Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/779073
7 TIM DIACONO ANTON Attard, the former chief executive of PBS and NET TV, has been appointed as a consultant with the Church's radio station RTK as part of a wide revamp of its media team. Attard confirmed his position with MaltaToday but declined to offer further details of what his new role will entail, arguing that it would be "highly unethical" to dis- cuss such plans with other media. Attard arrives at RTK with a wealth of media experience, hav- ing headed the Nationalist Party's TV station Net and having run Lawrence Gonzi's media cam- paign in 2008. He was appointed CEO at the state broadcaster, PBS, in 2010, a position he occupied until 2016, when he was replaced at the helm by TV presenter John Bundy. Attard had taken a personal interest in the Eurovision Song Contest, and indeed last year was head of Ira Losco's delegation to Sweden. The Labour government had offered Attard another job at PBS, in charge of coordinating preparations for the Eurovision Song Contest, but he turned the offer down. The revamp of the Church's media also sees the influential Fr Joe Borg, a media academic, in charge of improving the quality of the Church's commercial me- dia companies. He told MaltaToday that the Church's media should embrace pluralism and a diversity of opin- ions. "Whoever reads my com- mentaries on the Sunday Times knows that I always defend the position that pluralism and di- versity are part of the Church's DNA. Its media should be like a rainbow, having a place for dif- ferent opinions and positions while clearly pushing forward the ethos and worldview of the same Church." He also warned that he has a "big problem with bigots, liars and mediocre people… particu- larly when these occupy differ- ent levels of responsibility in a Church media organisation" – a charge surely levelled against in- cumbents in the Catholic media group. MaltaToday is also informed that veteran journalist Sylvana Debono, who until recently was junior manager at TVM, will re- turn to RTK in some capacity. Debono was previously a journal- ist with Radio 101 and a commu- nications manager at the Malta Environment and Planning Au- thority. Informed Church media sourc- es – speaking on condition of an- onymity – told MaltaToday that staff are still very much in the dark over the full nature of the shake- up and over what exact roles At- tard and Borg will play. However, the move appears to be aimed at improving synergy between the Church's Media Centre, RTK and its online portal Newsbook, and the Curia's communications centre. In his first public address as Arch- bishop in 2015, Charles Scicluna said that the Curia must be restruc- tured so as to achieve efficiency and reduce its financial deficit. He has since granted key Curia positions to several lay persons. Former civil service head Godfrey Grima is now head of the Archbishop's Secre- tariat, while former National Sta- tistics Office head Michael Pace Ross is administrative secretary. Social worker Andrew Azzopardi has been appointed head of a new Church Commission to safeguard children, and former Din l-Art Helwa president Simone Mizzi is now head of the Church's Cultural Heritage Commission. tdiacono@mediatoday.com.mt MATTHEW VELLA RAMON Casha's (pictured, circle) untimely death left many stunned. The chairperson of the Malta Hu- manists Association, a dedicated activist for gay and civil rights, and a seasoned debater both online and offline, Casha's departure was mourned by secularist partisans and critics with whom he sparred. Except for notary Mark A. Sammut – author of a recent polemic against the Labour administration – whose Facebook invective after Casha's death offended those still mourning the energetic activist. "Thank God for taking this man away… yes, I understand that we should not speak bad things of those who died... I will speak badly of war criminals (even if they have left). I will speak badly of men who batter their wives (even if they have left). Because I have a duty to speak badly of evil. Ramon Casha was evil," Sam- mut posted on his Facebook wall. His unkind exultation of Casha's death, over the late activist's "dog- matic liberal worldview", did not stop there: "We should not be sanc- timonious when expressing our views on evil people just because they're now dead." As Facebook followers and readers were left smarting at the invective, MaltaToday's lawyers presented the Facebook posts in evidence in a lawsuit that Sammut's mother Catherine filed against this newspa- per over a 2011 obituary for his late father, the author Frans Sammut. The case is ongoing. An employee of the European Par- liament in Luxem- bourg, Sammut was a former Labour candi- date whose local notori- ety stems from an incident where he was caught carrying a firearm at Malta International Air- port; his acquittal was overturned by the Appeals Court in 2010, with a suspended sentence. Since then, Sammut performed a political volte-face after becom- ing 'radicalised' in the fallout of the Panama Papers. He self-published a diatribe against Joseph Muscat's neoliberal economics, 'L-Aqwa fl- Ewropa' (The best in Europe) – the title mocking the Labour prime min- ister's aspiration to push his country ahead of its EU counterparts. The book launch was attended by just on journalist from the PN organ In-Nazzjon, together with academic Simon Mercieca. So Sammut filed an email complaint to the Broad- casting Authority – fired off on early Sunday morning at 1:47 – demand- ing an "investigation" as to why PBS did not deem his book launch news- worthy. In Luxembourg, where he now works with the European institu- tions, Sammut is facing an adminis- trative enquiry for allegedly threat- ening, slandering and intimidating his head of unit Joseph Caruana. He has made identical counter-accusa- tions. maltatoday, SUNDAY, 29 JANUARY 2017 News Sammut invective on Ramon Casha presented to court in libel case Anton Attard roped in for Church media shake-up REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS The Ministry for Gozo is interested in leasing premises having an area of about 200 square meters in a central location in Gozo. The identified premises must feature the following key characteristics: - Have an independent entrance at street level - Easily accessible by persons with a disability - Conform to local building regulations and standards - In possession of the necessary permits as required by the relevant authorities - Have electrical and water supply and a functioning drainage system - Should include a kitchenette and two restrooms The initial agreement will be for a period of one (1) year which may be renewed for any other further period/s at the discretion of the lessee and subject to agreement with the lessor. Detailed information including a scaled site plan and a plan of the premises, together with an indication of the proposed annual lease rate, must be enclosed in a clearly marked and sealed envelope and deposited in the tender box at the Procurement Unit at the Ministry for Gozo, St. Francis Square, Victoria, Gozo by not later than noon of Wednesday, 8th February 2017. Submissions will be treated in strict confidentiality. The Ministry for Gozo reserves the right to refuse any offer in respect of this Request for Proposal. Former PBS chief Anton Attard appointed consultant to RTK, Fr Joe Borg entrusted with improving Church's media content Anton Attard was until last year chief executive at PBS. Right: Fr Joe Borg Mark Sammut (right) spearheaded a libel case against MaltaToday for its obituary about his late father Frans Sammut but has no qualms about denigrating the late Ramon Casha the week he passed away