Shackled Heart
Before shifting to his new blogspot here, Richard made some pertinent reflections about Maltese blogging conditions arising from a lack of unbiased news sources. I wish him success in his Malta venture but I have a feeling that once he settles down on the island he will discover that getting closer will simply give him better access to even more biased news - such as the Maltese language print and broadcast media. Richard, have you thought of setting up a new rolling news service yourself? You might be the ideal person to do so - and I am sure you will find people ready to collaborate. A word of advice from Charles F might help once you're on the island. From Shackled Hearts:
I personally stand by my original comments, that the Malta blog machine will eventually stop running unless the unease about available "unbiased" Malta news is resolved. In the bigger picture, whilst the influence of the blogger is growing, I feel the wider population as a whole (and the rest of the world with an eye on matters Maltese) deserve a new rolling news service - bearing in mind that you can be unbiased without just sitting on the fence. Good news reporting should be making the news as well as breaking it. That steers the editorial free from a reputation of being stagnant and 'safe'. Good journalism should be proudly independent of all politics, trusted by its audience and admired for it's editorial determination to provide a strong product..
posted by Robert Micallef at 4/15/2005 11:10:00 PM
Ok Robert, this is the position.
I am pretty sure it is completely true that when I settle down on the island I know I will discover that getting closer will simply give me better access to even more biased news - such as the Maltese language print and broadcast media. In fact I would put money on it!
But who cares about that? This a bigger issue and one that needs addressing.
You say: "have you thought of setting up a new rolling news service yourself?"
To be honest, I guess that some sort of serious business plan could be developed. BUT I fear that having a 'foreigner' (albeit with years in the media here in UK) involved or behind behind such a venture may not go down very well in all quarters. So, immediately, there could be hostility (and I guess quite justified resentment at that). The dark ghosts of Rediffusion into Xandir Malta come immediately to my mind here (the only comparison I could find for this comment).
So, yes it is tempting and, if it worked it would solve the access problems for the Malta blogging community and all other interested parties as a whole (namely the poor souls who really do want their news politically untainted). And yes, it is something that needs to be mulled over somewhat. And I completely agree there are a great deal of people ready to collaborate.
At the end of the day all we are talking about here is an online only rolling news operation. A service with a reasonable reputation as being firmly unbiased.
To re-quote Malta, 9 Thermidor:
"What could be the cause of this premature decline? It's for good reason that sloth is considered to be one of the seven deadly sins and that possibility should not be discounted. But there are, possibly, other reasons. On(e) of them -- methinks --- is that in Malta we lack websites (especially news websites) which offer substantial, regularly-updated content. This is essential because -- except for very personal blogs -- this is the raw, unprocessed stuff blogs thrive on. If that is missing what is one to blog about? Can you quite blame those bloggers who post once every blue moon?"
To re-quote you, Robert:
"You make an important point about the lack of Maltese current affairs websites which holds back the growth of Maltese blogs - that is precisely why it is so difficult for Maltese blogging to become more mainstream in the near future".
Kenneth says:
“Sadly, that's the Maltese mentality. An unbiased news website is direly needed, but it's nearly impossible; at least when one considers its long-term feasibility”.
In some ways I am sorry that this has been such an issue really – but I think that the debate of online unbiased news is reaching a head (if not now, certainly in the immediate future). And perhaps the future of the development of the Malta related blogging scene rests with this.
The internet is developing at an incredible rate and I feel it would be an awful shame (a tragedy) if nothing is learnt from history (from biased and paranoiac news reporting), especially as Malta is near the forefront of this revolution. The online community should, somehow, teach the rest of the media (print and broadcast) a serious lesson here.
How this is achieved is the next hurdle.
Being foreign may actually make it easier for you to portray yourself as unbiased. Although, at the end of the day, you will be judged from the quality of your product.
It would certainly be good to develop a feasible business plan and - there is a certainly a growing need in this field of activity.
There are also other opportunities for growth in this market. I like the spirit of the Maltamedia network and I think they do a very good job with their resources. With future investment they could get very close to the ideal news portal that you are aiming at
If Maltamedia have similar plans, and their product is what we are discussing then maybe the issue could be resolved.
I am temporarily suspending my blog activities for a while whilst serious consideration is given to the development of a feasible business plan.
Consideration needs to be given to the longterm editorial feasibility, serious investment, commercial viability and, above all, the practical operational costs of running of an unbiased rolling online news operation.
From a personal point of view, I am quite prepared to invest money and 'set-up' time in such a project only if, at the end of the day, the potential operation is totally Maltese operated.
But as you indicate, maybe this market is already covered.
No harm in a little research I think.
That's great to know, Richard. Good luck!
Hope to hear from you again soon.
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