PBS director behind censorship of Opposition MP

The Shift can reveal that Pablo Micallef, a member of the public broadcaster’s (PBS) board of directors, is behind the censorship of an Opposition MP in a recent promotion.

In his other government-paid job as Communications Director at the Water Services Corporation (WSC), Micallef instructed his team to remove Opposition spokesman for the WSC Ryan Callus from an image posted on the public entity’s social media channels.

An image that showed Callus at a WSC stand during a Chamber of Engineers event was photoshopped to delete Callus from the picture and replace him with a picture of a random man impersonating a student.

Pablo Micallef was exposed by his colleagues as the WSC official who ordered the removal of Callus, censoring the Opposition’s energy spokesman.

Micallef’s censoring of an opposition MP is considered more serious due to his role as a member of the PBS board, in which he is obliged to act impartially. PBS has long been accused of becoming a Labour Party broadcaster.

When The Shift asked CEO Karl Cilia to confirm that the WSC has identified Pablo Micallef as the brains behind the Opposition’s censorship, he refused to reply. He also refuses to state what action he is taking against his communication chief for tarnishing the agency’s professional image.

The Shift is informed that Cilia is very uncomfortable about the incident and is insisting that Micallef be admonished and made to offer a public apology. However, the energy ministry is pressuring Cilia to “let the incident die out.”

Pablo Micallef, better known as a television quiz presenter, has a history of helping those in power in order to further his own career.

Under a previous PN administration, Micallef worked with the media company Where’s Everybody, which was close to the governing administration at the time, particularly through Joe (Peppi) Azzopardi and Lou Bondi. Micallef even participated in official PN electoral campaign activities when Lawrence Gonzi was prime minister and frequently attended PN mass meetings despite being a Labour supporter.

When Labour was elected in 2013, Micallef began to reap the benefits. He was made a spokesman for Malta’s EU Representation in Brussels without having any knowledge of the EU, and spent several years in Brussels on a massive government financial package.

On his return to Malta, Micallef was immediately given a lucrative job as a Communications Director at MCAST, followed by a new job at the WSC, where he has now become responsible for the ‘Callus gaffe’. He was also inserted on the board of PBS while conducting programmes at the same station, gaining another income.

In 2023, Film Commissioner Johann Grech issued a direct order for Micallef to act as his spokesman for the €4 million Mediterrane Film Festival. Micallef charged the government €125 an hour for this role.

According to the PBS code of ethics, board members and presenters are prohibited from providing services to other government agencies or ministries. In Micallef’s case, all rules were ignored.