/library/oar/handle/123456789/57364 Sat, 08 Nov 2025 17:26:27 GMT 2025-11-08T17:26:27Z /library/oar/handle/123456789/58618 Title: ‘Il-Ħmar’ and the Sette Giugno riots : the impact of one of the most prominent newspapers on Maltese citizens Abstract: The weekly newspaper ‘Il-Ħmar’ (see Fig. 1) started in 1917, with the last edition being published during 1928, followed by the newspaper ‘Il-Ħmara’ in 1928 (Sant 1989). ‘Il Ħmar’ and ‘Il-Ħmara’ were published by Guliermo Arena and when Arena died in 1926, his brother, Joseph Arena became the new editor. ‘Il-Ħmar’ with the subtitle ‘Jitchellem bic-cajt fuk l’aktar ħuejjeġ serji’, published 1,047 newspapers weekly in 11 years, an average of 95 editions per year. It was one of the most popular newspapers in 1919. It was published every Saturday. However, when the Commission of Inquiry started in August 1919, the newspaper was published also on Tuesdays. ‘Il-Ħmar’ followed the newspaper Ġiaħan (1906-1926). Satirical newspapers were most popular between the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century (Vella, 2018). According to ‘Il-Ħmar’s editor, Gugliermo Arena, around 3,000 copies were sold every week. When considering that most of the Maltese were illiterate, the rate was high. Those who could read were delivering the message to others. Men in the cities used to meet in clubs and tea shops talking about the news. ‘Il-Ħmar’ lived up to its motto which was written in 1917 when it stated that a donkey is not just a stupid animal although it is not as strong as a horse. ‘Il-Ħmar’ had below the masthead a legend reading ‘Ludendo Castigat Mores’, which means the ‘entertainment that disciplines behaviour’. Most of the articles were written by people using pseudonyms. The writer Richard Taylor wrote most of these satirical jokes, poems, and dialogues in the Maltese newspapers. In fact, he was known as “the pioneer of satirical journalism in the Maltese language” (Spiteri, 2013). The thought behind this newspaper was to speak humorously on the most serious of matters. Arena, the editor, started the first edition with the headline ‘Ready for Action’. It was a newspaper that focused directly on workers and low class. Its aim was to attack the British Empire authorities as well as politicians and professionals (‘Il-Ħmar’, 5-4-1917 ed.). In the first opinion piece, the editor reminded people that the election was yet to come, and it was going to be a raging battle, so no one should fear. One had to keep in mind that in those days, women did not have the right to vote; only men were franchised. Il-Ħmar’ stated that taxes were among the worst in 1918 when the inheritance tax was passed. This hit the high-class population. According to Azzopardi (1919), bread was not the main issue that most angered people, but when workers were being hired and fired from the Dockyard (‘Il-Ħmar’, 2-9-1919 ed.). Newspapers used to infiltrate public opinion and instil interest in people especially when censorship was lifted on the 3rd of February 1919. Newspapers sales were high in towns and the inner harbour area. The Malta Daily Chronicle was pro-British, favouring the British Empire and against the Dockyard workers. The majority of the Maltese were against this newspaper (Sant, 1989). ‘La Voce del Popolo’ was the organ of the Comitato Patriottico which was against the colonial government. The newspaper published such strong articles so that John Briffa, the main censor of this paper, in the Sette Giugno’s inquiry stated that the Comitato Patriottico featured heated articles in the newspaper ‘La Voce del Popolo’. "They could have an influence on the Maltese people" (Bartolo, 1979 p.35). Other articles that may have prompted the people were those on the newspaper ‘L-Unjoni Maltija’. The main intention of these articles, which were published during January 1919, was to work hard for the Constitution to be granted. Among other articles, Savior Agius, in favour of Manwel Dimech, wrote an article entitled ‘Kunu Iebsin Maltin’ on 29th March 1919. Agius incited people to struggle against foreigners who dominated the country (Bartolo, 1979 p.30). These articles along with similar others were catalysts for the 7th and 8th June’s revolt. The agent of the Police Commissioner sent a copy of most of these articles to Lieutenant Governor W.C.F. Robertson to take action. The Acting Tenant-Governor E.A. Bonavia’s secretary called these articles "the ordinary vapouring”, but Robertson said it was better not to do anything because they would become popular. The lawyer of the crown, Dr. M.A. Refalo was of the same opinion. The governor’s message was to "let sleeping dogs lie" (Bartolo, 1979 p.29). Description: DIP.JOURNALISM Tue, 01 Jan 2019 00:00:00 GMT /library/oar/handle/123456789/58618 2019-01-01T00:00:00Z /library/oar/handle/123456789/58617 Title: The death of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia in the international press Abstract: This essay scanned a representative but vast selection of the international press in relation to journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia’s murder and subsequent press reports about subjects she had investigated. An introduction to who Daphne Caruana Galizia was is presented, along with a list of media models for all countries. The latter was done to comprehend the media culture in the countries analysed. The study then scrutinised the articles on a subject-by subject basis, including the assassination, the effect the murder had on journalism in Malta, the Panama Papers revelations with respect to Daphne Caruana Galizia’s work, the SOCAR saga, the murder investigation and arrests, the Individual Investor Program, of which Daphne Caruana Galizia was a harsh critic, and the makeshift monument that was dedicated to Daphne Caruana Galizia. Each of these subjects was examined as to the frequency of reports in the international press, the style in which they were reported and what details were included. A discussion on the study follows, concluding that several reports were similar since they were sourced from international news agencies. A brief academic insight into news agencies then forms part of the discussion. One other major aspect resulting from the study is the fact that most sources quoted in international reports tended to follow a one-sided view, often those highly critical of the Maltese government. Other details identified in the discussion include the interesting collaboration of several international news media houses, under the name The Daphne Project, and the comparison of the international press culture with the Maltese polarised model. The author concluded that the analysis broached a highly controversial and sensitive subject and revealed that the international press took a keen interest in the subject. However, the reports did not tend to reflect the atmosphere that prevailed in Malta itself. Description: DIP.JOURNALISM Tue, 01 Jan 2019 00:00:00 GMT /library/oar/handle/123456789/58617 2019-01-01T00:00:00Z /library/oar/handle/123456789/57579 Title: Traditional versus digital : retail bank marketing communication Abstract: The advent of Web 2.0 has given individuals and organizations the ability to easily share information over the internet. (Tiago et al., 2014). This fast and cost-efficient means of communication has paved the way for business to make use of digital marketing to advertise products and services. While this emerging strategy has become a steeple in most marketing strategies, there is a lack of literature suggesting that the same can be said for the retail baking industry. This research aims to fill this gap by comparing the effect of both digital and traditional marketing on University of Malta students’ attitudes and subsequent purchase intentions towards services provided by a leading local bank. The study adopts a quantitative approach, specifically in the form of an experiment, analysing the r4esponses of a total 150 participants. Findings from this study show that University students exposed to a digital advertisement were more likely to hold a positive attitude towards BOV, a leading local bank, as opposed to students exposed to traditional forms of advertising. The study also confirms that a positive relationship between attitude towards the brand and purchase intention exists, as initially postulated by Ajzen (1975) in his ‘Theory of Reasoned Action’. By supporting the proposed hypotheses, this study may encourage marketers within the retail baking industry to dedicate more resources to the ever-growing forms of digital marketing, especially when promoting services that target the University student demographic. Description: B.COMMS.(HONS) Tue, 01 Jan 2019 00:00:00 GMT /library/oar/handle/123456789/57579 2019-01-01T00:00:00Z /library/oar/handle/123456789/57578 Title: How does an online audience react to news stories about gender issues? : an analysis of content developed by three mainstream media platforms (with an online presence) in Malta Abstract: The purpose of this study was to provide a snapshot of how online audiences react to news stories about gender-issues. The research focuses on the taboo topic of abortion as it generates vehement reactions from both pro- and against camps. Netnography was used to sample articles published between 1 February 2018 and 28 February 2019 from the websites of the Times of Malta, Malta Today and the Malta Independent and their respective Facebook pages. Interviews with online editors aided the researcher to outline a model of the Maltese Media Ecosystem. Verbal and non-verbal audience reactions were analysed through a critical discourse analysis approach. The results suggest that using Facebook to distribute news stories is paramount for news organisations that wish to attract wider audiences to their websites. Furthermore, analytics tools enable mainstream media to understand their audiences’ reactions to news, thereby transforming the news-producer and news-consumer relationship. Description: B.COMMS.(HONS) Tue, 01 Jan 2019 00:00:00 GMT /library/oar/handle/123456789/57578 2019-01-01T00:00:00Z