“Roll on authum”, writes government broadcasting consultant

Frederick Testa, who was put on the government’s payroll as a Public Services Broadcasting consultant, in return for proselytising for the Labour Party in the last general election campaign, is thrilled to bits with TVM’s new “authum” schedule.

Jason Micallef, chairman of the Labour Party’s television station – who wishes to replace Anton Attard as CEO of the public services broadcaster – is not quite as excited about it.

I hardly think he’s the solution, though. He seems to think that a public services broadcaster should be run on the same lines as a business and that it should break even or make a profit. The clue is in the name. It is not a commercial station and should not be run like one – which is why public services broadcasters in many countries (including Europe) don’t take advertising.

The reason TVM is such a disaster is because it aims to be commercial, and fails, when it should be concentrating instead on being exactly what it says on the tin: a public service broadcaster.

Frederick Testa, campaigning for Labour in the last general election