Phase value

The Prime Minister did not bat an eyelid when I sang backing vocals to Lynn Chircop." This sentence is perfectly true; but it is also misleading, in that I did not mention that the occasion was a funeral, and that I was only one of the congregation. It is, besides, a perfect example of how facts can be slanted and moulded to fit any particular agenda a person may have.

Take the no-show of Ron, Spagna, and Tristan B at Indifest. First we had a news item about how the whole thing was a flop because they did not turn up. Then we had a statement from Icona Srl complaining about the "harsh attack" on the singers, followed by a counter-statement to the effect that there were some things that had happened which indicated that not everyone had played cricket.

Moreover, the Maltese translation of the statement said media taz-zewg partiti lokali, whereas the English one said local press and media and the Italian version had it as alcuni quotidiani, so not even that statement was justified.

Every so often, a spate of allegations appears in the press about how PBS appears to be favouring one of the major political parties over the other, rather as if the fact that Net and One felt "in duty bound" to do this ad nauseam were not enough.

Ironically - and risibly - the claims are made by either party, and this brings us back to the idea that one listens to the news and hears what he wants to hear.

The accusations appear to climax whenever a general election is approaching. Is it my imagination, or do politicians, celebrities and personalities go out of their way to grab photo opportunities or, perish the thought, behave outrageously in order to gain footage and sound-bytes?

I hope that this time around, news bulletins will not begin to resemble desk dairies, time tables, week planners, personal organisers and appointment books, the closer elections loom.

Meanwhile, the internal reorganisation of PBS continues. Promotions for daytime, children's, prime time and seconda serata programmes will be grouped together for better viewer identification motives. The idea is to have promotions loosely brought together by genre.

Whereas producers have been encouraged to include the programme's logo in the text-free, 20-second clips they were asked to submit, the headings of programmes and the subs for captions for timeslot will be in the stylised TVM font for all of them, for the sake of uniformity.

Thank heavens for peasantvision, the newly coined word to describe television channels one gets without a cable or satellite TV subscription, such as RAI and Mediaset.

I know - although they are not my cup of tea - that is why people appreciate the fact that this season PBS will be broadcasting two Endemol franchises, Big Brother and Deal or No Deal. Both programmes have a wealth of brand recognition, and the associated goodwill, behind the names.

The presenter for Big Brother is still a state secret; for Deal or No Deal, Pablo Micallef will be doing the honours.

It is said that timetables exist solely so that one can fix delays upon them. I find it amusingly annoying that television stations use their published schedules in the same manner.

For instance, Net TV will see the return of Pierre Portelli with a discussion programme called ...bil-Fatti. As I recall, he had been the anchor who managed to get Dr Alfred Sant and Dom Mintoff on Net when the station was trying to be user-friendly (read attract floating voters). One wonders what colour rabbits he will pull out of the hat this time.

Rumour has it that Monday's PBS drama slot will also be moved to Tuesday. It's not a question of the Station of the Nation wanting, or needing, to have a different genre of programme then, from other stations, to ensure a higher audience rating in the statistics war. It's simply a matter of logistics, mainly to accommodate the new incumbent of that prime-time slot; and may well be meant to lessen competition for it, indeed.

Definitely, any programme that will suffer will be the one scheduled for whenever the political broadcasts chaired by the Broadcasting Authority go on air, as these take precedence over anything else. Again, one notes that in schedules past, these had been moved from Fridays to Thursdays. So far, no provision has been made for them - and people who have been heard reiterating that they will not give up their slot come hell or high water may well be forced to swallow their words.

This week saw the launching of the second edition of the Go Malta Television Awards by Mermaid Media Entertainment Limited, a worthy initiative that must not go unremarked.

There have been many changes for the better to the small print, among which are that representatives of the three major television stations are now able to monitor proceedings, and that there are two new awards - one for the Best Cameraman and one for the Best Set Design.

These awards, for this time only, will cover the period from July 2006 to September 2007, not, however, if they are repeats or fund-raising programmes. However, as from next year, the "television year" (i.e. October to September) will be in focus.

Spot-on was the decision to limit the entry of one programme per category. This year, moreover, the public will have the opportunity to choose both the Television Personality of the Year and the Favourite Television Programme of the Year.

And then there is the Charles Arrigo Lifetime Achievement Award, which is designed to honour the winner's performing, creative or technical expertise.

Sports aficionados will be pleased to note that Wheelspin is back on Net; the feature about cars that have been rebuilt by local enthusiasts is particularly worth following. Tikka will return (I have lost count of how many people have sent me e-mails to "tell them" to produce a DVD or a booklet), and so will the evergreen jewels in the crown of TVM: Ghawdex Illum (20th consecutive year); Meander (14th year); and Waltzing Matilda (13th year). Class never fades.

television@timesofmalta.com