Radio station RTK 103 is to take legal action to nullify a Broadcasting Authority decision to fine it in connection with comments made by show host Andrew Azzopardi.
In a statement on Saturday, the radio station and Azzopardi said they would be requesting a judicial review of the decision, which they said set a dangerous precedent for local media.
Azzopardi described far-right candidate Norman Lowell as racist and said he would never allow him as a guest onto his show.
Lowell’s party Imperium Europa subsequently filed a complaint with the BA, which concluded that Azzopardi was guilty of unfair and unjust treatment and fined RTK 103 €6,410 - €1,750 for the comments and a €4,660 fine for an unrelated incident which it had previously suspended.
RTK 103, which slammed the decision as "illogical", now intends to contest that decision on various grounds.
It noted that Lowell was convicted of inciting racial hatred by a court of appeal and that a separate court had also concluded that any reasonable reader could derive racism, xenophobia and hatred from the far-right candidate’s political messages.
“Mr Lowell himself is even on record describing himself as a ‘racialist’ - which by any dictionary definition means racist,” it said as it argued that Azzopardi’s description of Lowell was a fair value judgment based on facts.
It also noted that the BA had fined the station and host for having posed a hypothetical scenario which did not take place, in the course of interviewing the BA’s own CEO.
The radio station said the BA had selectively quoted from Azzopardi’s words in its charge and omitted a sentence “which clearly showed that he was asking about a scenario on the BA’s directives which are not yet in place.”
RTK 103 also noted that the BA has in the past fined TV stations that hosted Lowell, while it was now insisting that he should be hosted on Azzopardi’s show.
The station noted that the BA had seen no reason to intervene until Imperium Europa filed a complaint. Then, rather than handle it as a complaint it treated the issue under a different procedure and charged the station with breaching the Broadcasting Act, it said, noting with concern that the BA board secretary is a former general secretary of Imperium Europa.
“The approach adopted by the Broadcasting Authority sets a dangerous precedent for the Maltese media, particularly when the Authority insists that the station ought to give airtime to Normal Lowell to broadcast his racist views. The station was unequivocal from the start that it will not entertain or tolerate racial hatred,” RTK 103 said in a statement.
RTK 103 and Azzopardi have launched a crowdfunding campaign to cover the legal fees for the station to pursue this case in Court.
“The aim is to defend the two fundamental principles: the right of every individual not to be discriminated against on the basis of race or ethnicity; and the right of freedom of expression which is a vital component of a free and functioning media in our society,” the station said as it urged people to donate.