The fourth estate and all that rubbish

The last thing people have on their minds is a boring repetitive opinion about the fourth estate. Because everyone – including the most unlikely converts – is currently taken over by the World Cup being played as I write.

But I guess I have never been one to be derailed by popular sentiments.

And I think that a discussion on the fourth estate is crucial if we want our democracy not to be moulded according to the whims of our political parties which exist – it seems – simply to continue perpetuating their own existence.

Most readers in Malta and abroad are not really interested in whether the press exists or simply becomes extinct.  The way many newspapers have seen their readership abandon them is shocking (if not “incredible”). 

Everyone in the print media has been hard hit by a younger generation that is detached from current affairs, and of course by the digital revolution. The Independent and The Times, and to a lesser extent MaltaToday, have all lost print readers. 

MaltaToday has been luckier than all the rest.

The Times in particular has seen hordes of readers move away, to seek out other news sources.

Yet though I am not one to shed a tear for The Times or The Independent, the truth is that the media, and the print media in general who are the fourth estate, remain an essential functional component of a modern democracy.

Without the media, our government, the institutions, business and society would have little or no checks or balances.

More so when both political parties are converging to the centre and are hardly distinguishable.

The reason that printed media remains prevalent in Malta isn’t becuase they’re particularly profitable. It is a combination of endless funding from the people who own them or who have a problem with ego.

The Times does not seem to care that they lose pots of gold every year… but sooner, rather than later, they will have to make amends.

The Independent shareholders hang onto the newspaper because it is an important element for their ‘other’ business set up.

The political newspapers Kullħadd, Orizzont, Nazzjon and Mument exist because the institutions and political parties behind them continue to sponsor them and bail them out.

Without the media, our government, the institutions, business and society would have little or no checks or balances.

And yet today, apart from the crisis in the media, which is in itself complex and cannot be properly discussed in this short column, the real crisis to the real independent media are the judiciary and the press laws.

For example it is implausible why the Chief Justice, Silvio Camilleri persists in the tradition that all defamation cases are heard by one magistrate. Worse still, it is shocking to see that the political class refuses to reform the press laws.

There are no two ways about it. Many of the decisions on libel cases are being challenged because they are seen as unfair and subjective.  
And the fines handed down are far too high.

The end result is that the real independent media – which is not supported by big business or old money like The Independent and The Times respectively – will not survive.

And perhaps there is a motive for decimating the media and making it defunct.

A cursory look at the turnover of the media companies shows that they cannot sustain more losses, let alone excessive fines dished out by the law courts.
I am sure no one will cry for an extinct press, but if the political class has any sense they will invest some time and energy to address this critical situation.

I have no qualms saying that the press and this newspaper have made mistakes, but most of the time, the story and the angle of all our stories have been based on a newsworthy investigation.

The Jumbo Lido story investigated by journalist James Debono, which led Peter Fenech to win three libel cases amounting to €18,000 is a case in point.
It was a tragic day for the future of the independent media.

The very fact that the judiciary at different stages have ignored our arguments does not mean that we should give up believing in justice but rather that we should find ways to convince the lawmakers and the political class that this is not the solution.

But this is not the point.  The point is that the last debate on the matter by former PN maverick and now Muscat consultant Franco Debono was for the fines to be raised – a preposterous proposal that is fuelled by Debono’s own personal and selfish concerns – stemming from (at times highly exaggerated) critique by the “blogger from hell”.

My point is rather simple.

Anyone who gives his life to journalism and stays in it does so because he or she believes they have a mission.  It is a job, but I can assure everyone that there are jobs and jobs. This is a job which does not endear you to anyone.  If it does, it means you are doing a bad job.

Other than that, it is a thankless job that leaves one with no time for a personal life.

The robustness of the fourth estate very much depends on the political class, many of whom consider the media as a threat to their very existence.

***

The only exciting thing that hit the headlines this week was the obesity motion by the PN Opposition.  And though there is nothing to criticise in the motion presented on ‘nutrition’ and ‘against obesity’ it did strike me as rather superficial.

But we cannot tackle obesity if fast food shops are available for everyone and are present at every corner and at every junction.

In the sense that when one looks at the reasons for obesity or over-eating, the blame I feel should not be directed at the people who succumb to bad eating habits or choices but rather to who offers us the opportunity to become insatiable pigs.

It is the politicians who wave a green light for fast food chains to flourish all over the island and for these chains to advertise freely.  

It is the political class who encourage a consumer-driven society and who have no qualms about seeing foodstuffs marketed and promoted in any unforgiveable manner.

If obesity is an issue then please file a motion against drivers, calling on them not to drive fast in their Ferraris, convertibles and other sports cars.

If politicians do not want motorists to drive fast, they should ban fast cars in the first place.

It appears that no one wants to prevent the problem, but rather to cure it.

But we cannot tackle obesity if fast food shops are available for everyone and are present at every corner and at every junction.

Just in the same way that politicians cannot complain about young people drinking alcohol when they do nothing to stop strategically placed shops in Paceville and Bugibba from selling alcohool to youngsters without any form of restriction.

The proposal on obesity was piloted by Robert Cutajar, a new MP, whom I am sure means well, but is too bullish to appreciate you cannot wave your right hand to tell someone to stop and with the other hand call on him to move on.