The 13th of May 2021 marks an important day for the future of local media. Wednesday’s Webinar got the ball rolling for a much-needed conversation. Students, political associates, journalists and lecturers alike gathered to have a relatively impartial conversation about: Political Stations! What Future?
What kind of effects do you think the media has on Maltese Society? Wednesday’s event gave us a taster of what Media Talks has in the pipeline for public debates on the matter. This platform was created by the Department of Media and Communications, in collaboration with MKSA and yours truly, The Third Eye. Because let’s face it, we need to have an open discussion about local media and its implications on our community.
Political Stations! – Meet the Panel
Media Talks introduced multiple speakers from diverse backgrounds to ensure that the debate was as colorful as possible, and it worked out quite elegantly. Throughout the event the conversation was balanced, adequately informative and overall, truly engaging, as each member brought a unique perspective to the table. More vibrancy was added to the conversation by members who attended the event, so much so that it officially exceeded the original 1.5 hour time limit by an extra 45 minutes!
Ġorġ Mallia – An Observational Standpoint
Starting off was Professor Ġorġ Mallia – the head of the Department of Media and Communications at the University of Malta. Although his position as chairperson did not enable him to share his thoughts on the matter, he highlighted the necessity of Media Talk’s topical debates and carried on explaining that the brain child for this first event came about through Lovin’ Malta‘s court case regarding the unconstitutional (if legal) propaganda of local political stations.
Chris Peregin – A More Impartial Media Platform
Representing Lovin’ Malta was Chris Peregin – award-winning journalist and founder of Lovin’ Malta. His realisations about the corrupt and desperate state our island has ended up in is a primary motivator for his desire to make a positive change. One way of doing this would be to eliminate political parties’ association with broadcasting networks – as we have grown up consuming television networks which are run by political parties.
“When the media is too close to politicians, things turn sour. Freedom of expression includes the right to also receive factual and precise information.”
Chris Peregrin – Lovin’ Malta founder and award-winning journalist.
As it stands we can’t help but question whether these political stations are in fact broadcasting factual and precise information or if they are simply spewing propaganda. Chris suggested that moving political discussions to a separate entity owned by PBS might be a potential solution to create just a little bit more impartiality in our media.
Ramona Attard – Political Stations are Dedicated to their Viewers
Following Chris was Dr. Ramona Attard – Current President of the Labour Party, as well as a former television presenter and a former journalist with ONE. Speaking like a true political affiliate, she expressed her gratitude towards Malta’s achievements in multiple sectors; including health, education and infrastructure. Given her in-depth understanding of ONE’s running, she highlighted the necessity of political stations as platforms for freedom of expression which lots of people have invested in.
Following this she stated that she believes in the Maltese populations’ will to decide which political station to follow as well as the will to filter out which information they wish to absorb. As the conversation carried on she stated that ONE was financed primarily by public donations;
Each individual contributed just a little bit of what they had to make ONE what it is. Shutting down the station would be unfair to them and the many viewers the station is dedicated to.
Dr.Ramona Attard – President of the Labour Party
Martina Falzon – Inform Future Generations about Media Consumption
MKSA’s newly elected president, Martina Falzon, agreed with Ramona’s statement about keeping political stations alive. It keeps things black and white, as we truly know where each station stands – there are no hidden agendas. However, if such stations are to be maintained, Martina suggests that we should be educating the younger generations about how to adequately consume the readily available media. Teaching kids how to filter through media and essentially to think critically about the information they consume, could eliminate certain issues.
As the conversation progressed, Martina carried on stating;
I want the younger generation to understand the reality and not simply swallow facts. We can’t simply close stations however, we need to delve into the root of the issues. Work slowly and dig deep. Change the problem piece by piece.
Martina Falzon – MKSA President
Francis Zammit Dimech – Putting Political Stations in a Historical Context
Dr. Francis Zammit Dimech – the current General Secretary of the Nationalist Party and former MEP, chipped in to the conversation by shifting awareness to the historical perspectives of political stations in Malta. Back when Malta had one political station, it was also considered to be propaganda. The nationalist party founded NET TV two years after ONE, which had already put them at a disadvantage – so NET had to work extra hard to establish the broadcasting platform.
Having two political stations to represent our bi-partisan system is a huge milestone for Dr. Zammit Dimech. It ensures that the audience’s right to choose and receive which information they wish to refer to is met.
Later on in the conversation he also proposed a way forward:
When looking towards the future – the structure of PBS should be discussed. How can we now, in 2021 still maintain this structure? As it stands, the Government of Malta is still the main shareholder of PBS, therefore the ‘impartial’ media station is owned by the government. We should be discussing the entire structure of Malta’s broadcasting services by having open-minded dialogue between all stakeholders in Malta.
Dr. Francis Zammit Dimech – General Secretary of Nationalist Party.
Andreas Bugeja – What is Done Right is not Necessarily Fair
Our very own Andreas Bugeja – current Events Officer of The Third Eye and second-year Communications student with a keen interest in videography and photography, responded constructively to the arguments posed.
Primarily, people do not want to close these stations completely as it’s true that both NET and ONE have achieved so much and have also done good for the country. It is true that shutting a station will definitely hinder freedom of expression. Despite this, do these powerful political parties give a space to and allow the information of other parties to be heard?
Andreas Bugeja – Events Officer of The Third Eye
The systems of a political party’s own media platform creates a lot of loopholes, mostly financial ones. Andreas carried on saying that the existence of these political stations makes it seem that political parties depend on them for exposure, when in reality they could and would most probably get a fair amount of exposure from any other media platform. Andreas closed with the following statement:
Although it is true that so many people have worked hard to establish the platform, are they currently fighting to maintain it? At the end of the day what needs to be done right does not mean it is done in fairness.
Where does the Local Media’s Future lie?
As some of the external commentators pointed out, the current situation with local Media reflects Malta’s bi-partisan system – which essentially runs along the tribalistic notions of ‘ Us and Them’. Queries such as whether the stations were there merely to maintain the loyal base of each party were levied, and a number of suggestions made, among them that a third PBS channel be created specifically for the use of the political parties. In order to re-orient the way media informs and represents Maltese Society, we need to reflect on what kind of changes need to be made into the societal structures themselves that are adopted in subsystems – like the media.
Wednesday’s enlightening conversation is a potential first step in that direction.
Watch the full Webinar here!
Read more about the Maltese Media Here!