When I launched NEWZ.mt (then branded Maltanews) in 2018, I had no idea that just a few years — and a couple of rebrands — later, the platform would be followed by nearly 20,000 people across all major social media channels.
Considering the limited resources of a one-man operation trying to offer no-nonsense reporting and commentary in a small market of just half a million people, I think that’s quite something.
The platform was created to fill a gap left wide open by Malta’s heavily biased government broadcaster PBS and the frankly unbearable TV stations run by the major political parties.
My mission was simple: to produce daily bulletins and weekly in-depth news programmes in English — something that didn’t exist in Malta at the time.
I invested tens of thousands of euros in a semi-automated production setup capable of meeting EBU standards, and just as much in unpaid working hours.
NEWZ.mt became a go-to contact for international radio and TV newsrooms looking for local insight and production support when reporting on Malta.
Over the past few years, I’ve had the pleasure of working locally with The Shift News, civil society groups, and my dear colleague and friend Julian Delia.
Together we created the in-depth interview series SIEGĦA and the bilingual court report NEWZ MILL-QORTI.
In Summer 2024, we were commissioned to produce the short documentary UNTANGLING THE MAFIA STATE to mark the 7th anniversary of the assassination of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.
Last October, Julian and I launched our very first fundraising campaign. The goal was to raise €30,000 to keep our collaboration going for another six months.
Despite strong backing from prominent voices in civil society and the arts and culture scene, the money raised through the campaign was only enough to fund production until the fundraiser itself came to an end.
We called the campaign “It’s now or never.”
And I really meant it.