The Institute of Maltese Journalists has elected a new council to serve a two-year term for the 2026-2028 period, with Nicole Meilak taking the helm of the organisation, recently reconstituted as a union, with a mandate to focus on community outreach and capacity-building to improve news sector conditions.
Fellow Times of Malta journalist Clara Farrugia will serve as Secretary General. Ms Farrugia has become a familiar face in recent weeks as the lead court reporter covering the ongoing trial by jury of business magnate Yorgen Fenech, who stands accused of complicity in the murder of journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia.
Content House Online Business Editor Robert Louis Fenech, who joined the IĠM council by co-option in 2025, has been elected Treasurer of the organisation.
“With journalists under ever-increasing pressure in a constantly shifting media landscape, the strong voice of IĠM is necessary to protect the interests of workers in the sector,” he said.
Kevin Schembri Orland, Senior Journalist and Business Correspondent at Content House, was also re-elected to the council.
“IGM has done a lot, but there is still a lot more work ahead, both in terms of continuing to grow as a union, and also to continue pushing for improved legal protection for journalists,” Mr Schembri Orland said, expressing his belief that the council is more than up for the task.
Mr Fenech said the growing representation of Content House in the sectoral union reflects the impact of the media company’s investment in its business editorial team.
The other council members elected during an annual general meeting held on 5th August are Daniel Ellul, Sarah Carabott, Semira Shalan, Juliana Zammit and Emma Brownrigg Fenech.
All proposed council members were unanimously approved.
Members present at the AGM also approved a series of amendments to the IĠM statute, including the removal of redundant articles and changes to the council's financial policy.
An updated version of the statute will be published once finalised.
Members also approved a motion for outgoing President Matthew Xuereb and outgoing Vice President Kurt Sansone to serve as advisors to the new council for the next six months, a period open to revision thereafter. Mr Xuereb said the two would not sit on council meetings but would provide advice when needed.
Over the past six years, the IĠM said, it turned decades of ambition into reality by securing unionisation for journalists.
It laid the groundwork for media reform, an effort that has since stalled due to government inaction, and lobbied for comprehensive reforms and robust anti-SLAPP legislation to protect free speech, with the EU's anti-SLAPP directive still pending extension to cover domestic suits against local journalists.
The IĠM also ran continuous professional development courses for reporters, editors and photojournalists, and issued guidelines to help newsrooms avoid discriminatory language, stereotypes and harmful narratives in reporting.
It opened up channels of dialogue with a range of stakeholders and increased its international presence, holding the presidency of the European Federation of Press Clubs for the first time in its history and serving for six years as a judge of the European Parliament's Daphne Caruana Galizia Prize for Journalism.
In his outgoing address, Mr Xuereb said it had been an honour and a privilege to lead the IĠM for the past six years. "We turned the IĠM's dream of decades into reality with unionisation and worked to lay the groundwork for media reform and stronger protections for journalists," he said.
He also wished the new IĠM council success to continue steering the IĠM forward and upward.
Mr Sansone also wished the new council every success in its work over the coming years. "It's time for new blood to take the IĠM forward into the future as a union that seeks to improve the working conditions of journalists, apart from carrying out advocacy work to ensure a safe environment for journalists," he said.
Reflecting on the past six years, Mr Sansone said the IĠM had pushed for holistic legal reforms to strengthen the protection of journalists, but expressed regret that thorough, meaningful change had not been achieved due to a lack of political will on the part of government.
The Institute of Maltese Journalists thanks Mr Xuereb and Mr Sansone, along with the rest of the outgoing council, for their contribution over the past two years, and welcomes the new members to the council for the coming term.
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