Broadcasting watchdog increases PBS fine for failure to broadcast PN MP’s right of reply

The Broadcasting Authority has imposed a higher fine on PBS for refusing to broadcast Nationalist MP Jason Azzopardi’s right of reply.

PBS had already been fined €4,660 for failing to broadcast Azzopardi’s right of reply in reaction to a report that quoted Minister Carmelo Abela, hitting out at the Opposition MP.

The issue concerned allegations made by the men accused of murdering Daphne Caruana Galizia that Abela was involved in the HSBC heist of 2010. Abela has since sued Azzopardi for libel after the PN MP was the first to clearly identify the minister as the person indicated by the criminals.

However, in a fresh decision handed down today, the BA increased the fine to €5,592 after PBS failed to broadcast Azzopardi’s side of the story despite having ordered the station to do so on 10 June.

PBS’s legal advisor Mark Vassallo said the station would be taking the authority to court since it did not give the station a right to appeal the decision. According to PBS, the authority’s actions lacked due process and breached the Constitution.

The authority said in its statement that the station had not indicated any circumstances that justified the delay in broadcasting the right of reply.

The penalty imposed on PBS has to be paid within 60 days.