Editorial• 6 October 2002

ToonToday: Square eyes

Getting rid of the dinosaurs in broadcasting

By Kurt Sansone

The media operating in any given society are a good measure of the state of freedom in that community. Freedom of expression is the foundation upon which democracy is built. The press, as a watchdog of public office, is the visible manifestation of freedom of expression.

It is no co-incidence that over the years, the printed medium in the western world became less and less regulated. It was essential for the survival of democracy for governments to let go of the reins and allow the press to operate unhindered.

The steady progress over the years, even if with a glitch here and there, has ensured that the written press is free to operate in a self regulated environment. This is not to say that editors of the written press in Malta have an easy job. On the contrary, being an investigative paper in such a small community and with a small commercial market is hard, as this newspaper can attest. But despite all the pressures that abound, over the years the written press in Malta has done a fairly good job of informing the public, unearthing the dirt of public officials and highlighting serious shortfalls in public administration. Undoubtedly, the bite should be deeper but at least the teeth are there.

With the onset of pluralism in the broadcasting field things were set to improve. However, with the presumption that television has a stronger impact on its audiences, the broadcasting authority was entrusted with regulating what goes on air with little regard to the fact that television consumers had the strongest power in the form of a remote control.

And with a BA hell-bent on regulating balance between the two major political parties the situation has become more and more pathetic. If you thought stopwatches were a thing of the past in the BA’s offices, forget it.

Every minute of airtime is accounted for. A pure waste of taxpayers’ money and all this in the name of balance.

The time has come for the broadcasting field to be given a breath of fresh air. It is unacceptable for a public authority to arbitrarily dictate the structure of television programmes, or for that matter who should be invited, or how subjects should be tackled. It simply does not make sense and is tantamount to an infringement of freedom of expression as enshrined in the Constitution.

No press authority ever dictates to newspaper editors how stories should be tackled or who should be approached for a comment. There is no reason for things to be any different in the broadcasting field.

The BA is a dinosaur operating in a rapidly changing sector. Given Malta’s unique situation whereby both major parties have their own TV stations, with the third large operator being the public broadcaster, one may be tempted to argue in favour of a stronger regulatory authority.

Malta’s unique situation calls for a deeper analysis. Politicians should ask themselves a simple question. Is it time for them to stop being masters in the broadcasting scene and instead become actors? It may not be in their interest to let go of the stations they have so eagerly transformed into propaganda machines. But it is definitely in the interest of freedom of expression and the wellbeing of society. The dinosaurs have to go.

With few exceptions here and there, the presence of political parties in the broadcasting sector has only helped to stifle the development of independent televisual journalism.

The space has been occupied from day one and in a sector where the expenses to run TV stations are very high, it is highly unlikely for independent operators to step in unless the parties move out.

Broadcasting should follow in the steps of the written press. The sector should be free to determine its own future without having dinosaurs calling the shots.