TVM broadcaster and chairperson of the Institute of Maltese Journalists (IGM), Norma Saliba, has been appointed to the stamp design advisory board, a position she will retain until 2020, according to the government gazette.

The IGM has been conspicuous by its silence at a trying time for the media in Malta following the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.

Norma Saliba promoting the Labour Party’s electoral message in the 2017 general election.

It has also largely remained silent in the battle against the threat of financially crippling SLAPP lawsuits being faced by media outlets in Malta that have led to the removal of published stories on Pilatus Bank, whose owner was recently arrested in the US.

The government recently shot down a Private Member’s Bill by the Opposition to provide more protection to journalists, and the IGM took no stand on the matter.

Other members on the Board include Greta Apap Bologna and Kenneth Zammit Tabona. The list includes Owen Galea (Head of News ONE), Clifford Galea (ONE journalist) and Clint Bajada (DJ on ONE Radio), the Labour Party’s media where Saliba also worked in the past.