Updated 3.50pm Freedom of the press and the media’s role as a public watchdog is to be enshrined in Malta’s constitution as the fourth pillar of democracy. The pledge, made by the government on Wednesday as part of a raft of media reforms prompted by the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, also includes a commitment to include the protection of journalists’ sources within the constitution. Crimes committed against journalists due to their work will also carry higher sentences, and the family of a journalist who dies will no longer be pursued for damages in any libel action as happened with Caruana Galizia relatives. Launched by Justice Minister Jonathan Attard, the reforms were made public after a committee of journalists and media experts advised the government about how local media laws should change. The committee was appointed in response to the conclusions of a public inquiry into the murder of Caruana Galizia, which last year held the State responsible for the 2017 assassination. It said the State had created a culture of complicity and also outlined multiple shortcomings in Malta’s handling of the media. Judge Michael Mallia, who also formed part of the...
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