PBS restructuring 'positive but not easy'

The editorial board of Public Broadcasting Services - PBS - has described the restructuring carried out over the past seven months as a positive though not easy experience.

In its annual report, presented to Culture Minister Francis Zammit Dimech and Public Investments Minister Austin Gatt, the editorial board went into how PBS was implementing its obligations as public service broadcaster and made 20 recommendations on how its mission could be implemented better.

One of its objectives was to ensure that news bulletins followed a better news value criteria and would have fewer political and government items that did not meet such criteria.

The board, whose members are Fr Joe Borg, Mary Anne Lauri and Dominic Fenech, noted that while between October and December 2003, 34 per cent of the 8 p.m. news bulletin items was dedicated to political and government events, the percentage had now gone down to 27.7.

The board said it worked in full cooperation with the board of directors and there was no government interference whatsoever. It said it retained the best relations with the Broadcasting Authority.

The board said the newsroom was being asked to produce a current affairs programme each week.

In preparation for last October's and next months schedules, it evaluated 359 proposals for radio and television programmes.

The number of new programmes in the October schedule made up 40 hours a week. Audiences reacted well to the new schedules and research showed that TVM had a bigger audience than all the other channels combined, the editorial board said. Radio Malta was also found to be among the favourite stations in Malta.

It noted the need to improve quality and made several recommendations. These included proposals on worker training, a monitoring and research system and the drawing up of guidelines improving the ethical and aesthetical level of programmes.

The board committed itself to publishing guidelines on four new subjects this year and would study the distribution of TVM programmes at prime time and weekends.

The report recommended carrying out a study to find out whether PBS was receiving enough money from the government to implement its obligations for a quality and appealing public broadcasting.

It also recommended that as from next month, a programme statement of intent for the schedules of October-May be issued to help PBS and independent producers better plan their work.

The board noted that a high presence of Maltese productions (87 per cent) did not always help maintain quality and it suggested an increase in foreign programmes.

The editorial board said it would continue working for an improvement in programme quality and popularity among audiences and for an improvement in the service received by audiences, implementing in the best possible way the mission national stations were trusted with.

A full version of the report may be acquired from www.pbs.com.mt.