The issue of the independence of the public broadcaster has long been a debated issue. A court judgement handed down yesterday is yet again evidence of the need to change the system by which PBS is run.
The case had been filed over two separate incidents. The first issue concerned a three-month delay by PBS to publish a right of reply which the PN won, after twice filing a complaint before the Broadcasting Authority. The second issue was about political advertising spots concerning the 2022 Budget. The PN had argued that 15 minutes’ worth of PN adverts, each 30 seconds long, were “neutralised” when aired between government propaganda.
The court found in favour of the PN on the first issue, but the second issue was not upheld by the court.
As such, the court confirmed the original judgment ruling that PBS and the Broadcasting Authority had failed to be impartial. Damages to be paid by PBS and the BA have been raised from €1,500 to €5,000 each.
The case was deemed to be a win for the Nationalist Party, which is now gaining momentum after the massive legal victory regarding the hospitals’ deal.
But the issue of PBS impartiality, or lack of it, has been an issue for a while. Just earlier this year, PBS originally failed to report on Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index, which showed that Malta was rated as the 54th country in the ranking, on par with countries such as Saudi Arabia and with only four European Union countries achieving a worse rating.
The lack of reporting had prompted a complaint – and rightly so – by the Nationalist Party through its spokesperson for public broadcasting Graham Bencini. It was only then that TVM published a short three-paragraph article on its website simply stating that Malta is in 54th place in the ranking, at the time providing no context or mention that Malta’s placing has declined and that it’s the worst ever ranking the country has ever had.
PBS is the state broadcaster… it needs to do better. Some form of reform is needed, that completely guarantees PBS independence from government. No matter what party is in power, that government must have no sway over PBS. Suggestions for possible reforms as to how this can take place have been made in the past, but reform needs to happen.
The station must not be seen to be favouring one party or the other, and right now the opposition feels that PBS is partial. We’ve said it before, PBS is meant to be THE independent broadcaster. It cannot be viewed by either political party as being ‘controlled’ by the other, otherwise its very purpose is defeated.
While the other two major news TV stations on the island are controlled by two political parties, PBS is financed by the tax payer. PBS should therefore offer its viewers an unbiased picture. But, given the way that it is controlled from Castille, it is next to impossible that this will happen.