People trust PBS to be careful with taxpayer money, says Owen Bonnici

Owen Bonnici pointed to the “public’s trust” in the national broadcaster when asked how citizens could be assured that PBS was using taxpayer money responsibly.

The culture minister was speaking after PBS denied a freedom of information request about the pay package given to podcaster Ricky Caruana, citing commercial sensitivity.

Questioned on how the public could be assured the public broadcaster was being financially prudent if it denied such requests, Bonnici said: “This boils down to trust in PBS’s management. Trust in the management has increased a lot and even the opposition has changed its attitude,” he said.

Later that same day, Bonnici refused to disclose the costs of the Malta Eurovision Song Contest, saying in parliament it is commercially sensitive information.

The information was sought by Nationalist MP Julie Zahra in a parliamentary question.

The controversial podcaster was given TVM’s Friday evening slot to host Ricky Debates – a politics discussion programme. The Friday programme, after the 8pm news, has long been considered one of TVM’s prime time spots.

Speaking on the denied request on Tuesday, Bonnici said: “One must understand that PBS is a commercial company and if you remove confidentiality for commercial arrangements, you are removing many of its commercial capabilities.”

He said there is a “very delicate balance” between commercial considerations and the people’s right to know where their taxes are going.

“But you must understand that this is a commercial company, which should have the right to negotiate with a certain amount of confidentiality.”

Controversial podcast

Caruana came under fire earlier this month when he invited Justin Haber to take part in his personal podcast (not the TVM programme). Haber was recently convicted of sexually harassing a 14-year-old girl who worked at his restaurant.

During the podcast, Haber insisted on his innocence and questioned the credibility of the 14-year-old victim of sexual harassment.

The Malta Women’s Lobby said it was society’s responsibility to focus on victims and survivors, not to attempt to repair the public image of perpetrators.

It stressed that any attempt to improve the public perception of people found guilty by the legal system does not undo harm or promote justice or healing, and risks diverting attention away from those who have suffered.

When asked why he invited Haber onto his podcast, Caruana said he had made it clear at the beginning of the episode that the interview was not meant to seek to defend or discredit anyone but merely to offer a space for a person to have his say – something he said he believed in.

He said he would be happy to debate his critics on a public platform.