Virtual Yawn

Broadcast producers, editors, programme-makers historically intimidated by politicians – it was and forever will be what Maltese broadcasting was built on.

In today’s Times of Malta a goverment minister claims “that there had never been public broadcasting so free from government interference”.

As broadcasting, government interference and Malta are forever entwined in an ugly mess, I wonder where this proud statement comes from. Broadcast interference by governments have been part of the culture from day one.

Its set in stone.

The Times of Malta (I give this a “Yawn Rating” of 7 – saved only by the hilarity of the defence of government interference in broadcasting):

“State broadcasting critics living in a time-warp, minister says

State broadcasting critics living in a time-warp, minister says Education Minister Dolores Cristina yesterday criticised parliamentarians who had accused public broadcasting of lack of independence, describing them as living in a time-warp.

Winding up the debate in second reading amending the Broadcasting Act, Mrs Cristina stressed that there had never been public broadcasting so free from government interference. She also criticised those MPs who had used the time for partisan purposes and for attacking the reputation of certain persons.

Such mudslinging comments, she said, were based on incorrect perceptions. She emphasised that the creation of the editorial board in 2004 strengthened the independence of PBS.

Although the opposition passed adverse comments on broadcasters within the news department, statistics clearly indicated that the Labour Party had been allocated more time in news bulletins than the Nationalist Party which amounted to 50 per cent compared to 30 per cent.

Criticism of the chairman of the Editorial Board was unworthy. The minister said there was disagreement within the Opposition on public broadcasting, with party leader Joseph Muscat and media spokesman Evarist Bartolo making conflicting proposals even on issues as to whether members of the board ought to be representatives of the political parties.

MPs making blanket statements on the need for a better quality content of programmes only indicated that they did not follow these programmes. A great leap forward had been made in the quality of broadcasting, were the political dose was diluted and where there was a greater focus on social society, the people and what is happening out there.

Earlier in her speech, Mrs Cristina described the industry as dynamic and one that had, in the last years, provided new employment opportunities. The opposition had lost the opportunity to debate national broadcasting by preferring to throw mud at identifiable individuals within the national station based on unfounded statements. She expressed disappointment that thus, the debate had not focused on the draft legislation itself.

The Bill sought to regulate the industry by removing bureaucracy; aiming at self-regulation rather than imposition of regulation. While keeping in mind that station financing heavily depended on advertising, standards ought to be set to ensure the integrity of programme content as well as consumer protection.

To this effect, Minister Cristina noted that the Bill considered the introduction of new regulations for advertising. She assured the House that serious and grave monitoring of advertising and of adherence to standards was to be followed, with those failing to abide with the regulations facing penalties.

Notwithstanding, the proposed framework still left room for flexibility so as not to stifle creativity and competition. Mrs Cristina noted that the TVM and Education-22 were to provide education to children and adults through entertainment. NGOs played an important role in Malta and are given space within the public broadcasting sector not necessarily through advertising but through participation even in programmes.

Earlier, Labour MP Silvio Parnis said pluralism in broadcasting was very important. Broadcasting stations in Malta needed to develop their viewer education capacity and make better use of their position. He called on to the Broadcasting Authority to regulate the content of programmes and adverts.

The university should develop more opportunities to prepare presenters who would then work within the media. Although the BA has established guidelines for presenters these are at times not followed. Furthermore, presenters lacked personality. He noted NGOs were given the possibility to make use of adverts for a few seconds on any station and asked the Minister to provide more information on the opportunities afforded to NGOs. Mr Parnis suggested that government advertising be equally shared between all stations as this would reach bigger viewership.

He complained that TVM highlighted ministerial statements but not those issued by the opposition. He questioned whether people should continue paying licence fees to TVM when one considered that these families were also paying for cable TV, especially when services such as teletext had been removed. Concluding, Mr Parnis said Maltese viewers watched all stations and invited presenters to use their strong influence to transmit positive messages. The Bill was unanimously approved.

At the beginning of yesterday’s session, the House unanimously gave the first reading to the Aircraft Registration Bill. During the adjournment, Labour MP Noel Farrugia expressed solidarity with the earthquake victims of Haiti”.

The last 18 months or so has been, in a way, open season for the bigots and racists who seem to fester with their filthy racist “comments”. All without a care in the world, through a range of newspapers.

Although really this is nothing new, it just seems to me that these people seem to have had the upper hand of late.

Everybody is entitled to an opinion, sometimes opinions seem to others to be extreme even nasty. But the sadness in all this is that whilst, in the privacy of our own homes or our own environment, we can say, insult, abuse and racially upset people to our hearts content, the fact that national newspapers openly publish these ramblings to an international audience is beyond the pale.

Above all of this is the fact many of the perpetrators of this filth and nastiness are not actually in possession of the facts. They generalise, they hurt, they sometimes (indeed most of the time) bare very little resemblance to the subjective or indeed the truth. They are polluters to the mind. These bigots scribble away and spew out their rubbish like a machine pumping sewerage into the sea.

The many people who read these “comments” feel offended, sorry and sad. Many feel personally attacked and some, like me, feel furious at editors and publishers allowing this garbage to be published to an international (or any) audience.

On top of all this are other generalisations — gays are perverts and queers, blacks are filthy dirty, women are second rate and second-class, the disabled are labelled cripples, Muslims ignorant bombers and so the list goes forever onwards in a perverse, nasty and ignorant way.

The time has come for responsible national newspaper editors to take it upon themselves to take responsibility for what they publish on the Internet. If they feel they need to publish it in their editorial then that in my mind is an even worse “crime”.

I have worked in, and being involved with, broadcasting all my adult life. I have worked in the United Kingdom, across Europe and in Africa. I have been associated with a great many people from a wide racial and cultural background. I have worked in countries where the relationship with my home country is dubious and uneasy and in other countries where relationships are strong and loving. Throughout my career I can honestly say that I have never worked or been associated with a broadcasting organisation that has knowingly transmitted and broadcast the level of racism and nastiness that is now being transmitted across the Internet and published by newspaper editors.

So whilst broadcasters internationally maintain levels required by localised regulation, newspaper publishers feel free to publish this insulting and nasty material.

I have noticed in the last 12 months that the level of racism in Malta perpetrated by a few Maltese is generating more and more footage within these newspapers online. All in the name of  “comments”. On several occasions I have tried, in vain, to redress the balance. On the few occasions when my comments, which I feel to be levelheaded and fairly straightforward, have been ignored and not published. I even wrote a handwritten letter which was sent by air mail to the editor of this newspaper.

In the letter I asked why he the management of this newspaper continued to allow this insulting and deeply rude rubbish to be published to an international audience. But alas I received — not surprisingly — no reply or acknowledgement.

So now, unperturbed by my strength of feelings and those other great many, I am writing again to the management of this newspaper to ask why they allow this level of nastiness to be published and why on occasions they do not allow people like myself to vent their comments online.

The silence and the lack of acknowledgement is the weak excuse in this. It also demonstrates that this newspaper revels in these racist nasty remarks. So we will see now when I write again.

Meanwhile I will use the power of the Internet myself as an individual to show to the world the other side of the coin if newspapers choose to ignore the voice of reason amongst this swamp of sewerage.

The Times of Malta published a story about a scuffle in a street on ths Mediterranean island and about a young guy who intervened and prevented the Maltese police from doing their job:

“A Nigerian teenager ended up in court after he tried to stop police officers from intervening in a fight and refused to give his particulars.

The youth, whose name cannot be published because he is 16, pleaded guilty to disobeying and assaulting police officers.

Standing in the dock barefoot, the young man was arrested after trying to stop the police from intervening in a fight, which allegedly involved a friend of his, in the road where he lived in St Paul’s Bay.

On Tuesday evening, the police were informed that people were fighting in Ruggero Loria Street but were stopped by the Nigerian teenager when they tried to intervene, police sources said. He refused to give them his details and ran away.

Lawyer Renzo Porsella Flores argued that his client had a clean police record and had immediately apologised to the police when he was arrested on Tuesday. Also, after over six months in a detention centre, his client had found a job and was living in an apartment in St Paul’s Bay. “He wants to make a clean sweep,” the lawyer said.

But Police Inspector Elton Taliana, for the prosecution, argued that this was a serious crime. He referred to an appeal judgment handed down by Mr Justice Joseph Galea Debono that stressed the gravity of such a crime.

Magistrate Gabriella Vella remanded the teenager in custody until she hands down judgment today.”

Despite the instant reference to the accused’s nationality, the article was fairly straightforward in its editorial on this occasion.

What followed was a dreadful run of nasty racism from people who were not in possession of the facts, apart from the fact that the guy was Nigerian.

I tried, in vain (despite my few typos), to put these racists straight on a few points (see here). Sadly I am on losing streak here. One person (gender unknown), ‘IGalea’, referred to me as ‘Waugh’ as he continued to patronise the wider world and defend his racism.

On Facebook there are those who publiclly and through private messages to me support and have a voice of reason, explaining that not all Malta is racist (which of course I know from experience).

What frightens me is that The Times of Malta continue to allow and vet this nastiness.

The Malta government, who are so allegedly proud of their position on the international stage, should step in and defend their openness. But even they will not. They standby as the whole world reads these comments. Then they moan about tourism and foreign business commitment!

Do they care about the reputation of Malta and the reasonable level-headed Maltese?

The answer, my friend, is in The Times of Malta.

The Times of Malta (14 Dec 2009)

Comment:

“Who is in charge in England now a days anyway, is she still alive,as most of them are dead now aren’t they, just shows you how interested i am about the British and their subjects or is it Margaret thatcher? well either one of them who cares”!!

As I cough and splatter my way through tons and tons of news copy in my grumpy middle-aged life, a day does not pass when I don’t come across at least one or two little “nasties”.

These are  “gems” which are not high quality editorial masterpieces. They’re not the bastion of unbiased editorials. They are not the groundbreaking voice of reason to fill your heart with common sense. These are the claptrap scribblings of a few strangely out of touch, post-war individuals who seem detached from the reality of life.

If I was an alien from the planet “common sense” I would read these items, these ramblings, with a degree of hilarity in a genuine belief that they were not written by human beings but by some ill-conceived and badly programed computer.

Out there in the big wide real world is a vast collection seemingly levelheaded people who take it upon themselves not to gather the facts but plant trash to the wider audience.  These “gems” are complete and total rubbish which bears no semblance to life in the 21st century.

When I first started noticing these “comments” I started to get so wound up that there was a danger that severe damage could be done to the brickwork and fabric of my home by banging my head against any near solid object. But alas the headbanging and threats to throw my much loved computer out of the window dissolved into a form of warm humour attached normally to a politician that has actually lost the plot.

The World Wide Web is a marvelous thing in the hands of the sane. But when left to the bigoted, racist, xenophobic, homophobic and downright rude then it is a completely different matter.

In the good old days when journalists worked for businesses that printed onto pieces of paper you could occasionally read letters and comments which were carefully vetted from say “Mister Angry of Surbiton” or “Annoyed from Budleigh Salterton”. Reading those comments you would feel, although you did not necessarily agree with them, you were at least confident and safe in the knowledge that these ramblings and words were vetted by the editor of the newspaper.

Today, with most newspapers online, we are subjected a barrage of nonsense, ignorance, lack of understanding all in the name of “comments”. These words discredit those of reason and common sense that many try to apply to this online facility. Indeed its very easy for these little “gems” to totally change the point and subjective.

A lot of these “gems” are worthy of archiving for the future. Because they capture a split second in time when the author has clearly lost the plot with a barrage of nastiness. Like a reasonably good wine, it sometimes matures with age but can retain its sourness and downright nastiness.

And that is what this little blog is all about.