The quality of our press men and women

We do not claim to be masters in the art of reportage, but we can still express our belief that the quality of communication graduates from Malta University leaves much to be desired.

It is no joke that many of these graduates do not and cannot write proper English and Maltese. Most (not all) of them pursue a very superficial insight into current events and political science and very few are specialised.

We are not the first and we will not be the last to say that this sorry state of events has reflected itself in the quality of our media.

In most democratic and pluralistic countries the teaching of journalism is part-time and has been taken out of the hands of the theorists and given to battle-worn journalists.

What most editors will look for today are young aggressive and assertive reporters with a good command of the English language. The people at the Communications Department of the University are all well-meaning. Some of them, such as astute and sharp journalists Evarist Bartolo and Joe Borg, are the ideal personalities for the job.

They do not need us to tell them that the tools of the trade are easy to learn. But they are aware that one cannot ram style, language and eloquence down the throat of a bland upstart.

Yet, unfortunately, the pressman or their representatives do not encourage this train of thought. They appear to be content that communications courses are based on this theoretical approach. Our own view differs. It is right and proper to debate where the media is going, and what constitutes news. But now is the time to look at the content - what makes the news.

Despite the political, financial, commercial and personal pressures, we have one commitment – to serve the public with news, analysis and discussion. It is not always presented in the most objective of ways, but we know that to do this we have to make the best use of our ability to present the news with language and style.

Perhaps we should go easy on the title journalist; not everyone is a journalist and to be one requires patience, experience and skill.

Right wing press man talking to a right winger

A columnist who writes in the ‘Daily Telegraph', an English newspaper of outlandish repute, was awarded a ‘tete a tete' with Alfred Sant which then got published in a local newspaper.
The English columnist whose newspaper declared not so long ago its sympathy for a fascist by the name of Pinochet, was kind enough to tell the Maltese public that he shared Dr Sant's europhobic passions.

For the wrong reasons we have been told. He then proceeded to tell us that Dr Sant presented a granite vision of himself and was miles away from his left wing partners in Europe.

Now, this journalist whom we are told comes here once a year to rest in the Manikata area, believes in the old ideological recipe of the right and left. It has to be remembered that he is British, and most Brits who write or read the Daily Telegraph are committed to the idea that world revolves a class and that class is natural.

Yet, the most remarkable statement aired by this foreign journalist dumped unceremoniously on us lesser mortals was the following: "We Eurosceptics take our allies were ever we find them."

Which must make Dr Sant feel rather undervalued.

This appears to suit Dr Sant because it gives validity to his politics and explains why he should prod the Nationalist party as an adversary.

But if he does manage to get his way, then Malta would have conceded defeat and taken up tunnel vision as a hobby.

The last thing we need is a post-colonial right winger to preach to us on how to act.

Worse still, what we do not need are journalists who continue to believe that Dr Sant is a left winger when he is in fact a conservative, insular and nationalist politician.