Editor explains rationale for publication of ‘old man and car’ story
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August 11, 2014 at 12:21pm
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http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20140811/blogs/editors-blog-did-we-treat-elderly-man-fairly.531430
Baxxter’s alternative Editor’s blog: Are we even fit to run a newspaper?
An interesting online debate ensued after Saturday’s Times of Malta’s front page, which missed the whole point. The discussion was a trial-by-blog-comment of a man involved in a hit-and-run accident. It should have been an indictment of our piss-poor editorial skills.
The real news is all over the place, from Mali to Iraq, on to Ukraine and Turkey. And there is an ever-growing backlog of domestic political issues which this paper has failed to tackle or even mention. There is rampant corruption and bad practice, several very questionable government decisions, and as a backdrop to all this, there is the financial and economic situation.
Yet we chose to take up the entire front page of our paper, minus the bit about some library books gone missing (fancy that!) to talk about this trivial little incident.
Are we fit to run the country’s foremost newspaper? The truth is we’re not, and should have been fired long ago. There is no need to explain the rationale and reasoning – we deserve the sack.
The Honourable Mabel Edeline Strickland OBE was an Anglo-Maltese journalist, newspaper proprietor and politician.
She left us on November 29, 1988 and took the Times of Malta with her.
Spot on.
“Are we fit to run the country’s foremost newspaper?”
The Times of Malta being the country’s foremost paper was years ago.
I agree with you 100%.
Except that I believe that the editorial team at Times of Malta should have been changed a long time ago. In another European country, the owners would have done this much earlier. So I would put the fault with the owners.
The Editor’s explanation is too long. When someone goes into pain to justify a decision, it means that there is no simple justification which convinces immediately and the explanation turns into a number of excuses, clinging to straws, and waffle.
There are many events which are “exceptional” in life. But an “exceptional” event is not the same as an “extraordinary” event.
On this blog we have covered the issues relating to the Marsaxlokk gas power station and gas supply agreement which should be ready by March 2015 on an ongoing basis, in much more detail than in The Times, where they have run some stories only after they were exposed here – e.g. the TradeWinds revelation that the project is likely to have a 12 months delay.
The power station story is an extraordinary event, because this country does not build powerstations costing Eur 370 million on an ongoing basis. The Labour “movement” was put in power because they said they had an “energy plan.” And Labour said they will lower the cost of power because of such powerstation project.
The contract with Electrogas – if one exists (I do not believe it exists as yet, one reason being that Enemalta’s website has not announced it as yet under news and it says that Enemalta is working on the finalisation of a PPA and GSA) – is worth billions of Euros. It comprises the supply of gas to two powerstations with a total capacity of about 350MW for 18 years. That amounts to an extraordinary deal, without any doubt.
Has The Times been covering the topics related to the new power station and gas supply agreements in as much detail as we have done here?
And what did they do with the Story Of The Year (actually, it should be the Story of The Five Years of Labour) by Kurt Sansone (or was it by someone else, actually?) when he said that the “electric deal” had been signed? Rather than put it on the front page, they hid it in the inner pages, and they did not put it online for comments until later, and, lo and behold, no readers’ comments were uploaded to this date. The story of the year, and it has no readers’ comments – no Eddy Privitera, no usuals praising the government?
http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20140512/local/Electric-deal-is-sealed-behind-closed-doors.518637
What does that say about the judgement of the Editorial team at The Times? Did the Editor ever publish an explanatory note about that story?
He should start by explaining why Enemalta has never published a notice about the signing of the deal. As a public corporation of public interest – and as an indebted company – Enemalta is duty bound to publish a note about the signing of such a mega-contract, giving the key parameters for stakeholders who deal with Enemalta, not least the bankers who are owed money. Perhaps the editor should explain why, contrary to the story in The Times, Enemalta is still saying that:
“Enemalta is working on the finalisation of a power purchase agreement (PPA) and a Gas-supply Agreement (GSA) with ElectroGas Malta Consortium, for the building, owning, operating and maintaining of a new LNG delivery, storage, re-gasification and natural gas supply facility, as well as and a new natural gas-fired 215 MW combined cycle gas turbine electricity generation plant together with all necessary infrastructure connections to Enemalta’s electricity distribution network, at Delimara.”
http://www.enemalta.com.mt/index.aspx?cat=3&art=218
This is great!
This one takes the biscuit. Wouldn’t be surprised it was a staff car, even because the pad has restricted access.
http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2014-08-11/news/helicopter-with-sick-person-made-to-return-to-gozo-because-of-illegally-parked-car-at-st-lukes-6164250624/
http://www.independent.com.mt/articles/2014-08-11/news/1373-apply-for-sec-revision-classes-6165233665/
‘…One of the initiatives that form part of the Youth Guarantee is aimed at helping early unskilled school leavers turn to studying or skills courses. But Mr Bartolo said he was disappointed that only 400 had taken up the government’s offer. The Ministry had sent out 7,000 invitations. A good number of them are youths between the ages of 18 and 25 who neither study nor work. Most do not even register for work…’
NEETS taghna lkoll. Muscat’s Youth Guarantee just failed, miserably.
Can we please put taxpayer’s money elsewhere, leaving them on a comprehensive social benefit blacklist until they decide to contribute something to this place?
Given that they won’t, why should we?
Steve Mallia, what you did was inestimably wrong, and shows total lack of priority-setting.
I suspect (to be honest I’m certain), your decision was guided by big data-crunching – which also explains why Times of Malta is on a “quality” downward spiral.
No.
I post-ironically blame Gonzi for everything.
“But why Governor?” they implore.
Because he lost the election.
Not apologetic, he says? Well, a wimpishly written blog-post like that is as apologetic as it can get.
But the editor wants to apologise without appearing to do so. Since many still buy his newspaper, many could have been fooled.
And the only other Malta story deserving front page treatment that day was the one about the missing books at the University library.
Read their comments board following that story and see the aggro against the University which it fomented. That day’s front page says a lot about the Times of Malta today.
Steve Mallia knows he has done wrong and he is trying to capitalise an already weak position.
Times of Malta bullied Mr Borg Cardona like it has been bullied by Labour into submission and not doing its duty to Times readers by investigating the real cases that matter.
Reflects the dominant “ghax fid dinja dejjem se ssib min jaqbel u min ma jaqbilx” attitude.
U sadanittant…NGHADDI BIL-GAFFA MIN FUQEK. ghax hekk jaqbilli.
Quo Vadis Times of Malta ? Gone are the days of grech Orr, Montanaro, Hedley and good old Mabel. They were a group of individuals whose journalistic prowess had kept the T.O.M. on a pedestal
There was one common denominator in all those you mentioned, j.b.and it was called ‘integrity’.
Oh how we miss that era!
Steve Mallia wanted to crucify the old man for some reason.
I was involved in a similar case earlier this year, and Times of Malta didn’t bother with my story, nor did the police take the culprit to court. Frankly I didn’t bother as my insurance paid up and repaired my car.
Support for #Baxxter’s War!
Baxxter for Prime Minister in 2018. Hell yes.
So according to Steve Mallia rationale – if Hitler explained his rationale for murdering all those Jews it would have been all right.
This is certainly NOT the right mentality for a newspaper editor to subscribe to.
What Steve Mallia did was fundamentally wrong. If he cannot see that perhaps he should not be editing a newspaper.
I actually find Steve Mallia’s tone even more offensive than the article. He should apologise and not try go to such lengths to justify the decision he took.
By all means inform readers that the hit and run was an accident after all but to expose the identity of the elderly man by even publishing his photo was wholly unnecessary.
To be honest, when I saw the picture, I honestly thought it was an article about the medicines being delivered to old people at their homes!
and this only because Daph questioned the piece.
I do agree with Steve Mallia and Times of Malta on this.
The old man in question is no ordinary person. He is a perfectly sane ex-permanent secretary who is seen regularly in court accompanying his daughter who is facing criminal charges which at times seem to be taking quite a dramatic turn. I do not know exactly the nature of these charges but she is being defended by a top criminal lawyer as Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici with whom her father used to fraternize is no longer at hand.
This person should have had the decency to own up to the accident and not leave the site of the accident. Were it not for the cctv footage, he would never have admitted his responsibility.
If this information is correct, it can make Mr. Mallia’s predicament worse.
It could very well be argued that The Times were after this individual because of his previous prominent profile. One could say that it was politically slanted. There was an ulterior motive.
Mr. Mallia must be spending a few sleepless nights wondering whether he has put himself in an untenable position! He should be man enough to poll ‘The Times’ readers and see what they think.
Furthermore, the issue is not who the man is, the issue is the amount of exposure and the prominence given to the story which add more fuel to the speculation of bias.
As a matter of fact, no such prominence was given to the late revelation by a government minister who not only ploughed into a stationary car but caused injury to two persons, one having to go for surgery to set a broken leg!
Maybe it was easier to stake out an 83 year old at his residence than dare ask the minister a few unsavoury questions? At the very least The Times should be asking for progress about the minister’s case and whether any charges will ever be laid?
The point is not whether what he did was right or wrong, which it certainly was not I hasten to add but rather if the incident deserved three quarter front page coverage on the Times of Malta.
In my view this ‘overkill’ by the Times of Malta editor did little for his and his paper’s reputation particularly when much more important stories are hidden under the carpet.
Sure it’s much easier to crucify some old helpless person whoever he may be and whoever he may be related to.
Hounding ministers and Members of Parliament in general does not seem to be the Times of Malta’s favourite sport.
The Times of Malta has become ‘Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans balls, sans everything.’ – mostly William Shakespeare
Qui s’excuse s’accuse !
What struck me is that the Times of Malta newsroom know how to investigate a story when they want to. They managed to trace the elderly gentleman. So, it is not that they are not capable of tracing a story and investigate it. It is that they do not want to.
Times of Malta, you are really shaming journalism in a so-called democracy.