Tonio Bonello

Born in Paola, Bonello comes from a Police oriented family. He studied at the Floriana Primary School and later at St. Augustine's College in Pieta'. Afterwards, he successfully completed and attained a Teachers' Diploma in Typewriting (Joint Examinations Board, London, UK), Diploma in Social Studies (MAS & University of St. Thomas Aquinas, Rome, Italy) and Diploma in Clinical Counselling (Institute of Counselling, Glasgow, Scotland). He also attended an intensive course in Creative Writing run by the University of Malta, as well as radio, television and film production and technique courses organized by private companies, and Journalism courses held by the Tumas Fenech Foundation for the Education of Journalists in aspects of Gender Issues, Financial Journalism, Science & Technology, and Newsroom Management respectively. He started his career in Broadcasting and Journalism in 1992. His first assignment was that with 'Mas Radio' as Producer and Presenter for various 'live' talk shows. He was actually the first Journalist to present talk show programmes on this radio station. Immediately after he was employed by Independence Print as a journalist in the Newsroom. Some two years after promoted to the Features Department where his journalism stories became more independent oriented, and investigative. During this post, Bonello served as Reporter on assignments in Cyprus and Switzerland respectively. Within this post, he introduced in Maltese Journalism, annual features series dealing with specific subjects of general interest.

In 1997 he also produced and presented a 'live' radio series for Radio Malta with PBS Ltd. A year after he was engaged within the same company, this time as Executive Producer for the investigative television series, 'The Case', dealing with unsolved crimes in Malta. This television production was a hit in all aspects. Within six weeks, it had a massive audience of 149,000 televiewers (from a population of 360,000 people in Malta). Three series of 13 programmes each were produced and within, the Police had received no less than 1,000 reports of information dealing with past unsolved cases, and also present ones. In the same year that Bonello was Finalist in the BPC Award to Journalists for the Print Medium category, he was also Finalist, and eventually Winner of the BPC Award to Journalists, Television category. Later, during the same year, he won the Malta Broadcasting Authority Award for the Best Investigative Television Journalism Series.

Amongst these, series such as 'X Files', 'News Hit' and The Case (1998), with which he was nominated, Finalist in the BPC Award to Journalists, 1997 edition. He was also the first Maltese journalist to introduce an e-mail address as a means of correspondence with the readers. The year after he dealt mainly with hard investigative stories, as well as the series 'Time Bomb' and '191', the later dealing with Police work and services. Once again he was nominated as Finalist in the BPC Award to Journalists.

His journalistic career continued to develop when in November 2000 he began writing and reporting for the Sunday Maltese newspaper, 'The Moment' and at the same time producing series 2 and series 3 of the already mentioned radio production. He was also called on by 'The Nation' daily newspaper Editor and the Head of 'Net Television' to script-write, devise and produce two big commercials for 'The Nation' and 'The Moment' newspapers respectively, to be screened on television. By the turn of the new millennium, Bonello faced another journalistic challenge when he wrote and published his first book with PIN Publications, named after the investigative television series, 'The Case'. This book, the first of two volumes, covers investigative stories dealt with in the television series, as well as research and statistics based on information gathered from the public throughout each and every programme. Today this publication is being used by Police recruits, 'Constables' and 'Officer Cadets' as a unique Guide to Crime in Malta, within the Police Academy courses of studies.

The year after Bonello won for the second consecutive time, the BPC Award to Journalists, Television category and since last year (2001) was Finalist in the BPC Award to Journalists, Broadcasting Category after producing a well researched radio series called 'Unique' on the Malta University Radio.

In 2001 Bonello was assigned with VOM Radio International, a radio station that transmits from Malta to well over 60 countries including the United States, Canada and Australia. As Executive Producer he produced two radio series in English, one called 'Internet' and the other, 'Films in Malta', which was found to be very interesting, especially amongst thousands of Maltese emigrants around the world.

Another interesting professional assignment for Tonio Bonello came mid-last year (2001) when he was appointed Production Consultant for a private-owned Maltese Television Company, Q-Productions Entertainment Ltd, where he's still giving his services.

Later, he was also chosen to act as Public Relations and Media Manager for the Malta Song for Europe 2002 edition. During his entire career, Bonello worked for leading media organisations in Malta, namely:- Radio Malta, MAS Radio, University Radio, VOM Radio International, The Nation, The Moment, The Police Magazine, PIN Publications, Television Malta, Net Television and Q-Productions Television Ltd. , respectively. He was interviewed several times by various media about his extensive works and career, and he personally interviewed hundreds of distinguished personalities from practically every nation around the world. Currently, he just finished writing a screenplay based in New York, USA, intended for the international market, and intends to publish more books dealing with social, human and investigative aspects, some of them already written.