You'd expect to hear a bit of nonsense when meeting three people who produce the only surviving piece of satire to be found on national television.

But Paul Mintoff, Emanuel Cassar and Ray Muscat, the three brains behind Ciijjzz, are surprisingly straight, more interested in talking about problems and solutions then in making me smile.

The three have been together for almost 10 years and Mr Cassar and Mr Mintoff have been working together for almost 25. They have been behind TV slots such as Fil-kikkra, Super News, Issa Daqshekk and a series of radio programmes.

"Satire is sadly dying in Malta. There are very few authors who write satirical stuff. We see this as a very big problem but it seems no one wants to listen," Mr Cassar said.

Their slot on PBS comes to an end in May and they are not sure if there will be satire again in the new schedule after summer.

The three said there were many problems in broadcasting and for people like themselves - who felt they were able to create a good production but did not have a company to back them and rope in advertising - it was difficult to produce a programme.

"Private stations are on the brink and the national station has become monopolised by a few big production houses. Pluralism in broadcasting is a flop. Quality has suffered. We are seeing teleserials on all stations featuring the same actors in opposite roles. Unless we are careful, we will end up being inundated with anything but good television," they said.

One of the problems is that advertisers are often reluctant to advertise during satirical programmes because they are afraid of politicians, who often feature in satire. It is funny in a way - some politicians urge you to mention them yet advertisers fear being blacklisted, Mr Cassar said.

"We are proud that in all these years we have never been stopped or censored or had libel cases instituted against us, in spite of the fact that we touch virtually every topic.

"The key is in being sensitive and subtle. We do not make fun of people's defects. We are never vulgar either. But there are constraints such as keeping the political balance in broadcasting, even in satire.

"It is always natural that the government features more because of decisions that it takes or fails to take. When we make fun of the government, staunch Labourites support us. When we poke fun at Labour, they pull long faces. But this is Malta and we still have to grow out of such a mentality," Mr Cassar said.

The three get their inspiration from the worlds they live in. Mr Muscat, an assistant headmaster, gets plenty of ideas from the staff rooms where teachers meet. Mr Mintoff, a sales representative, meets a lot of people and hears things that give him ideas. Mr Cassar, a computer lab technician, gets a lot of inspiration from people around him - and he sure needs it where sports is concerned because when the world-renowned footballer Ronaldo was at the peak of his career, he did not know who he was!

"You can't be good at everything or know everyone," he says jokingly in his defence.

"Satire is not easy to write and produce but without it, television would be missing something. But unless policymakers do something about it, we are afraid that the small flame we have managed to keep burning might be extinguished," they said.