Updated 6.30pm with PBS' statement

Three journalists and two camerapersons have been recruited with Public Broadcasting Services this week without a transparent selection process, the Nationalist Party said.

In a statement, the PN said it is now more evident than ever that PBS is no longer a public entity but has become a natural extension of the Labour Party.

It said that some of the recruits had no journalistic experience. Although others did have the experience, many other individuals had better skills and experience, including the more than 100 graduates a year in courses organised by the university and MCAST.

None of these individuals had the opportunity to apply to be considered for a publicly funded career in public broadcasting, the PN noted.

Under a Labour government, a career in public broadcasting was the prerogative of people at Castille, who directly chose who could join PBS, securing its grasp on all the information issued by the newsroom.

“This is a clear abuse of power that exceeds all the limits of decency and insults the public's intelligence,” the PN said.

PBS: Journalists have no ties with political stations

In a statement late on Friday afternoon, PBS said the current recruitment process followed established procedures for government entities.

It had issued a public call for journalists, camerapersons and other vacant posts, it said. 

"The public call was issued according to Jobsplus procedures and thus everyone had the opportunity to apply."

It said that the three journalists that form part of the newsroom and sports department "have never had any ties with political stations". 

The four camerapersons that joined the station's operations team "have vast experience and competence in the field and some of them have been working with the national broadcaster for a number of years on various projects," it said.