Journalists on Friday called on the government "to wake up from its slumber" and implement laws that protect the press.

"Stop procrastinating on the effective implementation of laws to protect journalists," the Institute of Maltese Journalists said on World Press Freedom Day.

The government, the IĠM said, has sat on the promised media law reform for almost a year.

"It has been so long that the promised white paper has almost turned yellow," the institute said, adding that the new law must create an environment that allows journalists to carry out their duty and serve democracy - "something the country desperately needs".

The IĠM said it found it "baffling" that the government continued to delay issuing the White Paper following the recommendations made by its own committee of experts to create stronger laws protecting journalists, including from abusive legal action, also known as SLAPPS.

In October of last year, the government said it would issue a White Paper after the Prime Minister tabled the final report drawn up by a committee of media experts.

That report had been concluded and handed to Robert Abela in July. It was drawn by an eight-person committee appointed by the government in 2022 to assess local laws and advise on how they could be improved.

The setting up of a committee of experts was one of the recommendations made by a public inquiry into the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, who was killed in 2017.

The government's promise of a White Paper followed the controversial unveiling of three bills which it had said were based on the committee’s feedback it received from the committee in 2022.

'Recognise the media as the fourth pillar'

On Friday, the IĠM also said it looked like recognising the media as the fourth pillar of democracy will "remain a dream, despite being one of the pledges in the Labour Party’s electoral manifesto".

Just last month, newly appointed president Myriam Spiteri Debono also warned that a lot still needs to be done in the implementation of the recommendations made by the public inquiry into the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, especially when it comes to media reforms.

"I am particularly referring to those reforms concerning the media. I emphasise that the media, together with the three organs of the State, is the fourth pillar of democracy," she had said.

The IĠM urged the government to "stop procrastinating and recognise the media’s function as vital for a healthy democracy and entrench it in the enforceable parts of the country’s constitution".

Media council, first journalists' trade union

In its statement, the IĠM also lambasted an "inept Freedom of Information Act" that was weak and "severely abused" by public authorities and warned that media outlets were facing "considerable financial difficulties".

On its part, the IĠM is working towards setting up a media council that would strengthen the current self-regulatory structure.

It is also in the final stages of being officially enrolled as the first-ever journalists’ trade union in Malta, giving it and its members a stronger legal standing.

An AGM at the end of this month will conclude this process.

"On days like today, where the important role journalists play in healthy democracies is recognised, journalists must stand united in the face of adversity.

"In collaboration with civil society and democracy campaigners, the IĠM  will continue fighting for a stronger media landscape which will, in turn, lead to stronger journalism and a stronger democracy."