Is Press Freedom about to be Limited in Italy?

May 3, 2008 · Filed Under Italian news · Comment 

Not too long ago, in fact just after Berlusconi won the elections, I spoke to a journalist who works for a major Italian newspaper, and this journalist told me that he and many of his colleagues were worrying about clamp downs on press freedom in Italy.

Well, it’s looking as though this hack’s fears were well grounded, and just recently an Italian TV presenter who runs an political chat show called Anno Zero has been accused of bringing the Italian national broadcaster RAI into disrepute.

What apparently happened, and I, alas, missed this controversial chat show, was that Michele Santoro, the journalist who runs the Genova chat show gave some airtime to the ever critical Beppe Grillo. The Grillo speech which was shown included an attack on journalists, Italy’s president and doctors .

The attack on the president which was considered oh so insidious was basically that Napolitano, the President of Italy, should be the president of the country, and not of the political parties that run the country. Grillo, never one to hold back, insinuated that Napolitano did not allow the referendum on Italy’s electoral system to go ahead before the general elections because he was in league with the politicos. The irascible comic from Genova came up with rather a crude analogy, as he stated that holding the elections before having held the election was like putting a condom on after having had sex.

After having said naughty things about the president, good old Beppe went on to say that he wanted to see a newspaper paid for by those who read it, not by certain ’sponsors’. This is a direct reference to the fact that newspapers in Italy have always been the voice of the controlling power mongers, and not, as in other countries, controlled by those who simply wish the make lots of cash from providing a news service - read Murdoch.

Grillo also points out that the Italian journalists’ association, which was set up back in Mussolini’s day, is more of an organisation designed to keep journalist in check than to promote the freedom of the press. The comic also mentioned one Beppe Alfano an Italian journalist who met his fate, reputedly, at the hands of the mafia.

Last but by no means least came Grillo’s assault on Italy’s doctors. Well, one in particular, a certain Umberto Veronesi, who also doubles as a politician and is very well regarded in Italy. However, Grillo and a group of Italian skin specialists are not too happy with Veronesi because of his public confirmation that the waste burning incinerators that Italy is proposing to install present no threat to public health. Grillo and the specialists appear to have evidence to the contrary, and so Grillo has concluded that Veronesi is in the pocket of the political and corporate Italian establishment.

Good old Beppe has ruffled quite a few feathers, and Santoro just went and poured salt onto the disturbed feathers by giving Grillo’s insinuation national air time. Claudio Petruccioli, none other than the president of the Italian Rai state TV channels, was one of those to have accused Santoro of having acted shamefully.  Not a great surprise when you know that presidents of Italy’s state TV are just about always nominated by the government in power at the time. Petruccioli was one of Prodi’s boys, but it looks as though he’s trying to say that he’s Berlusco friendly too, possibly in the hope of hanging on to his job a little longer.

All these shenanigans would appear to point towards a likely clamp down on press freedom in Italy, again, and Michele Santoro will quite possibly be removed from TV, as he was during Belusconi’s last reign. Santoro probably knows what is in store for him, so one may consider the contraversial eposode of Anno Zero as being something of a swan song.

Incidentally, the Italian Observatory on Legality and Rights (in Italian) has pointed out that RAI president Claudio Petruccioli’s overreacted somewhat, and it went on to say that potential defamation should be challenged by legal means, and not by a journalist’s boss.

I’ll be keeping an eye on this latest tempest in a teacup and writing more when the outcome, such as it may be, becomes clearer.

The political control of the media in Italy does stink a little of the use of the media as propaganda machines during the rule of despots and dictators, such as during Mussolini’s reign, for example.

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An Investigative Journalist

April 15, 2008 · Filed Under Blogging · 2 Comments 

Where I am often to be found, which also happens to be the HQ of one of Italy’s major newspapers, I often bump into a nice chap who happens to be a form of investigative journalist.

The last time I met this guy, we chatted about an article he had written on the misappropriation of some EC funds, which had been most probably funneled into the funds of a few of Italy’s political parties. He told me how he needed to be a little careful while gathering information for his articles, as apparently, digging too deeply into the affairs of the powerful and dodgy could be dangerous. That’s not only ‘bye, bye career’ dangerous, but, possibly ‘bye, bye, full stop’ dangerous.

I remember another time I met this guy and I was on about my blog. I asked him if he had a blog too. His reply was in the negative, and when I enquired why, his reply gave me the impression that doing so may not be all that safe. I imagine he was referring to running a blog about the subjects he often writes about, as I don’t imagine a wine blog stepping on too many toes.

Now that the B man is back, it will be interesting to see if press freedom sinks back down to the lows it hit during his last government. And it will be curious to see whether his government’s ‘reforms’ attempt to silence that noisy, but annoying, bunch of pretend journalists, in other words - us bloggers. Prodi had a go, and failed, but Silvio is much more ‘furbo‘ than old Prodi, so who knows what may be around the corner…

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Pots Calling Kettles Black

March 5, 2008 · Filed Under Italian politics · 2 Comments 

As you may imagine, Italy is suffering from a minor bout of election fever at the moment. The general elections are just around the corner and election posters are appearing right, left, and centre.

I’ve seen a couple of amusing ones, so far. First there was this lovely one from the Berlusco-Fini duo which, much as I have done, pointed out that the left wing politcos are trying to re-package themselves in an attempt to appear new.

This was a ripe observation coming from the Berlusco-Fini camp, seeing as neither are new to Italian politics either. And I do believe that more than a few potential voters realise this.

Anyway, there was another interesting election poster. This time it was promoting one Ignazio La Russa, again a sort of right winger like Berlusco and Fini, and this poster had black and white mug shots of Veltroni and Prodi next to one another. Again the point of this not so subtle electioneering exercise appeared to be that Veltroni was about as new as Prodi. And just for good measure, the photos of Veltroni and Prodi appeared to have been re-touched a wee bit to make Veltroni look as old as Prodi. If it weren’t so sad it would be quite amusing.

Oh, and Ignazio La Russa has been in Italian politics about as long as anyone can remember, so he’s also playing the kettle, if you catch my drift.

Yes, as you may have guessed, the theme behind the current election circus in Italy is that everyone is doing his level best to portray himself as being something new. Obviously they’ve all been reading Beppe Grillo’s blog.

I’ve heard it said that Italian politicians are masters of the art of re-invention, and I’m seeing evidence of just this springing up in the election posters all over Milan.

The truth of the matter is that nobody who is making a grab for power here in the Living Museum is at all new, up to and including the almost newest of the bunch, Mr Veltroni.

Trouble is, the poor old Italian voters really have no choice. Either they get someone who they had before, and who did not manage to sort things out, or they get someone else who they had before, and did not manage to sort things out. Quips he, repeating himself.

Still, I quite like the idea of this making out you are new thing. I think I shall have a go too. Maybe I could start by pretending that I have not met anyone before. I might get some funny looks, but you never know, they may well fall for it.

By the way, I’d like to welcome you to the new Blog from Italy. Oh, I know it’s not really new, but if I tell you it is, you might just believe me. Not.

Heck, I don’t know.

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