Catholic newspaper unfairly denied grant from ministry, Ombudsman concludes

The Ombudsman has called out the Culture Ministry for having failed to remedy an “unjust” and “discriminatory” decision to exclude Catholic newspaper Il-Leħen from receiving a government grant to assist it with rising printing costs. 

The Catholic Action, as the newspaper's owner, had complained to the Ombudsman after other private media houses received assistance under a government grant scheme while Il-Leħen, one of Malta’s oldest published newspapers, was denied any support. 

Il-Leħen, previously known as Leħen is-Sewwa, was first published on 1 September 1928. It is published every Sunday. 

The newspaper support scheme was launched in 2022, when the government announced it would provide financial assistance of up to €500,000 to newspaper publishers to help them deal with the substantial increase in the price of paper. 

Following the complaint to the Ombudsman, the ministry defended its decision, saying Il-Leħen did not publish ‘current news’ and was therefore not considered a ‘newspaper’ for the purpose of the scheme. 

It also claimed that ‘lifestyle and opinion articles are not defined as journalism’, citing that Il-Leħen is a Sunday publication. 

Ministry officials confirmed that six media houses benefited from the €500,000 grant, and the allocation was based on a formal agreement signed on 1 October 2023, which described the initiative as a measure "in the interest of freedom of expression and the press."

The Ombudsman found the reasoning inadequate and flawed, and said journalism is far more than daily news reporting, and includes commentary, cultural, educational and religious content that contributes to public discourse. 

The investigation highlighted that Il-Leħen, was officially registered with the Department of Information as a recognised newspaper and had been in continuous publication since 1928.

Once the government decided to grant financial aid to the press sector, it was obliged to treat all legitimate media entities equally and without bias based on content or editorial focus, the Ombudsman said.

The ministry’s decision was therefore “unjust, discriminatory, and lacking in objectivity”.

The Ombudsman recommended in May that the ministry provide financial assistance to the Catholic Action on the same basis applied to the other six media houses under the October 2023 agreement. It also recommended that future schemes include transparent and non-discriminatory criteria. 

The ministry was given one month to implement the recommendations, yet a month later, the ministry requested an extension of another month. 

Following reminders sent on 20 August, the ministry stated only that the case was being discussed internally and with other stakeholders, the Ombudsman's office said. 

With no further feedback,  the Ombudsman’s Office then sent its recommendations to the Prime Minister in September. After no action was taken, the Ombudsman forwarded the case to Parliament last month.

See the final opinion in full by clicking the pdf below.