A fine imposed by the Broadcasting Authority on RTK103 for failing to invite members of Imperium Europa, the party founded and led by Norman Lowell, to a programme hosted by Andrew Azzopardi has revived questions over Malta’s broadcasting laws.

Reacting to the fine, RTK103 – a Church-owned radio station – argued that the decision impinges on editorial freedom “forcing it to air extremist, racist, far-right political views”.

But in laying down its decision, the BA said that every station covering current affairs or political issues, including this year's European Parliament elections, “should have a wide representation of different opinions”. 

Speaking to Times of Malta, former BA CEO Pierre Cassar said that obliging a private station to go against its own editorial decisions is a “risky” move. 

Are we expecting the Church to go against its teachings?

Cassar, who was at the authority’s helm during the 2011 divorce referendum, says that this decision raises questions over how stations are to act not just in terms of balancing representation across the political spectrum, but also when discussing sensitive issues such as abortion.

Recalling the tricky balancing act the authority had to play at the time, Cassar questioned how stations are to ensure impartiality without breaching their own editorial stances.

“How would stations like RTK103 and Radju Marija have to act in the case of an abortion referendum? Are we expecting the Church to go against its teachings?” he asked.

Cassar also questioned why the matter of impartiality only cropped up after Imperium Europa filed a complaint, despite the BA having vetted the 60-strong list of guests on the show. 

'Highly unusual'

Cassar also points to what he sees as a procedural anomaly in the way the case was treated, where “two different procedures were amalgamated into one”.

“Normally a complaint and a charge are treated separately, with the investigation into the complaint determining whether there is scope for a charge and, eventually, a fine,” Cassar says.

In this particular case, Cassar says, the two processes were bundled together, in a move that he described as “highly unusual”.

The authority’s former chair Joe Pirotta agrees that RTK103’s editorial stance must be safeguarded.

“RTK has its own identity and its own remit, which includes being a vehicle that does not encourage racism. If the radio is trying to protect that identity, then that must be respected,” he said.

Duty to ensure impartiality

Pirotta said that RTK103’s position also must be “sympathetically considered” in light of the situation where “the BA wants to give further publicity to a leader who regularly spews a programme based on racial hate”.

Pirotta admits that the BA finds itself in a tricky situation, bearing “a very heavy duty to ensure impartiality”, while balancing it with “a general interest to truth and fairness and the protection of freedom of speech”.

But ultimately, Pirotta says, “an element of common sense must prevail”.

He says that things are complicated further by Lowell’s past conviction on three charges of racial hatred, for which he was given a two-year suspended sentence.

“You cannot say that a particular party should be banned because you don’t like their politics or views. But in this case, the leader of the party has been convicted”.

Impartiality laws need to be revisited

Both Pirotta and Cassar agree that the broadcasting world’s approach to impartiality has become obsolete, with archaic rules effectively forcing the regulator’s hand in some instances.

“The way we look at impartiality and balance need to be revisited,” Cassar says. “We are still obsessed with linear media such as TV and radio, when things have long since moved on”.

Pirotta agrees that “we are now living in a totally different world” to when broadcasting laws were drafted, suggesting that several provisions in the law – most notably the controversial clause instructing the BA to consider impartiality across the entire spectrum of stations – should be scrapped.

“A lot could be done if the law that says that BA may consider the private stations to balance each other out were to be removed,” Pirotta says. “Ultimately, private stations should have the same responsibility to ensure impartiality as the State broadcaster”.