Party TV ownership in political communication : a qualitative research on the role of TV stations owned by political parties in Malta

Abstract

TV is one of the most popular gadgets throughout the world by which people communicate. Political parties are organisations that propagate policies based on the needs of social actors. Political communication is a two way channel by which political institutions convey messages and seek feedback. TV is one of the instruments used in this process. The situation in Malta evolved into a unique phenomena where by political parties have become the owners of TV stations. They became the gate keepers to one of the main channels within political communication. This dissertation attempts to discover the role these TV stations play in the political communications process. The methodology used is a qualitative one. Two focus groups, sixteen in-depth interviews with the top officials of each party and a content analysis of the gathered data. A brief history of the evolution of TV in Malta and the experiences in other countries will be featured in a chapter dedicated to the literature review. finally, two suggestions are made, regarding party TV ownership, in retrospect of the findings emerging fi om this dissertation.