Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1082991
16 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 17 FEBRUARY 2019 INTERVIEW The Broadcasting Authority was originally set up in 1961 to (among other things) ensure "due impartiality in respect of matters of political or industrial controversy or relating to current public policy". The early 1960s was a time of great political turmoil in Malta; and while the issues have changed, the polarity of Maltese politics remains largely the same. Yet surely, broadcasting is about much more than just politics. Do you yourself view the authority's role in those terms? Probably, the perception of many people is that the Broad- casting Authority deals only with impartiality; and even then, 'impartiality' only in po- litical content. But there is, as you say, much more to it than that. Politics is not the only other area where impartiality is needed; and, as per the Broad- casting Act and other legisla- tion, there are other remits beyond ensuring impartiality in broadcasting… such as the portrayal of vulnerable groups, of minors, or people with dis- abilities, and so on. There is a social dimension which the au- thority also tackles. One exam- ple of this is how tragedies are reported in the news: whether there is sensitivity towards fam- ily and loved ones, or whether the event is sensationalised, etc. Meanwhile there are also other aspects that are not listed in the Act, because they are very subjective. For instance, one area we are trying to concen- trate on is quality in broadcast- ing: because we are seeing that, given the number of television and radio stations, the quality might not be of the highest lev- el. In many cases, I am sorry to say that quality levels are very, very low. Apart from being subjective, quality in radio and (especially) TV also requires a certain amount of investment. Does the BA's goal of "fostering creativity and better programming" extend to making funds available to local producers? A certain level of quality does need money, equipment and investment, yes. But in my opinion, there are other ele- ments of quality that perhaps wouldn't need that much in- vestment: a good presenter, a well-trained journalist, who can research material for a pro- gramme… sometimes, even the choice of whom one hires to fill a vacancy can be a reflection of where the station intends to go with regard to quality. In gen- eral, I would say that training is very lacking in broadcasting at the moment. But otherwise, yes. Funding is required. And funding is available, though not all of it is currently being tapped. As an authority, we are in the process of trying to tap into additional sources of fund- ing, especially where training for broadcasters and presenters is concerned... Given that the BA also has a public service obligation, will it be providing this training itself? In the UK, for instance, the BBC has its own training academy… We have to be a little cautious when making comparisons with other countries, though. The reality on the ground here is slightly different, particularly when it comes to resources and financing. In the UK, for in- stance, a single sponsor might be enough to finance a whole series. But speak to local pro- ducers, and they will tell you they need as many as 10 indi- vidual sponsors for a single epi- sode… because everything is so much smaller… Perhaps: but in terms of training opportunities, what actually exists in Malta? Is there a local equivalent of the UK's BBC Academy of Journalism, for instance? As a Broadcasting Authority, we are in the process of trying to set up a Broadcasting Acad- emy. One of the reasons is that we are seeing how 'TV present- ers' are now popping up every- where: but they are not being trained; and there is a general lack of media literacy across the board. Media literacy is, in fact, one issue which I feel we haven't even started addressing yet. So we are working on open- ing a Broadcasting Academy, and hopefully this will have a positive impact on the quality of broadcasting. I'm not say- ing that next year, Maltese tel- evision will be perfect. But I do believe that training for broad- casters, and improved media literacy all round, would re- ally help. But – and I feel this is something we need to commu- nicate with the stakeholders – we are being hampered by lack of information. There is certain data the BA needs, but which, at present, is unavailable. We don't know how much adver- tising revenue stations receive; nor do we know how much a particular programme would have cost to produce… But I was under the impression that the BA publishes regular reports on the state of broadcasting in Malta… We do publish regular audi- ence ratings reports, yes, but they don't go into things like advertising revenue. What hap- pens is that we commission the NSO to provide the raw data, which we then analyse to pro- duce reports once every four months: the broadcasting calen- The Broadcasting Authority is embarking on an initiative to radically improve the quality of output on Maltese radio and television stations. CEO Dr JOANNA SPITERI outlines the major challenges ahead Balancing things out The Constitutional obligation of impartiality is applicable to all stations, but a slant is allowed as long as there is overall balance and impartiality Raphael Vassallo Raphael Vassallo rvassallo@mediatoday.com.mt