Matthew Vella The chairman of PBS’s editorial board, Prof. Joe Pirotta, has come out in defence of Monday’s edition of Bondiplus – which purported to discuss the ongoing controversy between gossip columnist Daphne Caruana Galizia and magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera, but limited its guest list to only one media commentator who had already publicly taken sides in the matter.
Prof. Joe Pirotta said the programme “was not interested in delving into the merits or otherwise of the whole controversy.”
“The basis of the whole discussion concerned the principle of where the private persona ends and the public one begins in respect of those in public life, with the discussion being inspired by the article written by Fr Joe Borg… there was no need of what you term balance. There is never any need to balance principles.”
Om his part, presenter Lou Bondì reacted caustically to questions put to him by MaltaToday about Monday’s edition of Bondiplus yesterday, refusing to give to straight answers on the content of his programme.
The programme dealt with Caruana Galizia’s recent online assault on Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera and her partner Robert Musumeci. Curiously, however, the presenter omitted to mention that he himself had been a guest at the selfsame dinner party, hosted by the magistrate, that originally sparked off the whole blog exchange.
“In the programme I said I know and frequented all the three protagonists – Robert Musumeci, Consuelo Scerri Herrera and Daphne Caruana Galizia. But, being such a valiant crusader for the truth, I think you deserve to be given a scoop… in the evening of 17 December 2009 your colleague Saviour Balzan and the owner of your newspaper Roger Degiorgio were at a party at Robert Musumeci and Consuelo Scerri Herrera’s house,” Bondì said, referring to a separate event held at Christmastime.
Bondì, who during his programme commented on the lack of media attention surrounding the blog, described MaltaToday as “a public vehicle for private envy” and copied his answers to other sections of the press.
The Bondiplus presenter was one of the guests at Scerri Herrera’s private dinner, where the magistrate passed comments about a police report filed against Daphne Caruana Galizia by her own husband, over an alleged assault.
It was these comments, leaked to Caruana Galizia by one of the guests, that provoked the blogger into launching a sustained attack on the magistrate and her partner.
Last Monday’s programme dealt with the role of digital journalism, and the effect Caruana Galizia’s blog may have had on the perception of the judiciary and the private lives of magistrates.
Bondì’s only guest for the programme was university lecturer and government adviser on audiovisual policy, Fr Joe Borg.
When asked about his choice not to include other speakers from the media spectrum to discuss the issue, Bondì refused to answer whether this would have offered a more balanced exchange of ideas.
“The journalistic decisions taken on Bondiplus are none of your business. Bondiplus has an audience of 116,000 a week and it is to them and PBS we are responsible to.”
Bondì referred to Mediatoday’s programme on PBS, Reporter – effectively an interview programme – to strike a comparison which is at best tenuous.
“MaltaToday used to have a daily programme on PBS, hosted by your colleague Saviour Balzan, and he had a single guest everyday, just like yesterday’s Bondiplus. But what am I saying? Expecting consistency and basic logic from MaltaToday is a like expecting a shepherd to be in charge of a NASA space mission.”
Bondì reiterated that he felt no need to interview Daphne Caruana Galizia, “because she says everything she has to say, and more, on her blog… we reported almost verbatim what she told the police in her interrogation.”
However, no mention was made on the programme of the police report filed by her husband Peter Caruana Galizia, which provided the motivation for the entire attack on Scerri Herrera in the first place.
As for the other protagonists in the entire debacle, Robert Musumeci declined to be interviewed, while Scerri Herrera – as Bondì reminded this newspaper – said magistrates were prevented from doing so by their Code of Ethics.
Questions sent to PBS chairperson Claire Thake Vassallo and Head of News Natalino Fenech remained unanswered.
Question and answer: how Lou Bondì replied
Q. Your programme dealt with the role of digital journalism and blogs and its ramifications for other established media outlets. There was a total lack of speakers representing the Maltese media landscape that could have presented a balanced exchange of ideas on the subject at hand: why did you choose not to have a wider line-up of speakers?
A. First of all, quite frankly, the journalistic decisions taken on Bondiplus are none of your business. Bondiplus has an audience of 116,000 a week and it is to them and PBS we are responsible to. Secondly, MaltaToday used to have a daily programme on PBS, hosted by your colleague Saviour Balzan, and he had a single guest everyday, just like yesterday’s Bondiplus. But what am I saying? Expecting consistency and basic logic from MaltaToday is a like expecting a shepherd to be in charge of a NASA space mission.
Q. Can you explain why no comment was solicited from either Ms Caruana Galizia, or Magistrate Scerri Herrera and Robert Musumeci, themselves being the subjects of the discussion, which would have also offered a more balanced exchange of ideas?
A. Here we move into the Benny Hill School of Journalism territory. In the programme I did say that we asked Robert Musumeci for an interview and he declined (at the same time he gave an interview to MaltaToday). About Daphne Caruana Galizia we said that it was not necessary to interview her because she says everything she has to say, and more, on her blog. In addition, we reported almost verbatim what what she told the police in her interrogation. Were you rummaging in the kitchen for a Mars bar when I said this? So that leaves us with your deeply investigative question: why didn’t we interview Magistrate Consuelo Scerri Herrera? Oh dear, dear. You don’t even know that Magistrates do not give such interviews and are prevented from doing so by their Code of Ethics. Perhaps you should change your newspaper slogan from ‘Content is King’ to ‘Mickey Mouse is King’.
Q. Do you feel you should have stated that you were present at the dinner party where the comments made by Magistrate Scerri Herrera, which sparked the first in a series of blog posts that led to the subject under discussion at Bondiplus, took place? Do you feel that had you specified this particular circumstance in discussing the effects of Ms Caruana Galizia’s blogposts on the judiciary, it would have been in the interest of PBS viewers?
A. Another visit to the Benny Hill School of Journalism. In the programme I said that I know and frequented all the three protagonists – Robert Musumeci, Consuelo Scerri Herrera and Daphne Caruana Galizia. But, being such a valiant crusader for the truth, I think that you deserve to be given a scoop. Here it is. In the evening of 17th December 2009 your colleague Saviour Balzan and the owner of your newspaper Roger Degiorgio were at a party at Robert Musumeci and Consuelo Scerri Herrera’s house. Given that you have followed this story without fear or favour, I am sure I will see this scoop plastered all over your front page tomorrow.
Any comments?
If you wish your comments to be published in our Letters pages please click button below. Please write a contact number and a postal address where you may be contacted.
