editorial

The lessons to be learned

It has not been a happy affair. We have been scolded, praised and talked about by the other media and self-appointed opinionists. We are not perturbed and we are not bruised. We are used to living with flak, there are no alternatives in this sort of business.

But hand on heart, we believe we followed the right strategy, we did not commit any mistakes. On the contrary we feel that we did the correct thing.

When one investigates and then publishes a news story, the obvious critique is that the journalists have an agenda or dislike a person.

We had an agenda: to take the case to the people.

The reason?

This was not a case of an alleged adulterous Commissioner of Police, that was beside the point. But rather of a serious inquiry into an allegation of sexual abuse against the head of the Security Service and Commissioner of Police which was kept a secret.

It was about the fact that the top politicians were aware of this inquiry but did nothing to contain it.

We will reiterate once again that the public has a right to know what happens within our institutions.

We are not particularly interested in adulterous escapades, what we are interested in is in accountability and fairness in the system.

At the end of the day Mr George Grech was his own worst enemy.

He also had an archaic system against him and a political body unable to decipher how serious the episode was.

Whereas other public officials facing similar charges are suspended automatically on half pay, he stood his ground, as if nothing had happened.

But what was worse was the government’s inability to transmit a message to the media.

We asked questions and all we received were blank stares, telegraphic acknowledgments or worse still no replies at all.

Lesson one is for the government. Beef up your PR and do not expect the press to swallow its tongue.

Do not bury the news, take paternity of it and control it.

It was inevitable that sooner or later the news would reach the media. And it did.

The fact that only sections of the media chose to investigate should not serve to cast dark shadows on them.

There were various reasons that certain sections of the media chose to look the other way.

The first reason is rather obvious; some sections of the media are mere lapdogs - nothing more.

Others sections of the media are more cautious and we include The Times here and we respect them for this.

We have a different way of looking at things.

There are those who erroneously consider this newspaper a tabloid. It is not. It is a broadsheet in a tabloid format and it simply follows an editorial policy and outlook that is different to that of The Times and The Independent.

In being different and daring we aim to carve out a niche for ourselves.

The solemn principle here is that the institutions need some mending. And there must be accountability.

The procedures leading to accusing a person of criminal activities and investigating the case are full of loopholes and inconsistencies.

Above all, one must introduce processes that strike a fine balance between the alleged aggrieved and alleged aggressor.

There must be a foolproof system.

We believe that the system must look at ascertaining whether a person should be investigated at the first instance. If a public figure is investigated for alleged criminal misdemeanours then that person must take indefinite leave or resign.

This should be followed by swift investigations.

The role of the police and the magistrate must be better defined. Better still the function of the Attorney General must not supersede that of the Police and the Magistrate.

If we look at the individuals that make up the judiciary, the police and Attorney General we can understand why we have flaws in the system.

We need it to be changed, and radically.

The Home Affairs Minister and the Justice minister must sit down and cook up a blue print for the future. Time is not on their side.