‘For them to remain in office under such suspicion is unprecedented in most democracies’

Referring to people in office who are currently under scrutiny for corruption, veteran journalist and journalism lecturer Marc Edge says that in most advanced democratic countries, hesitation to resign would be unheard of, especially until their name is cleared

The Malta Independent sat down for an interview with Edge, who is a Canadian associate professor of media and communications at the University of Malta’s Faculty of Media and Knowledge Sciences.

Edge has a lengthy résumé, having worked and taught in several countries around the world. Of particular interest is his tenure at a university in Fiji, which was at the time under a dictatorship. The authoritarian government severely restricted press freedom in the country, causing him a certain amount of trouble.

Edge believes that the motive behind Daphne Caruana Galizia’s murder is related to information mostly to do with the government, but also organised crime, since her blog covered a wide range of subjects. As a result, he points out that the lack of resignations of members of the government and their staff is in stark contrast with what has happened in Slovakia, where another investigative journalist was killed and, subsequent, resignations from the government ensued. Resignation is “apparently something that does not happen in Malta,” he noted.

Edge is of the firm belief that with better journalism comes a better society. If journalism is constrained and is not allowed to bring facts to life, then this fosters corruption, he asserts.

Professor MARC EDGE was a newspaper journalist for twenty years in his native Canada and has since taught the subject at universities in five countries. He has written five books and more than fifteen peerreviewed academic journal articles. He is currently lecturing at the University of Malta’s Faculty of Media and Knowledge Sciences. Rebekah Cilia spoke to him about the Daphne Project, the rule of law and the newspaper industry.

Referring to the Daphne Project, Professor Marc Edge believes that such investigations carried out by newspapers are badly needed. There have been comments made that the Daphne Project has somehow put a bad light on Malta and, when confronted with this, Edge says: “They are looking for facts, they are looking for the truth, they are looking to bring the truth to light; how can that possibly be a bad thing?”

The Daphne Project is a group of 45 journalists representing 18 news organisations that have continued to work on Daphne Caruana Galizia’s stories.

He believes the Daphne Project might be a bad thing for those upon whom the facts might cast aspersions but the Maltese people should want to know what is really happening in Malta. Edge states that if the allegations of corruption are true, then there needs to be a remedy to the problem which is central to the life of politics in any country.

Edge has worked as a journalist as well as an academic with several newspapers and universities around the world. His first job was actually delivering newspapers, and that is how he got interested in journalism. He says he had this great romantic notion of seeing his name on the front page of a newspaper. Following his studies in commerce at university, he had several jobs as a journalist with special interest in business, news, and law. At one point, he took a leave of absence to complete a master’s degree.

Newspapers were already downsizing in the early 1990s, so he took a very early retirement at the age of 38 and sailed the South Pacific. He then went on to earn a PhD in Mass Communication, which was awarded the Doctoral Dissertation Award of the American Journalism Historians Associations and subsequently published as a book. He has so far had more than 15 peer-reviewed academic journal articles and has written five books. He will have completed his sixth book by the end of the year on the British newspaper industry.

Following more teaching posts in Texas, British Columbia and Singapore, he took on a post as head of journalism in Fiji. Edge explains how “Fiji was ruled by a dictatorship at the time and I ran foul of their media repression. I started a blog about media analysis and they did not appreciate my criticism of the government.” Mainstream media in Fiji is suppressed by the government under media law which is rather draconian, says Edge. It provides fines and even jail sentences for what were once ethical violations. One particular blog entry by Edge led to the government insisting he take it down. It even threatened to stop funding the university where he worked. Things went from bad to worse, and while Edge was not technically forced to leave Fiji, he was given very little option.

Edge says he is now in Malta not only to teach journalism, but also to improve journalism, which he asserts requires press freedom. In doing so, he tries to be as objective and non-partisan as he can, he insists. Although he has lived in many places, Edge sees Malta as having a very high level of political partisanship, although he says it is present in other countries to a lesser extent. He speaks about the Maltese people and their allegiance to political parties, adding that it is like those parties can do no wrong. “When it comes to the country’s political life, these things are too important to let beliefs and opinions get in the way of facts. Facts are the most important thing and they are

what governments and politicians should be judged on, not on partisanship,” he explains.

Edge believes that in Malta, restrictions on press freedom are politically motivated but are also politically bipartisan. He insists that both sides, when in power, use what laws they can to keep a lid on the press carrying out investigations. He points out that that the one guiding principle of government is to have a certain level of censorship, as without it, they cannot have control.

Unfortunately for whoever ordered the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia, they are now finding out that killing a journalist will not actually stop the facts from coming out, asserts Edge. In fact, her death has galvanised the journalistic community, he continues.

Every country has its own unique history, culture and geography; things that help determine its level of press freedom, he explains. “Malta has always had a fairly good reputation in relation to press freedom, except recently, of course, with the assassination of Daphne Caruana Galizia. The killing has cast a definite cloud over press freedom and has caused Malta to fall 18 spots in the latest rankings of Reporters Sans Frontier,” Edge points out. He also talks of the way she was treated when she was alive, with some of the libel suits against her and the freezing of her bank account. He is of the belief that such laws should be changed if press freedom is to increase in Malta. “It does have a chilling effect on journalism when a journalist is assassinated. Even in all my time in Fiji, no journalists were ever killed – that is going beyond the pale. Unfortunately, here in Malta, you have gone beyond the pale and this needs to be repaired somehow,” he expounds.

Edge maintains that it is incumbent for journalists and press freedom advocates to call for the removal of restraints on press freedom, such as the libel laws. A call for freedom of information laws which require the government to provide information upon request by journalists, to provide some transparency and openness, is also essential he continues. “These philosophies are the hallmark of democracy,” Edge declares.

Following his analysis – which was broadcast on RTK radio – of Prime Minister Joseph Muscat’s interview with BBC Newsnight’s John Sweeney, Edge received a number of negative comments. In his analysis, he says that while the prime minister’s arguments were reasonable, his body language told a different story. Muscat, he says, appeared uncomfortable, giving off the impression that he was not trustworthy. He pointed out that the prime minister appeared nervous, and that the term ‘Artful Dodger of Europe’, as he was referred to, was quite apt. Most Maltese must have cringed as they watched the interview, Edge suspects.

One of Edge’s books, ‘Greatly Exaggerated: The Myth of the Death of Newspaper’, deals with the financials of North American newspapers and media conglomerates. He draws the surprising conclusion that the newspaper business is actually thriving and more profitable than believed, despite the notion that they are doomed to fail in the era of smartphones and social media.

Over the past ten years, especially since the 2008 financial crisis, there has been a lot of speculation about the death of newspapers and it has often been predicted that newspapers will not be around much longer, Edge explains. Through his business background Edge found out that most newspapers in North America are still making money, although their revenues decreased sharply between 2006 and 2013. Following adaptations, especially through online media publishing houses, they have been given new life, he says. Edge has now extended his studies to the UK and has come to note that The Times (of London), which has historically been a loss leader for the Murdock Group, has in the recent years become a money maker because of its hard paywall. Edge believes that each newspaper is finding ways to survive using different business models.

Even in all my time in Fiji, no journalists were ever killed – that is going beyond the pale