A national debate on how to strengthen media outlets in the wake of their financial struggles brought about by COVID-19 is among nine pre-Budget proposals being put forward by the Nationalist Party for this sector.
“The fourth pillar of our democracy is facing serious disruptions and consequences from changes in news consumption and their income from advertising has been decimated. We believe we can only ensure an effective right to information if we ensure a strong pluralistic free media with high standards and quality journalism,” PN MP Therese Comodini Cachia said.
The media and culture spokesperson outlined the party’s proposal in a news conference, which also focused on tourism.
Comodini Cachia said it was crucial to have reliable sources of information, but this was proving to be challenging as the advertising revenue of media houses had been decimated by the pandemic.
The PN is proposing free access to newspapers to students to foster media literacy, financial assistance to media houses on social and educational issues, and subsidies for the setting up inter-newsroom fact-checking teams.
Another proposal is to establish grants to media outlets on the strength of a minimum threshold depending on the number of employees. The PN is also calling for financial aid to provide training to editors and journalists, and on non-commercial journalistic ventures such as podcasts and video productions.
As for the creative industry, the PN is calling for incentives which would bring together different sectors to work on projects with stakeholders from health and education.
It is also urging the government to encourage the setting up of digital infrastructures which would allow the distribution of creative events to an audience. Another proposal is to subsidise events to mitigate losses suffered to implement social distancing measures.
PN deputy leader Robert Arrigo, who is also the tourism shadow minister, said it was crucial to have government aid to keep the industry afloat for the next six months.
He said the number of new COVID-19 cases in European cities with direct Air Malta flights should be continuously monitored for the Malta Tourism Authority to respond accordingly in its marketing campaigns.
Arrigo added that the slowdown in the tourism industry offered a window of opportunity to upgrade the product on offer to foreign visitors.