Court rules One News report on 2004 Gonzi-Dalli report was ‘fair comment’

Magistrate Giovanni Grixti ruled on "fair comment" and threw out a libel suit filed by former PBS journalist Ivan Camilleri, against the former head of news at One News Gino Cauchi and journalist Julia Farrugia.

Camilleri had sued Cauchi and Farrugia over their report aired on One News which referred to a press conference made by the then deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi during the PN leadership campaign in 2004.

Camilleri claimed to have been slandered by the content of the report entitled "arrows launched during Gonzi's press conference," which made a visual reference to Camilleri during the press conference and asked Gonzi about John Dalli's manifesto.

The former PBS journalist said that he was slandered when Farrugia reported that "journalists close to the Gonzi camp helped Gonzi with questions which were intended to discredit John Dalli's manifesto."

The report continued to say that at one point "a PBS journalist - who's brother works within Gonzi's private secretariat - pulled out a copy of John Dalli's manifesto and asked the deputy prime minister for his thoughts on the fact that the booklet contained items which were not in the government's electoral programme. Gonzi replied that he had not seen the booklet, but added that there is only one electoral programme and not John Dalli's or of any other contestant in the race."

The report also included a reaction from John Dalli, who stressed that his booklet was not an electoral program but a gathering of thoughts.

During proceedings, Camilleri produced Edgar Galea Curmi - then campaign manager to Lawrence Gonzi's bid to the PN leadership - who told the court that he did not have Ivan Camilleri's name on the list of canvassers who assisted Gonzi during that campaign.

In his judgment, Magistrate Giovanni Grixti said that Camilleri had admitted that his brother vwas in the employ of Lawrence Gonzi's private secretariat, but only had access to him just like any other journalist.

The Magistrate also said that while Camilleri had said that the One TV report had caused him damage to the extent that he had to leave PBS, he also said that he left the state broadcaster because an 2opportunity" had arisen for him.

The court ruled that the content of the report was "fair comment" and it was up to the general public to decide on its content.