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PBS refuses to have journalists act as Broadcasting Authority’s ‘timekeepers’
PBS withdraws participation of veteran journalists from chairing BA debates without asking questions to its participants.
8 January 2013, 12:00am
Matthew Vella
Matthew Vella
1 min read
Not your timekeeper: veteran PBS journalist and Dissett presenter Reno Bugeja was withdrawn from chairing BA debates.
The editorial board of the Public Broadcasting Services has refused to allow TVM journalists Reno Bugeja and Ruth Amaira to participate as chairpersons for the Broadcasting Authority electoral debates.
The broadcasting regulator issued a 'condemnation' of the PBS's editorial board's eleventh-hour directive, ostensibly because it did not want its journalists to participate in programmes where they cannot ask questions.
Such BA debates tend to be organised rounds of commentary from both sides of the divide, but without the direct questioning of the chairperson - contrary to BA debates in which a pool of journalists are invited to ask questions to one speaker.
"These schedules were set by the chief executive of the BA and the PBS chief executive. Despite agreement on these arrangements, after which the authority publicized the names of the debates' chairpersons, PBS informed the authority that the editorial board had 'given a directive to PBS journalists that they cannot be in roles where they cannot ask questions'.
"For this reason, PBS were not authorising Bugeja and Amaira from participating in the programmes."
The BA said the PBS's decision had been "irresponsible" and created logistical problems for the authority.
Wednesday's debate between finance minister Tonio Fenech and Labour MP Chris Cardona, to be aired on Wednesday at 8:40pm, will go ahead as scheduled.
PBS head of news Natalino Fenech and PBS chief executive Anton Attard were not available for comment.
Matthew Vella, a freelance journalist at MaltaToday, was formerly executive editor at Malt...
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And these "independent managers" have the gall to criticise Dardir Malta?? No worries! I hope one of the first actions by the PL in Government would be to conduct a clean sweep of all these authorities, and rid Malta of these communist era manipulative media and all the rest. Even before getting around to tackling that grossly mismanaged sector, energy and water.
Lawrence Covin •
What PBS wants is for its chairpersons to be able to destroy carefully-built arguments by constant interpositions, to create confusion in the speaker. They just want hecklers. That is the action-plan PN came up with for discussion programmes.
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PBS, Xandir Pubbliku tal-misthija. Jekk vera tezisti l-kontabilita` kulhadd ghandu jghati kont ta` ghemilu.
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The bloody PN cowards are afraid of not having Peppi or Bondi running the show. They know that Reno Bugeja is an unbiased moderator, as he should rightly be on a National TV station, and they have the sour experience of Simon 'Grocer' Busuttil's dismal performance against Louis Grech. This incident also shows that the PN panics when an Authority (be it the Ombudsman, Courts, Auditor General, or in this case the Broadcasting Authority) puts its foot down on their arrogance. It has happened so often now that we have come to be used to this dirty trick.
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...of course they want Bondi, Peppi or Mr Vella to referee and, without modesty or blush, give a helping hand to GonziPN!
Luke Camilleri •
Is PBS the Braodcasting Authority now?
If there is a jounalist in PBS that has credibility it's journalist and Dissett presenter Reno Bugeja!
Removing Reno is REMOVING ANY CREDIBILITY THAT IS LEFT IN PBS!
If there is some Broadcasting Authority , it better speaks out now!
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what? dan veru waqajna daqshekk fil baxx? 2013 and eu members and going back to the 80's when i had to switch off my tv. i think that i just do that again
