NEWS | Wednesday, 29 August 2007

PBS Editorial Chairman resigns in protest

The chairman of the PBS editorial board, John Camilleri, had his resignation accepted by Investments Minister Austin Gatt yesterday.
In his fiery letter of resignation, Camilleri said he was resigning “in protest against the programme selection process for the TVM winter schedule”.
Camilleri reiterated that process as adopted by the board of directors “was neither fair, nor transparent or credible”, insisting that the board went against the same rules it had set out in the Public Statement of Intent.
In fact, the statement says that “all proposals will be evaluated by the editorial board from the perspective of content. The evaluation will be presented to the board of directors which will, in conjunction with the editorial board, take the final decision about which programmes will form part of the schedule.”
“This didn’t happen,” Camilleri added. “That’s why I am presenting my resignation in protest against the majority of the present board of directors that have brought national public broadcasting into this miserable state.”
Accepting his resignation, the minister sided with the board of directors, reiterating that the last word on the choice of programmes rested with it.
The other two voting members on the board, Dominic Fenech and Mary Anne Lauri, said yesterday that they will not be resigning as yet.