You really have to find better things to do with your life. Had I a chance to start a new career it would have to be a horticulturalist, perhaps grow a silver ponytail, wear a tight necklace round my neck, grow magic mushrooms and drive a funky land rover. As I was watering the plants yesterday – a superb Saturday morning – someone phoned me up to tell me that Joe Azzopardi, aka Peppi, had called in Radju Malta to pass a few comments about the media, specifically addressing our editor Matthew Vella, who was in the studio. The drooping Turkish Chrysanthemums had to wait.
I caught the tail end of Joe’s discourse on what it means to be ‘independent’ in the media, as he was stressing that “there are no virgins” in this business. His tone was rather pontifical, irked perhaps, him being a defender of the faith… the faith being the present government with him as their official gatekeeper.
I guess what he wanted everyone NOT to say is that as a permanent host on state TV and partly sponsored by public funds and abetted by the state, he has a bloody right to do what he likes on his Friday charade.
Anyway, his point was that all media houses had their biases. But his bone with Matthew Vella was about MaltaToday’s coverage of the Tonio Fenech affair when the finance minister accepted a freebie trip to a football match abroad.
So he proceeded to ask Matthew Vella, perhaps too sure of himself, whether he had ever accepted a weekend break as a freebie. To which Vella replied ‘no’, convinced as he is that his journalistic integrity should not be comprised by freebie weekends inside hotels, spas, saunas or massage parlours and whatever the press enjoys lapping up for free these days.
Oh, and Joe Azzopardi shuns them too. When asked by Vella, he said he doesn’t enjoy them.
Well I do not believe him one bit. Never mind: the point is that this media organisation owes nothing to anyone. It depends on no one and it is nobody’s ventriloquist and it is not sponsored by public funds [we did benefit from EPSO funds on our TV programme Reporter in the past, just in case Joe reminds us…]. Having said this, despite the fact that we are a private organisation and can do what the devil we like, we do not.
I do not believe Joe can say the same for his company. Over the last years Joe and his media company have served the government well, positioning guests and themes to suit the complicated spinning strategies and evading the real issues, even despite the supposedly stringent criteria at the national broadcasting station.
When accused of looking the other way and avoiding the real hot themes, the gatekeeper does one of two things. He either hosts a carefully manipulated programme to give the impression that he has tackled the subject – usually by lumping so many loosely related subjects together; or else he focuses on one of his pet subjects – devils and the occult, pathological liars, death, and other silly topics. Silly, at least, in my opinion.
He will disagree with my view. But he can be sure about one thing. If we were to place all political and commercial considerations before everything else when we report the news and investigate stories, we would be far better off commercially.
So Joe Azzopardi does his job. And he does it well. But it doesn’t mean that what he is doing is commendable. Nor should he expect everyone to pat him on the back for being popular. And certainly, he shouldn’t assume that all journalists who cast stones at government ministers are sinners.
In the good old days when Joe and I worked together in Alternattiva, I remember “is-sewwa jirbah zgur” (justice will surely prevail) being coined. The truth is that it is power and money that prevails. And a good measure of luck. Joe has plenty of this.
Owning and working in an independent media organisation such as Mediatoday is a thankless job that is there to serve readers only.
I am sure Joe will flourish and even move on, even if there is a change in government. He will find a way of sucking up to Joseph Muscat (if he wins government) and Muscat will gladly embrace him. That is the true face of politics and media personalities, a game of compromise and opportunism.
Wait and see
The latest police investigation instigated by the Prime Minister is the fourth, I believe. With all due respect to the police, I feel very little will be achieved and the whistleblowers in this case will turn out to be the ‘accused’.
The first investigation was when Gonzi believed Joe Zahra’s allegations about John Dalli and asked the Commissioner of Police to investigate. He did the same when Alfred Sant made accusations about Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando. Frank Portelli’s allegations were also investigated, even though those allegations would fall in the category of ‘hearsay’, to go by the finance minister’s yardstick.
Dr Gonzi has now asked the Commissioner of Police to investigate an allegation passed on to Leonard Callus, a deputy to Edgar Galea Curmi, last September. The PM, in his parliamentary statement, said he did not know that such an allegation had ever been made.
Maybe he had better things to do at the time. But the allegations concern the second in command at MIMCOL, Mario Mizzi, and he has been interrogated by police. I am not surprised if other people in the MIMCOL hierarchy, such as chairman Ivan Falzon and other board members and officials get asked a few questions too. I am sure the police have all the knowledge and expertise necessary to investigate. But it wouldn’t hurt to hear out some suggestions when it comes to public officials. They must start with a very detailed look at their lifestyle, recent assets acquired; and bank accounts, local and foreign, would help clarify a few things. And very importantly, scrutiny of their telephone calls in the last months, both mobile and landline.
What I cannot understand is how the PM’s men, who heard of the allegations in September, actually dealt with the matter. Because when the superyacht bidding was suspended, in November, it was not due to these allegations. It was because the privatisation unit was not satisfied with the bids.
What is even more surprising is that despite the allegations, the same people who were on the adjudicating committee in September were kept on, after these allegations were made.
Shouldn’t they have resigned?
But what do you expect from an administration that has a very uneasy relationship with ethical issues, and with a finance minister who has never quite grasped the culture and timing of a resignation?
The moral of this story is that police investigations are welcome, but these kind of politically-driven investigations will get us nowhere. The police need to have a unit and a clear executive green light, backed with the right tools to look at corruption allegations, without waiting for politicians to take the initiative. They should take the initiative, not politicians.
When corruption does not get proven in this country, it fuels the accusations of ‘envy’ made against the independent media.
And that is why, dear readers, for those whose Monday and Friday evenings are not occupied with anything more exciting than opening a can of beans, there will always be Lou and Joe. They know what this world’s about. They have understood the game, that it’s those who question the Gospel truth who are the liars and paranoid freaks.
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