The Broadcasting Authority must enforce impartiality across all television and radio stations
The Nationalist Party is right to raise serious questions about political balance at PBS. But if the Broadcasting Authority is genuinely going to enforce Malta’s broadcasting laws, as it should, then it must apply the same rules to every broadcaster, not just to PBS.
The law is clear. Malta’s broadcasting framework requires due impartiality on television and radio in matters of public policy. Importantly, the rules do not allow a broadcaster to simply argue that the other side can be heard on another station.
The law must apply to all broadcasters.
For the most part PBS reports Momentum statements on TVM, typically featuring them at the very end of its news bulletins. The choice of timing and placement does raise some eyebrows, with political segments from other parties and all sorts of variety news items always taking precedence. Yet during the 2026 election campaign, Momentum was also invited to participate in some political debates. This does not hold outside of the election period, as Momentum is rarely represented on PBS stations and has not been given the same opportunities to participate in political discussion programmes such as Bla Rispetti.
The Broadcasting Authority must enforce Malta’s broadcasting laws consistently across all stations. The law cannot mean one thing for PBS and another thing for NET or ONE.
Momentum sends its press releases to all the media houses in Malta on a daily basis. Yet, NET and ONE do not mention Momentum in their news bulletin or news portals. Also, Momentum has never been invited to participate in a political debate on either of those stations, and that includes radio stations.
Mark Camilleri Gambin, General Secretary of Momentum, said, “Some may argue that this is simply what one should expect from party-owned broadcasters: that their station will only give space to its own party propaganda. But that cannot be the standard by which Malta’s broadcasting laws are applied. Political ownership of a station does not remove the legal obligation of due impartiality.”
Malta needs a genuinely independent public broadcaster that operates free from political or editorial interference. At the same time, we need to ask why a publicly funded broadcaster is competing so heavily with a private media industry that is already struggling financially.
For example, the BBC’s UK public-service television and radio services are funded through public funds, rather than commercial advertising. Malta’s PBS should not be competing directly with private broadcasters for commercial revenue.
“We are grateful to the independent media houses, broadcasters and podcasters who give us a voice on their channels. Without them, Momentum would have very limited reach to the public,” Camilleri Gambin concluded.
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