Susan Mulvaney, 71, passes away after cancer battle

Popular TV and radio presenter Susan Mulvaney passed away early this morning at around 7am.

Mulvaney, 71, passed away after a short battle with cancer.

The veteran presenter, whose career spanned over 40 years, was considered a pioneer in broadcasting. She was known for her educational programmes and has appeared on multiple national stations such as PBS and Radio RTK.

As one of the first female journalists in Malta, Mulvaney was seen as a trailblazer for the emancipation of women in broadcasting.  Her programmes, which touched on topics such as health and education, were some of the first to be presented by a woman.

In 1964, Mulvaney became the first female journalist trainee at Labour media outlet Union Press. She later went on to become sub editor of newspaper L-Orizzont.

She went on to take over the woman's programme on Radju Malta Wieħed and eventually became one of the first employees at RTK, where she produced family and lifestyle shows.

Mulvaney's passion for social and family needs led her to publish books on social affairs and etiquette, as well as recipe books. In 2000, she was nominated as Worker of the Year for her contribution to the Media Centre.

Philanthropy was also a great priority to Mulvaney, who founded the Malta Osteoporosis Society and the Association of School Councils. Mulvaney also worked with prison inmates and irregular immigrants, and she was appointed to the Prison Board where she worked to improve the conditions of inmates at the Corradino Correctional Facility.

She was appointed a member of the Visitors Board of prisons in 2007, a position she held to date.

As a member of the Forensic Unit evaluation board, she also considered the conditions of Mount carmel and Police headquarters lock up.

Her work for Frontex saw her accompanying ariplanes from Rome, Spain and Germany to take irregular migrants back to their home country.

Susan Mulvaney was married to Charles Sacco and had two children, Marika and Daniela.

In a social media post, President Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca thanked Mulvaney for her contribution the Maltese broadcasting.

The Labour Party and the Nationalist party also expressed their condolences towards Mulvaney and her family.

"It would be a mistake to dismiss Mulvaney's work as just cooking shows," Prime Minister Joseph Muscat said. "As one of the first female figures in broadcasting, she was a trailblazer whose programmes presented information to housewives who did not have access to information on health at the time."