Pjazza, the controversial current affairs discussion programme led by Karl Stagno Navarra, has been axed from One TV’s upcoming schedule, but the presenter says he will return to the station in the new year with a more “factual” approach.
Pjazza had been a mainstay on One TV for the past seven years, with Stagno Navarra’s idiosyncratic approach to the issues of the day infuriating and delighting viewers across the political spectrum in equal measure.
But the programme is conspicuously absent from One TV’s new autumn schedule, with its 6pm evening slot now taken up by Bil-Fatti, a new programme led by Dorian Cassar and Claudia Cuschieri.
Pjazza ‘served its purpose’: Stagno Navarra
Stagno Navarro told Times of Malta that while Pjazza had served its purpose, appealing to the party’s hardcore and “keeping PN in check”, the programme’s format needed an overhaul.
Discussions over the programme’s future had been underway since before June’s European elections, Stagno Navarra said, with the decision to remove the programme from the new schedule taken "by mutual agreement” several weeks ago.
Stagno Navarra pledged to return to ONE TV viewers’ screens in the new year with a new programme that will turn over a new leaf.
“Pjazza was known for its hardcore approach, but that time is over. We now need a more factual, measured tone,” he said.
‘Each new schedule brings changes’: Labour CEO
When asked about Pjazza’s removal, Labour Party CEO Leonid McKay told Times of Malta that ONE TV’s new schedule “caters for innovative content”, replacing the past years' current affairs programming which included Pjazza, among others.
“Each new schedule features several changes and new programmes, and the schedule presented today is no different,” he said.
The decision to axe Pjazza from the schedule is believed to have been driven by a desire to move the party station in a new direction amidst dipping viewership figures.
Labour's new deputy leader for party affairs, Alex Agius Saliba, used his maiden speech as deputy leader just two weeks ago to emphasise the need for ONE to become more "balanced".
“The politics of simply saying ‘good job’ and ‘thank you’ needs to end,” Agius Saliba said.
‘Partisan and aggressive’ but also beloved by party faithful
Stagno Navarra’s confrontational tactics frequently landed him in hot water.
In 2021, Robert Abela condemned his description of Lovin Malta journalist Tim Diacono as part of an “establishment working against the government”. Stagno Navarra later apologised for his comments.
He had previously come under fire for targeting several private citizens, using Pjazza to deride comments they made on social media. Abela was once again forced to step in, phoning at least one of the citizens to apologise and distance himself from Stagno Navarra’s comments.
That same year, the PN had declared that it would be turning down invitations to appear on Pjazza because of the show’s “partisan and aggressive manner”.
It later accused Stagno Navarra, once a familiar face on NET TV, of orchestrating a character assassination campaign against PN MP Karol Aquilina, after the latter was cleared of dangerous driving charges by a court. The probe had been triggered by a request filed by Stagno Navarra, following footage aired on the show.
But although Pjazza was reviled by some political acolytes, it quickly became a household name among the party faithful and the first port of call for Labour politicians on the campaign trail.
Stagno Navarra has recently hit headlines after a man was charged with threatening the TV host over an unsettled debt.
Jean Pierre Schembri, a 47-year-old maintenance worker from Żebbuġ, is accused of violently insulting and threatening the broadcaster.