PBS is still a ‘political battleground’ – chairman Tonio Portughese

The new chairman of the Public Broadcasting Services has called for an to the confrontation between PBS and the Broadcasting Authority, which has often held the national broadcaster up to the light of its judgement on issues of media imbalance and partiality.

Tonio Portughese, who was appointed by the new Labour administration, said communication between the two entities had come to a historical low. The BA is an independent, constitutionally-appointed body which is however composed of two members recommended each by the Nationalist and Labour parties, apart from the regulator's chairman.

In an interview with Andrew Azzopardi on Radju Malta's Ghandi Xi Nghid, Portughese said the new PBS board of directors recognised the constitutional role of the Broadcasting Authority.

"The Authority has a legal role to serve as a watchdog over PBS. Even though there might be cases where we may not concur with their observation, we are willing to discuss this round a table," Portughese said.

The new chairman also said he had found no political pressure from the government to bring back relations between PBS and the Broadcasting Authority to the best of terms.

"When I took office, I asked the authorities whether I should try to heal the wounds, but they gave me a free hand to do what I thought it would be best," Portughese said.

The chairman claimed that he was told by the executive that there would no political interference in PBS programming, either. "I asked if there were any terms of reference but they insisted there will be no political interference. And I confirm there is none," Portughese insisted.

But the new chairman also said that PBS would still be a battleground between the political parties, at least for the time being.  "I expect that the parties will still lament about the situation, it's in their nature. Ultimately we are here to serve the public, not a particular party or individual," Portughese remarked over the news content of PBS bulletins.

He added that the new editorial board will enjoy full autonomy in choosing news programming.

"PBS has to fight the perception it has gained of broadcasting unbalanced programmes. We are currently at the receiving end of the entire political spectrum. Labour voters say that nothing has changed, the Nationalists are saying that the new board is already showing their true political allegiance. It's a lose-lose scenario right now."

Portughese, who is not a new face in national broadcasting, having served at the time of Xandir Malta, also spoke about the first political debate broadcast in Malta in 1981. "It seems that I was the only person that the political parties agreed on presenting this debate. I remember soldiers in the streets and a lot of expectation about this debate between Dom Mintoff and Eddie Fenech Adami... That debate soon resulted into an anti-climax, with the leaders participating in a civil and structured debate."