Culture Minister José Herrera has called on the government to step up financial support to the mainstream media, which is fighting for survival after a sharp drop in advertising revenue, made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Speaking in parliament, Herrera expressed his concern about the bleak future which mainstream media, especially newspapers are facing.
“God forbid we reach a stage where newspapers are forced out of business and have to shut down,” he said during an adjournment speech.
“We should be ashamed if the day comes when some of our papers, including one which has been around for decades, no longer exist. This would result in a terrible democratic deficit,” Herrera said.
The minister called on government entities, clubs and private organisations to sustain the print media by buying newspapers. Similarly, he called on businesses to advertise their products and services on this medium.
While acknowledging that traditional media had been in decline even before the outbreak of the pandemic, owing to the advent of social media, the minister sounded a warning:
“Social media is not professional media. It must co-exist and not replace traditional media. Journalists are bound by a code of ethics and strive to avoid disseminating fake news,” Herrera said.
He added that he could personally vouch for the challenges and threats being faced by the media after meeting various media representatives in recent weeks.
Herrera said he felt compelled to make this appeal even though he was in the firing line as recently as Tuesday.
Referring to a Times of Malta editorial in which he was criticised for not sacking former V18 artistic director Mario Philip Azzopardi over hate speech remarks against PN MEP Robert Metsola, Herrera said he felt such criticism was unfair.
The leader-writer, he said, failed to say that he could not sack this person as he was not part of his establishment. He pointed out, however, that he had publicly denounced Azzopardi for his remarks.
Nonetheless, he accepted such criticism as this was part of the media, which was the fourth pillar of a democracy.
“Before we had reporters, but now we have investigative journalists. This is testament to the strides made by the media in Malta,” Herrera said.
He rounded off his speech by urging more government support to the media, over and above the financial aid which he said is being given during this pandemic.