Television journalism in Malta in the 1990's

Abstract

Malta is a geographically small island nation with a population of 376,000. Although most people speak the two official languages - Maltese and English - they are served by 6 different local television channels, in addition to 12 radio stations, 4 daily newspapers, 5 Sunday and 3 weekly newspapers. I chose to focus my study on TV-journalism because the medium of television is one of the principal means by which cultural values are transmitted in a modern society. Journalism is said to perform an important political role in liberal pluralist societies, by feeding and sustaining the democratic process. In Chapter 2, I analyzed the literature meant to provide an insight into the world of journalism, on both the local and the European Union level. The adopted methodology is explained in Chapter 3, where I conducted a content analysis of the news items delivered through the medium of television of the three main Maltese TV stations. The data analysis in Chapter 4 provides an indication of the present situation in today's broadcast TV news. I concluded my thesis by tracing specific patterns latent within TV journalism in today's world.