The Sunday Times leading article: THE PRESS UNDER SIEGE

The Sunday Times yesterday carried a strong leading article which sounds the alarm about the threat to democracy posed by the government’s systematic assaults on journalists who expose its wrong-doing. The editorial was so strong that it was tweeted personally, which is unusual, by Bastian Obermayer, who leads the Panama Papers team at Germany’s big national newpaper, Süddeutsche Zeitung – which originally received the Mossack Fonseca data and then brought the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists on board.

The Sunday Times editorial says:

The independent press is under siege. Some of the attacks come through news outlets linked to the government, which target individual journalists and dispense misinformation aimed at damaging their integrity and credibility, while shielding the government from legitimate scrutiny and criticism.

An aide to the Prime Minister sits at Castille and vilifies journalists who refuse to fall in line. He does this with the Prime Minister’s blessing since Joseph Muscat has repeatedly defended his actions – ironically in the name of free speech. Journalists are coming under indirect pressure to curb their reporting or change direction. Meanwhile, ‘scoops’ are handed over to the more compliant media. Later, it turns out they have been used, when other sections of the press have scrutinised the story.