Government adviser Reno Bugeja appointed to ‘keep impartiality’ at PBS

Government consultant Reno Bugeja has been appointed to the editorial board of Malta’s state broadcaster, despite being on a full-time €70,000-a-year consultancy contract at the Office of the Prime Minister.

According to the Government Gazette, Bugeja, 70, was appointed to replace former PN candidate and lawyer Martin Fenech, who passed away earlier this year. His new role places him on the board tasked with safeguarding impartiality and editorial standards at Public Broadcasting Services (PBS).

The appointment means that Bugeja, who is currently engaged as a full-time consultant to Parliamentary Secretary for Reforms and Equality Rebecca Buttigieg, will now sit on the board responsible for overseeing news policy and ensuring balanced reporting at the national broadcaster.

His dual role and conflict of interest are already drawing criticism.

“Bugeja has accepted to be on the government’s payroll while acting to be impartial on the PBS editorial board. Can you imagine that he is going to bite the hand that is feeding him?” a senior PBS official told The Shift.

Bugeja officially retired from PBS in 2020 after reaching pensionable age, having spent his entire career inside the newsroom. He was appointed PBS editor in 2013, shortly after disgraced former Prime Minister Joseph Muscat’s Labour Party swept to power and remained in the role until 2020.

Documents obtained through a Freedom of Information request show that Bugeja signed his consultancy contract with the OPM in 2023. It has since been renewed annually. He is paid close to €70,000 per year, including a €16,000 “expertise allowance”, a supplement typically granted to highly qualified specialists. Bugeja has no academic qualifications.  On top of this, he draws a state pension.

Under his contract, Bugeja advises Buttigieg on communications, assists in disseminating information about her work, and drafts or contributes to speeches.

Despite serving as a paid government adviser, he continues to appear on TVM and ONE TV, presenting himself as an independent journalist. He has also publicly supported Buttigieg on social media without disclosing his financial ties to her office.

The PBS Editorial Board serves as a quality control and oversight body, ensuring that the broadcaster’s output remains independent, impartial, and aligned with its public service mission.

The other two board members, Chairman Engelbert Grech and former journalist Charles Flores, are known for their Labour leanings but do not hold publicly known consultancy roles within government.

Bugeja’s latest appointment, which comes with additional remuneration, raises fresh questions about conflicts of interest at the heart of the national broadcaster.

PBS is considered by many as an extension of the Government’s Department of Information and has been turned into another marketing tool for the current administration. It is being subsidised through an almost €10 million subvention from state coffers a year.