Broad front against BA’s decision to fine church radio RTK103

The Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation and aditus Foundation

The BA’s decision was “a threat to free speech”, the Daphne Caruana Galizia Foundation and Aditus said in a joint statement on Wednesday evening.

The decision implied that private broadcasters might not refuse to give airtime to Norman Lowell for fear of being fined, the foundations said.

Yet, at the same time, they could face a fine if they provided a platform to a guest whose well-known views had previously led to a successful BA complaint.

The decision gave anyone or any entity excluded from a broadcast programme the possibility to file a successful BA complaint, the NGOs said.

This would now be possible on the basis that another individual or entity was a guest on an earlier edition of the same programme.

Aditus and the Daphne foundation also warned that broadcasters or programme hosts might take pre-emptive editorial decisions to avoid being fined.

“Whom to invite as a guest on one’s programme is an editorial decision that should be taken freely by the programme host and broadcaster”, they said.

The NGOs also noted that the BA board’s secretary, lawyer Adriano Spiteri, was actively involved in Imperium Europa himself as its secretary-general until 2023.

Institute of Maltese Journalist

The Institute of Maltese Journalists (IĠM) expressed its solidarity with Andrew Azzopardi and RTK103, saying it did not agree with the BA decision.

This “unjust decision” opened the door to “a dangerous precedent where anyone who thinks they have suffered unfair treatment seeks satisfaction from the Authority”.

The IĠM said it considered that Azzopardi’s comments about Lowell being a racist and xenophobic were based on facts that emerged from court judgments.

“Azzopardi also had the right to argue that people who are racist are not invited to his programme as this remains the station’s editorial discretion”, it said.

The IĠM noted that there was no obligation for Lowell to necessarily be heard because the presenter based his argument on facts arising from court decisions.

If Lowell felt he had been defamed, he could have sought redress in court rather than asking for a decision from the BA, “which in this case acted as accuser and judge at the same time”.

The journalist’s institute also said it was concerned about the position of a former active member of Imperium Europa as secretary of the BA board.

It said this situation casted doubt on the impartiality of the board, “as much as it is worrying that the appointment of the board depends only on persons nominated by the two political parties represented in the parliament”.

PEN Malta

The Broadcasting Authority’s “disgraceful decision” was “a slap in the face of common decency and journalistic integrity”, PEN Malta said.

It was “nothing short of an egregious display of absurdity and an assault on the presenter’s freedom of speech”.

Irrespective of court judgements, Andrew Azzopardi had “the fundamental right to free speech in declaring himself against hosting a Nazi sympathiser on his programme”.

This “spineless move” exposed the authority’s “blatant detachment from contemporary values and its alarming lack of commitment to combating hate”.

It was a “shameful testament” to the Broadcasting Authority’s “irrelevance and moral bankruptcy”, PEN Malta said.

“Malta has enough racism as it is. The last thing we need is to institutionalise it”, the organisation added.

Bis-Serjetà

Malta’s satirical news outlet Bis-Serjetà reacted to the developments in its own unique way.

It reported that “Imperium Europa leader Norman Lowell has been kicked out of the party following claims that he is not racist enough”. Read the full article