On June 1 Malta’s only cultural programme was taken off the air. Many houses in Malta fell eerily silent, these were the homes of people from all walks of life who appreciated good music and culture and whose radios were permanently turned to 91.7 KHz. For years they had listened regularly to the excellent programmes on Malta’s only radio station devoted to culture. Radju Bronja kept thousands happy while they drove their cars to- and from- work. On the 1st June, many, who could hardly believe that this was true, switched on their radios only to hear empty static on 91.7 – yes Radju Bronja was truly gone. The act of cultural vandalism had really come to pass.

 

Ironically, the official announcement that Radju Bronja was to be shut down was made within days of Malta’s entry into membership of the EU. It was unexpected, but the writing was on the wall and some had foreseen it. Such cultural vandalism contrasts starkly with one of the major philosophies behind the EU, namely, the promotion of cultural diversity in the EU countries.

 

This shameful story  began with the publication in the Times of Malta of the contents of a report ostensibly highlighting problems at Malta’s Public Broadcasting Service, (Report highlights problems at PBS, 28 November). The contents of this report appeared very disquieting upon a first reading but a more careful scrutiny made one wonder if parts of the report were made to sound exaggeratedly negative to serve a specific purpose. In particular, Radju Bronja was referred to as a ‘white elephant' which is too costly to maintain. This already indicated what was in store for this station – in retrospect it is clear that the decision to remove Radju Bronja from the air was made from the very start. This has happened in spite of soothing official declarations such as “There is no decision to axe classical music and culture programmes” or “The Ministry can give an assurance that the bias for classical music and high culture will be retained” or “There is no decision to remove classical music and cultural programmes from the broadcasting of PBS…” Of course, none of these statements excluded the possibility that Radju Bronja would be taken off the air and replaced by little fragments of “culture” broadcast here and there on other stations. About the time Radju Bronja was removed, PBS chairman Andrew Psaila reported that a “survey” showed that “for some 80% of the air time there was no listenership (of Radju Bronja) at all”. This can be nothing but a lie.

 

The reason why Bronja was taken off the air is still incomprehensible. The question of money was a weak excuse. First of all,  Radju Bronja was a radio station, and not a television station; so it could not have been so expensive to run. Secondly, Radju Bronja programmes were produced by people who were not only dedicated to culture but people who derived more intellectual satisfaction from producing programmes than they did for their fees. It is common knowledge that, most, if not all, of these producers did this work for a pittance. The bald statement that Radju Bronja is “too expensive to maintain” and was not making a profit is absurd. To say that Radju Bronja was not a profit making (commercial) organisation is an irrelevant absurdity. The purpose of this station was to inform, educate and entertain listeners – something which this station did admirably.

 

All one can say is: Congratulations Austin Gatt. Splendid effort. Keep it up. As to Francis Zammit Dimech, our Minister for Tourism and Culture, he is the very same minister who presided over the continuing environmental degradation of Malta for many years; now it is the turn of our culture.