Comments on: Now that's what I call a man of honour

By: Brian Mifsud

Brian Mifsud — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 20:18:23 +0000

I think this situation is just ridiculous. How can the best restaurant critic on the island find herself without editorial backing when she is doing her job is unexplainable. It pains me even more to see such a situation for the very simple reason that Mona’s column has been and still is the most followed and talked about food column in Malta. While sometimes our views differ, which is a pretty normal thing considering that everyone at the end of the day has their own opinions, I always find her column to be informative, funny but most of all it has always been honest. At the end of the day it just boils down to people not being able to accept criticism and being willing to go to great lengths in order to keep their eyes closed and not face areas where their restaurant blatantly needs improvement, be it ambience, service or improving what is sometimes just bad food. Mr. Balzan should rethink his position on two fronts. First of all he should practise what he preaches; at the moment he is just showing that he can talk the talk, but not walk the walk. Secondly, I would be more careful in handling my best asset. Particularly when you find yourself having one of the best people working for you and no replacement would even come close to the same level of professionalism, class and style.

By: Carmel Said

Carmel Said — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 13:56:00 +0000

What’s worrying is that if this is the way he treats his BEST journalist, I shudder to think how he would treat the others. Mona’s page is the only reason I actually buy his rag as she is undoubtedly the best restaurant critic on the island, who would not let anything or anyone stop her from calling a spade a spade.

By: Mario Debono

Mario Debono — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 13:10:04 +0000

What did you expect from the editor of this paper? His morals are as strong as a sodden piece of tissue paper. Glad to see you are back from the land of the Moose and the Maple Daph. It seems you do go there quite often. What is it? Your babe cant cope without his mummy ?( I say this in jest).

[Daphne – My ‘babe’ is no longer there. I went to visit a friend who is unwell.]

By: Carmel Said

Carmel Said — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 11:02:00 +0000

Did you expect anything better from a “journalist” like Saviour Balzan, the voice of the downtrodden and the oppressed in Malta? The guy who harps on about how no libel case will stop him doing his “work”? What a shining example of employer/employee relationship. The guy is nothing but a waste of time and a waste of space, a pompous little piece of s**t who uses his newspaper to rant about and against everyone and everything he does not like, little realising that he is being ignored by everyone.

By: Adrian

Adrian — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 10:34:29 +0000

You’re so right Daphne. You don’t abandon one of your star columnists to her (judicial) fate just like that while you save your skin. No honour, no responsibility, no class. After all he should be more than grateful for the considerable increase in readership that Mona’s column has brought his paper. Miss Farrugia has quite a devoted following, and her restaurant critiques are definitely the sharpest, funniest and most accurate in the Maltese journalistic scene; The Times made a huge blunder when they let her go to replace her with the son of one of the directors (very very poor class from The Sunday Times as well, as the subsequent readership flop shows). What is sadly striking in Saviour is that what he says is most definitely not what he does.