BA urges Emmy Bezzina to tone down 'offensive commentary' on TV

The Broadcasting Authority has urged lawyer Emmy Bezzina, presenter of ‘Il-Parlament tal-Poplu’, and Smash TV to do their utmost to monitor the calls that come in during the programme and limit the use of offensive words as much as possible.

Bezzina’s programme ‘Il-Parlament tal-Poplu’ was probed by the Broadcasting Authority over the insulting language he employs when callers-in take him for a ride with ridiculous suggestions. The broadcasting watchdog also looked into the calls that he receives, noting that the viewers themselves “sometimes use indecent language”.

The programme claims to discuss lofty matters like democracy by promoting the public’s right to be heard.

But it turns out that rude exchanges have peppered previous editions, and what started as a caustic put-down by Bezzina of people he derides as “ignorant” has finally attracted the BA’s attention.

In a letter to Smash TV owner Joe Baldacchino, BA executive chairman Pierre Cassar drew attention to the fact that “increased vigilance” was required to monitor both Bezzina’s comments but also the phone-ins made during the programme.

Cassar said the BA believed in the freedom of expression and that this right should be respected as long as there were no serious breaches of the law. The BA however said that the both the programme and the TV station should do everything in their power to respect broadcasting standards.

During one edition of the programme, a caller asked Bezzina – an unsuccessful candidate for MEP for his party Alpha – whether he would consider entering politics, before calling him a “pea brain”.

The comment prompted Bezzina to retaliate and suggest to “the idiot” that he jump off Dingli cliffs “with a noose around his neck.”
“You’re an onion marinated in mice droppings,” Bezzina said later on in the same programme, responding to vulgar language used by another caller.

During a previous episode, a caller commented on Bezzina’s attire, saying that his shirt and tie did not match, which led to another angry outburst from the host. During an even earlier episode, criticism from another caller was met with Bezzina calling the caller a “pea brain”.