Political parties urged to respect journalists’ work

In a meeting between the Institute of Maltese Journalists (IGM) and the Nationalist Party, IGM chairman Karl Wright urged political parties to treat journalists “with respect”.

“Irrespective of the agenda of any media house, journalists should treated with this respect, especially while carrying out their duty,” Wright told PN leader Simon Busuttil and deputy leader for parliamentary affairs Mario de Marco.

The IGM has requested meetings with both political parties. Wright told Busuttil that the IGM had requested the meeting with the PN before the local councils elections, but it only took place now.

Wright, who took over the Institute’s leadership in February, said the IGM was organising meetings with various organisations in order to better understand how the institute was perceived.

Wright said that calls for transparency by politicians conflicted with decisions allowing journalists to attend only the first few minutes of a meeting before continuing in private.

Coincidentally, journalists were asked to leave the meeting with the IGM following the introductory comments. Busuttil said that such decisions were taken to allow those present to talk freely “without any inhibitions”.

On his part, Busuttil pointed out that the Maltese media situation was “complex” due to the presence of political media.

He criticised PBS because “it was not neutral or independent”.

“The state media should be independent. Yet today we seen an agenda that favours the government,” he said.

Journalists were not allowed to ask questions and were advised to send any questions by email due to other commitments the PN leader had after the meeting with the IGM.