A human rights lawyer and a former editor are calling on the government to relinquish ownership of the public broadcaster which, they believe, should be owned by a foundation and financed by a tax.

The government, according to Therese Comodini Cachia and Joe Borg, is a "millstone" around the neck of public service broadcasting. 

This is one of 16 recommendations published in a book by Comodini Cachia and Borg launched at Times of Malta on Monday.

Called Reforming Malta’s Media Landscape, the book proposes policy, legal and structural changes to Malta’s media system.

Other proposed changes:

  • Enshrining press freedom as the fourth pillar in Malta's constitution, which should recognise journalism as a public good.
  • Introducing a code of ethics managed by a respected Press Complaints Commission, with the process being independent of media owners.
  • Officially dismissing suggestions of a regulatory body or licences for journalists.  
  • Merging the Broadcasting Authority and Malta Communications Authority into a unified regulator. 
  • Ending the dominance of political nominees to the BA and MCA. 
  • Making the BA and PBS legally, financially, and administratively independent of the government.
  • Enshrining protection of journalistic sources, with very strict criteria for interference, in the constitution.
  • Reforming the Freedom of Information Act to ensure that access to information held by public authorities is the rule, rather than exception.
  • A clear and systematic system to protect against SLAPP (Strategic Lawsuits againt Public Participation). 

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