PBS chose former One presenter Brian Hansford for ‘different opinion’

PBS decided Hansford's current affairs programme Realtà will go on air in July after the former Labour party executive committee member was chosen through a "direct call", MaltaToday has learnt.

In a move to counter accusations that PBS's current affairs programmes are either biased in favour of government, or too much in the control of the Where's Everybody production house - the latter accused by Labour of being apologists for the Nationalist party - Hansford joins another former Labour executive member, Joe Mifsud, in strengthening this perception.

Mifsud abandoned One TV after he was ousted from his post of international secretary in the last Labour annual general meeting that elected former Labour foreign minister Alex Sceberras Trigona.

"The editorial board has long been feeling that there should be a wider choice of journalists who anchor current affairs programmes, providing different opinions and transmitting different opinions," PBS editorial board member Charles Mizzi told MaltaToday.

Asked whether the editorial board had bypassed the usual intensive grilling applicants undergo in a bid to air their programmes on TVM, Mizzi said that the board reserved the right to choose however it wanted.

"If the management and the board feel that the proposals in front of it do not fulfill their requirements, the board has the right to go for a direct call," he said.

Mizzi added that this was not the first time that individuals were directly chosen because the board felt that they "fulfilled the board's expectations".

Meanwhile, no reason has yet been put forward by One Productions of the Labour Party, over why Hansford's television programme was removed.

One Productions chairman Jason Micallef had claimed with MaltaToday that he didn't know the reason why it was cancelled. "The decision was not taken by One Productions. That particular time slot is not linked with the station. The time is allocated to the Labour Party and falls under the party's jurisdiction," Micallef had said.

On the other hand, the Labour Party has also failed to explain the reasoning behind this decision.

Hansford's migration to TVM, announced last Friday on breakfast show TVAM, fuelled comments that the move was a PBS tactic to counteract criticism that the station was too biased in favour of the Nationalist government.

But in comments to MaltaToday, Hansford rebutted allegations that he was chosen over his political convictions.

However, when asked whether he still supported Labour, the former PL executive committee member said he felt that he shouldn't comment. "I will soon be presenting a programme on the national television station and I cannot comment on this," Hansford said. "Nobody ever tried to change my views."

While he wouldn't divulge who had requested his presence on TVM - insisting that all questions on the matter should be referred to the editorial board - Hansford said no one from PBS told him that his presence was needed to create balance.

Hansford added that his meeting with the editorial board had been "very professional".

"All I can say is that I am very happy with the move I have made and all I am asking for now is to be given a chance," Hansford added.

Asked whether he thinks that his past could in any way affect how the TVM audience will perceive him, Hansford said he is going to prove that he will have a "balanced" talk show.

Hansford's Realtà programme has already migrated once when he transferred to One TV from Smash TV.

Hansford bowed out of the political arena in 2007 citing "incompatibility" between politics and the production of his discussion programmes.

For the first time after eight years as a member, Hansford decided not to run for the Labour executive committee, having been a party delegate since his late teens.