Public Broadcasting Services has become a mere puppet in the hands of a Government that has seized control of every institution and authority in the country, the Nationalist Party said.
The public broadcaster now more closely resembles that of a dictatorial regime rather than a European democratic state.
In a press conference outside the Public Broadcasting Services building, the Partit Nazzjonalista's Secretary General Charles Bonello, Shadow Minister for Public Broadcasting Claudette Buttigieg, and PN Head of Communications Nathaniel Attard said that the service - or rather, disservice - provided today by PBS stations is worse than that seen in the 1980s.
The Partit Nazzjonalista's spokespeople said that the PBS leadership, now more than ever acting like a "Super One 2", is complicit in the abuse of public funds when it uses its position to twist facts, spread misinformation, or suppress the message of the Nationalist Opposition on what should be a national broadcaster.
This has happened "hundreds of times over recent years", the PN said.
Below are just a few examples from the past month, where PBS blatantly showed bias against the Partit Nazzjonalista:
1. 27.03.2025
The Auditor General accepts the PN's request to investigate the Magħtab waste incinerator contract - A FACT, but not for PBS.
In its reporting, TVM tried to cast doubt and presented it as if it were a report written by the Partit Nazzjonalista, rather than by the Auditor General.
2. 25.03.2025
Statistics show that the cost of living rose in February - A FACT, but not for PBS.
On 25 February, PBS reported as fact that prices rose in February compared to January. Yet the next day, when reporting on the PN's statement, it framed the cost-of-living increase as if it were merely the PN's opinion, using phrases like "The PN claims that the cost of living continues to rise." PBS regularly uses wording like "according to the PN" to present facts as mere party assertions.
3. 15.03.2025
Biased reporting of the PN's response to Labour's parliamentary Motion to censure the Opposition.
On 15 March, the PN, through its leader Bernard Grech, issued a statement in response to Labour's motion in Parliament. PBS reported this using the word "alleges".
4. 28.02.2025
Statistics on national debt.
On 28 February, PBS reported national debt figures but made no mention whatsoever of a statement issued by the Partit Nazzjonalista, despite formal complaints and a series of unanswered emails.
5. 29.03.2025
The Opposition's reaction to the Government's traffic and transport proposals.
TVM's news bulletin began not with one, but two items, about the Government's traffic press conference, which took a total of eight minutes. Meanwhile, the PN's response which should have been aired straight after, featured at the very end of the bulletin, after adverts, against all logic and seemingly placed to be buried in the news cycle. The PN filed a complaint with the Broadcasting Authority about this.
These are just a few instances of TVM's biased or misleading reporting, PN said.
The servile attitude of PBS leadership towards the Government is also evident in their unprofessional and unethical treatment of the Opposition when invited to participate in programmes.
One example of this was the treatment of the Partit Nazzjonalista during the recording of Popolin, which included interviews with the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition. There was an agreement that the PN could nominate a group of people to form part of the audience. Initially, it was agreed that 12 out of 24 audience members would be nominated by the PN. Shortly after, this was reduced to six, and just hours before recording, the PN was informed that none of their nominated individuals would be allowed to attend, the PN said.
The PN still attended the programme. After the Prime Minister's segment was recorded, the PN insisted that their attendees, some of whom had travelled from Gozo, be allowed in. This happened reluctantly, and those present for Robert Abela were allowed to remain.
The PBS and Popolin leadership also showed a lack of professionalism and respect towards the Leader of the PN. He arrived on time for the recording, but as the Prime Minister arrived 45 minutes late, they left Dr Grech standing in a corridor with no one to greet or inform him of the delay. So much so that he had to leave the building and return only once it was confirmed that Robert Abela's segment had ended.
In addition, the PN segment was broadcast at 10:30pm, compared to the Prime Minister's segment which aired at 9:15pm. The disrespect continued when the episode was uploaded to the TVM website: the Prime Minister's interview lasted over an hour, while the PN Leader's segment was cut off after just eight minutes. Only after the PN's insistence was this rectified.
It is shameful that PBS, a national institution, has been dragged so low by those more concerned with currying favour with the Government and its Ministers.
This too is an abuse of public funds. The Partit Nazzjonalista will not accept this kind of abuse, which is robbing the Maltese and Gozitan people not only of their money but also of one of the most fundamental rights in a democracy - the right to know the truth.