Government rep’s ‘loaded comment’ on IIP leads to BA complaint

The Broadcasting Authority has told the Public Broadcasting Services to ensure that the principle of impartiality is safeguarded when TV guests make comments relating to a political controversy.

The complaint referred to the TVAM edition of 16 January, 2014, in which the party said that Identity Malta's chairman Joe Vella Bonnici was invited to talk on the Individual Investor Programme the day after the European Parliament condemned the sale of EU citizenship.

The PN contended that the matter was of political controversy and that the PN should have been invited to comment on the EP discussion.

On its part, PBS said it wanted to host two "opinionists" in a first edition and then two political party representatives in a second edition, but that the cancellation of the first two guests had left them with no option but to invite Vella Bonnici in what was intended as an informative slot.

PBS welcomed the BA decision, saying it had confirmed the station had informed the PN that it would be inviting its representative to another TVAM edition.

PBS head of news Reno Bugeja also said that on 17 January, the day after, a government and Opposition representative were invited to debate the subject.

 "The BA decision agrees with the PN when it says that 'certain comments of a controversial nature made during the programme merited the inclusion of different viewpoints so that viewers could have both sides of the issue'."

The BA said that TVAM had to invite a PN representative to put forward its own views, without any other invitees, within a week of its decision.

"This is the second time in a month and a half that the BA has found PBS guilty of shortcomings in its coverage of the citizenship sale. The other time was when it did not cover finance minister Edward Scicluna's comments during on the IIP in a European Parliament committee. Today's decision uncovers the systematic censorship inside PBS, which is intended at overshadowing any criticism of the Labour government. PBS should not be used as partisan tool."