the Index: the political context, legal framework, economic context, sociocultural context, and security.