Malta drops six places in press freedom index, ranks 84 in the world

Malta has ranked 84th from 180 countries in the 2023 World Press Freedom Index issued by Reporters Without Borders.

Malta dropped six places, having moved up three places in 2022. Only Greece ranked lower than Malta in the European Union, where journalists were spied on by the intelligence services and by powerful spyware.

According to the report, journalists in Malta have to cope with a highly polarised environment under the strong influence of political parties.

It also explained how ruling party wields a strong influence over the public broadcaster and uses public advertising to exert pressure on private media.

“Many politicians select specific journalists for exclusive interviews, while those considered “hostile” are ignored, including within the party media. The government requires an “access card” issued to journalists to cover government events or attend press conferences,” the report reads.

While freedom of the press is guaranteed in Malta, the legal and regulatory framework does not allow journalists to exercise their rights.

“Journalists are regularly the targets of SLAPP, and family members of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, killed in 2017, are even targeted with posthumous defamation lawsuits,” the report says.

Although it is relatively easy to launch a media outlet in Malta, the small market offers limited sources of funding for independent media whose sustainability is undermined by non-transparent and discriminatory distribution of public funds. “During the pandemic, subsidies were mostly granted to political parties’ media outlets.”

“On almost every issue of public interest, Maltese society suffers from deep polarization. Reporting on certain topics such as migration or abortion remains unpopular and incites abuse towards journalists covering these topics. Very few journalists from minority groups work for the mainstream media. Investigative reporting is carried out by a handful of journalists, almost exclusively men,” the report says.

On journalist safety in the country, the report says full justice is yet to be served for the 2017 assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia.

“Although the public inquiry recognized that “the state has to shoulder responsibility for the assassination because it created an atmosphere of impunity”, the resulting recommendations have not been implemented,” the report reads.

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