Severance, uncertainty & damaged archives

Maldives: National broadcaster criticised over imbalance in election and referendum coverage

Public Service Media (PSM), the Maldives’ national broadcaster, has come under scrutiny following an election monitoring report by Transparency Maldives, which found that coverage by PSM disproportionately amplified the government’s administration during the 2026 elections and referendum on its constitution. 

The organisation analysed 589 articles published on PSM’s website over a 72-day period, and found that over two thirds of its output originated from or supported the Maldivian government. Just six articles could be deemed as ‘accountability’, with only one described as “genuinely adversarial.” The report also raised concerns over PSM’s coverage of the constitutional referendum, with 11 of 36 articles published during the legally safeguarded campaign period supporting the “Yes” position, while none presented a meaningful case for “No”. The referendum, which was resoundingly rejected, was pushed by the government. 

Transparency Maldives argued that the imbalance was contradictory to PSM’s mandate of impartiality and equity, as well as wider broadcasting standards when reporting during election periods. The organisation also noted that the findings were of little surprise to them, having raised similar concerns over PSM’s referendum coverage during previous electoral cycles.

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Argentina: Million-dollars severance package is causing controversy

An alleged $100 million voluntary retirement package has put Radio Television Argentina’s (RTA) management under scrutiny. The administrator of RTA, Carlos Curci, is alleged to have agreed to a significant retirement package for the former Legal Affairs Manager, Alfredo Schnaiderman. However, RTA denied the rumours.

Schnaiderman is one of the 180 RTA employees who agreed to take voluntary retirement when the national broadcaster was making major budget cuts last year. One of the sticking points is that, at the time of taking voluntary redundancy, Schnaiderman had already been employed by the Judiciary of the City of Buenos Aires for several months.

When questioned, the Public Employment Office said RTA “had the power to accept or reject the request”. Clarín reported that sources close to the management maintained that neither the status nor political evaluation influenced the decision whether to grant the severance payment or not.

This case once again casts doubt over the integrity of the leadership and their decision making over compensation payments at a time when the broadcaster has been facing significant cuts. In the last two years, several prominent public media figures have received significant compensation, raising questions among unions, already resisting the axing and restructure plans under president Javier Milei.

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Colombia: Uncertain future for Inravisión as new president inaugurated

The national broadcaster, Inravisión, was overlooked as host broadcaster for the inauguration ceremony of Colombia’s new president, Abelardo de la Espriella. Shortly before the ceremony was due to take place, a contract amounting to nearly 2.5 billion pesos (US$800,000) was cancelled by de la Espriella’s team. The funding was earmarked for the production and logistics of the inauguration coverage. 

Inravisión’s Director General, Hollman Morris said they offered their services, but the responsibility to be host broadcaster was instead granted to privately-owned free-to-air network, RCN Televisión, according to Infobae. 

The weeks and months ahead will be a stern test for Inravisión under the new president. The broadcaster already faced significant challenges, regularly accused of being used as a mouthpiece for the previous left-wing president, Gustavo Petro, who Morris considered a personal friend. Morris, who is due to step down, was also under investigation by the attorney general for politicising the broadcaster. Whether de la Espriella will prioritise bolstering the broadcaster’s independence and public service mission is unknown but seems unlikely, given the approach taken by politicians of a similar ilk, like Javier Milei, in the region. As noted by the LatAm Journalism Review, de la Espriella has a record of using the law against journalists. 

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Australia: Media leaders highlight impact of media environment on racism

Media leaders have warned that the digital media environment is exacerbating the racism and violence that Indigenous people in Australia face. The comments were made during the Inquiry into racism, hate and violence directed at Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, which was launched in March. 

“This Inquiry comes 35 years after both the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody and the National Inquiry into Racist Violence found that negative and inaccurate media representation of First Nations people contributes to a social climate that tolerates racism and violence,” said Tanya Denning-Orman, First Nations Director at SBS. “Those same conditions have intensified, fuelled by a digital environment where misinformation, disinformation, racism and hate can spread at unprecedented speed and scale.” 

John Paul Janke, the National Indigenous Affairs Editor for NITV/SBS, criticised the way social media platforms amplify and tolerate racism, while prominent news presenter and journalist, Narelda Jacobs, said media organisations themselves needed to be accountable for “negative stereotypes perpetuated in the news.” She also said that Indigenous journalists were withheld from covering First Nations stories because they were seen as “too close” to the subject matter, and therefore unable to report objectively. 

In its opening statement, the ABC acknowledged “that racism has occurred within our organisation. … Our experience reinforced that addressing racism requires sustained action, transparency, and a willingness to listen and learn. The ABC remains committed to ensuring that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices, languages, stories and perspectives are an integral part of the national conversation.”

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