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The Authority

Executive Committee

Broadcasting Authority's Members

Frank V. Farrugia; Chairman, Broadcasting Authority

Frank V. Farrugia is former President, and currently Vice President, of the Malta Chamber of Commerce which he had joined in 1976. He served on the board of the Building Industry Consultative Council and was also director of Malta Counter-trade.

Mr Farrugia started his working carrier with RediffusionMalta Ltd as a mapping Clerk in the Engineering Department, then transferred to the Gwida Magazine Editorial Department.

In June 1973, he became a shareholder, partner and director in the newly-formed company Universal Import and Export Ltd. Between 1975 and 1991, he worked as Sales and Marketing Director and was involved in the manufacturing sector for export to German and Scandinavian markets. During this period, he undertook various courses in management, marketing and sales in Malta and also in France, Germany and the Far East.

Mr Farrugia is nowadays the owner and managing director of a company specialising in the supply of textiles, as well as a company which specialises in the supply in of professional tools, engineering solutions, industrial maintenance and treatment chemicals, RO’s and water treatment technology. Besides the Maltese market, the group also exports and offers its services to companies in North Africa.

In October 2019, he was appointed Director of Eurochambers during the 124th Plenary Assembly held in Brussels. Eurochambers represents over 20 million businesses in Europe through its 46 member organisations and a European network of 1,700 regional and local Chambers.

Mr Farrugia is currently also serving on the board of Malta Council for Economic and Social Development, Malta Enterprise, Jobs Plus, Employment Industrial Relations, Trade

Francis Ghirxi – Member

Mr Frans Ghirxi has been involved in journalism and broadcasting since joining the Union Press newspapers as a reporter in April 1976, progressing on to Head of Current News in 1988. In July 1993 he was appointed Executive Editor of the Union Press daily paper l-orizzont and in 2001 Head of the Union Press Publications, occupying both positions till retiring age in April 2010. He participated in journalism and broadcasting courses organised by Radio Nederland in Hilversum, Holland (1983) and in the United States (1994) organised by USIA International Visitor Programme of United States Information Agency. He coordinated and presented televison discussion programmes on Super One Television and a weekly discussion radio programme on ONE Radio until June 2016. He has been a Board Member of the Broadcasting Authority since June 2016.


Dr Peter Fenech, LL.D. M.A. (Sussex) – Member

Dr. Peter Fenech read law at the University of Malta and graduated as a lawyer in 1993. In 1994, he obtained a M.A. in European Studies from the University of Sussex. Dr. Fenech has been a practising lawyer before the Maltese law Courts since 1994. He was a visiting lecturer at the EDRC lecturing on EU safeguards for Human Rights and is now lecturing corporate and business law to ACCA students. He served as Chairman of the Mediterranean Conference Centre and of the Manoel Theatre and was President of the Pharmacy Council. For the period 2007-2010, he served as Vice-President of the Malta Football Association. In 2006, he was nominated Chairman of Melita Unipol Insurance Brokers. He has also served as legal advisor to a number of government agencies including the Foundation for Social Welfare Services, Kummissjoni Nazzjonali Persuni b’Dizabilità, National Commission for the Promotion of Equality and the Employment and Training Centre. Dr. Fenech has been a member of the Broadcasting Authority since 2011.

Mr Charlo' Bonnici, B.A., Dip. Ger, M.A. (Leicester) - Member

Mr Charlo' Bonnici obtained a Masters degrees in Communications from the University of Leicester in 2007. His involvement in broadcasting and journalism spans over 30 years having produced, coordinated and presented radio and television programmes on various local stations. He was the first Head of News at Net TV in 1998. He was also executive producer of a number of editions of the Malta Song for Europe as well as of special broadcasts such as those related to the National Children’s Day, Premju Ħaddiem tas-Sena and Premju Anzjan tas-Sena. He served as chairman of the Malta Song for Europe committee between 1999 and 2003. Mr Bonnici is currently the Director responsible for HR and communications of a leading group of companies in Malta. He served as a Member of Parliament between 2008 and 2017 and as Deputy Mayor of Attard between 2007 and 2008.

Dr Alessandro Lia - Member

Executive Committee

Dr Joanna Spiteri, B.A. Hons. (Communication Studies), M.A., Ph.D - Chief Executive

In 1998 Ms Joanna Spiteri was conferred a BA (Hons) degree in Communication Studies by the University of Malta with her main dissertation focusing on the changes in Maltese print journalism since the eighties. After obtaining her first degree, she worked as a journalist at Public Broadcasting Services Ltd. newsroom producing local and foreign features for television and radio. She also covered Parliamentary sittings. During the two years at PBS Ltd. she presented and produced current affairs programmes on TVM and Radju Malta, two of which had won the Broadcasting Authority’s Programme Awards. She produced and presented a series of programmes on Channel 12 focusing on the work done by voluntary organisations and adult learning. In 1999 she joined the Broadcasting Authority as a Supervisor in the Programme Monitoring Department. During the tenure of this post, she read for a Master’s Degree in Arts at the University of Malta focusing her research on the portrayal of gender issues in news bulletins. Her interest in gender issues led the Authority to appoint her as a Chairperson of the Broadcasting Authority’s Equality Committee in order to liaise gender issues at her workplace with the National Commission for the Promotion of Equality. In 2004 she drafted the Broadcasting Authority Guidelines on Gender Equality and Gender Portrayal in the Media. She was involved in a number of projects with regard to gender and the media including the co-ordination of an EU project known as “Portraying Politics: a Toolkit on Gender and Television” and co-ordinating the staff at the Broadcasting Authority to assist the National Co-ordinator, Dr Brenda Murphy, in the Global Media Monitoring Project. In 2001 she attended a workshop within the news department at the Irish Public Broadcasting Service, RTÉ. This work is the result of her research on news and gender issues.

She followed her studies by reading for a Ph.D. with the University of Stirling in Scotland where she studied news impartiality in the Maltese TV broadcasting scenario, the role of the public service broadcaster and the role of the Broadcasting Authority in achieving impartiality on the television broadcasting media.

Mr Daniel Delia – Chief Corporate Services

Mr Delia started his career with the Broadcasting Authority in 1993. He continued his studies and qualified as an Accountant in 1998 and over time occupied various roles within the Finance Section including IT and Human Resources.

Mr Delia’s responsibilities include the Authority’s Finance, Procurement and management of the Authority’s operating facilities.

 

Mr Randolph Micallef – Chief Licencing and Compliance

After being awarded a B.(Hons) Degree in European Studies by the University of Malta, Mr Randolph Micallef started his career at the Broadcasting Authority in 2007. Since then, he occupied various roles within the monitoring department including Head of Monitoring. Eventually in 2021 he was appointed as Chief Licencing and Compliance. As a team member at the Authority, he was also entrusted with several roles ranging from the production of political broadcasts during electoral campaigns to representing the Broadcasting Authority in various broadcasting fora and European media groups.

Mr Adriel Vella - Chief Operations Officer

Mr Vella started his career at the Broadcasting Authority in 2009, after having completed the degree of BA (Hons) in Social Policy at the University of Malta. As a team member within the Monitoring Department, Mr Vella had various experiences amongst which the opportunity to represent the Broadcasting Authority in European media groups. Mr Vella was awarded the role of Chief Operations Officer in 2021.
 

Mr Georvin Zammit - Chief Technical Officer

Mr Zammit joined the Authority in March 2022 as Chief Technical Officer. Mr Zammit is responsible for the management and development of ICT operations within the Authority and acts as the principal advisor on technology evolution, potential and capability. Mr Zammit has more than ten years of experience in the IT industry and has occupied several technical roles. Before joining the Authority, Mr Zammit held a management position where he was involved in enhancing the organizational IT needs and in the integration of emerging technologies within the organization's IT framework.

Mr Zammit graduated with a Bachelor’s degree (Honours) in Computer Systems and Networks from the Malta College of Arts, Science and Technology and holds a Master's degree in Business Administration from the University of Chester. Recently, Mr Zammit obtained his ITIL certification which focuses on building and organising solid IT management systems, while at the same time ensuring continuous improvements to IT services and providing high-quality customer service.