Pope’s visit: The good and the bad of PBS
The pope’s visit last Sunday gave us the two facets of the national broadcasting station: the ability to rise to the occasion and give a splendid coverage of all that was happening on our shores; and the inability to put politics aside while continuing to act as the government’s gatekeeper.
Let’s start with the good things.
Pope Francis’ 32-hour stay was covered almost in its entirety, even when the Holy Father was travelling from one place to another. The footage of the pope’s car being driven to its intended destination gave an idea to all viewers of how many people had turned up on the sides of the road to give their welcome to the pontiff. Hundreds were present in Valletta, Floriana, Mellieha, Hal Far and anywhere else, including, of course, Gozo.
The events, then, were all transmitted live, with the national station doing the right thing in allowing viewers to listen to the Pope’s words directly, rather than have them simultaneously translated as he was speaking. Most people understand Italian, and they felt that the pope was speaking to them directly, rather than have someone monotonously translating all he was saying. The pope’s words were then analysed by people in the studio, and PBS chose well, in the sense that all those who appeared on camera gave a solid contribution.
Other than some inexperience shown by the young reporters in handling unexpected situations, such as when there were delays, and the insistence by one of them to continuously use the “his holiness” title each time he mentioned the pope, the PBS journalists did a very good job. The thousands of people who wanted to be “present” but were unable to be so in person, were able to follow all that took place, from the pope’s first step to his last goodbye.
But this is where the praise stops because, once again, the national station did not manage to put politics on the back burner. Not even one week after an election, not even for the pope.
In his address to Malta’s top authorities, Pope Francis spoke about the need to eradicate corruption. But this important message was not included in the reports that PBS prepared for its news bulletins and online services. While all independent media put the Pope’s call against corrupt practices in their headlines, this was apparently not important enough for PBS to mention.
PBS has often been accused, not only by the Opposition, of acting as the government’s propaganda machine. And the pope’s visit has again raised concern about the lack of impartiality that the national station shows in its reporting.
The way its news reports were drawn up gave viewers who did not have the time to follow the pope’s whole speeches the idea that all the pontiff said were good things about Malta, when this was not the case.
It’s a pity that, once again, PBS went down this road. It gave a professional account of what was taking place, but continued to lose credibility by omitting to focus on one of the most important messages the pope gave us last weekend.