The debate of whether Malta should continue allowing political parties to own and operate media outlets has been dragging on for years. So, it was no surprise that the issue has been revived after Lou Bondi, one of the founders of Radio 101, said party stations are way past their sell-by dates, especially if we are to strengthen Malta’s democratic credentials and contain partisanship.

Muting partisanship in a politically charged country is unlikely but there is no doubt that political propaganda on party channels has only served to whip up an unhealthy recipe of political hysteria, misinformation and conspiracy theories. Combine that with the jungle of disinformation and hatred out there on social media and you wonder why many have given up hope.

Let’s make it clear – both the Labour and Nationalist media have seen very valid journalists and presenters walk through their doors through the years. But that is beside the point. The fact that it has to be a hyper-partisan platform to kickstart the career of media individuals is flawed.

Party-owned stations employ young people and essentially hammer the critical thinking out of their system. Instead of training them to be journalists, they are trained to parrot party lines and attack the opposite side.

Labour, especially, has in the past used its newsroom as a political training ground for its future candidates. Many of its current and former MPs began their careers with ONE microphones in their hands.

That career path – from political party broadcasting to politics – is proof, if any was needed, that it is a stretch to describe what these stations do as journalism.

How this impacts the broader ecosystem of journalists and editors might not be appreciated by those outside the media sector.

The talent pool of Maltese journalists is fast vanishing; having so much of the sector taken up by these propaganda machines makes it even smaller, while also damaging the individual credibility of these young journalists and making it harder for them to be taken seriously as objective reporters.

At a time when people in power, including politicians, are resorting to social media platforms to relay their message/propaganda, thus ensuring there is no scrutiny or any semblance of debate and critical discourse, the last thing we need is to complement it with blind partisan media.

The result is that the level of independent scrutiny is being diluted by the day.

Perhaps a bigger concern about abolishing party ownership is what would replace it. Would Malta end up having media owned – and controlled – by major commercial interests? Would we be leaping from the frying pan to the fire? Those are, of course, legitimate questions.

However, the real question is: Is that concern a good enough reason to accept the status quo?

Some say that partisan reporting will persist even if political parties are barred from owning their own stations. Just look at Fox and NBC in the US, they say. They may be right. But is that reason enough to persist with a system that is not working?

It is also an open secret that the political party stations are draining the coffers of the two main parties. Speak to any top party officials off the record and they will admit they would like to shutter their stations but “only if the others do it first”.

And so it goes, leaving us with partisan stations which fuel polarisation evoked by echo chambers, where we virtually convene with like-minded individuals who resonate with our perspectives to the exclusion of ‘others’. And that is the last thing we need.