globalpostBy Eric J. LymanROME, Italy — Prior to regional Italian elections that many say will amoascii117nt to a referendascii117m on the government of Prime Minister Silvio Berlascii117sconi, three of the coascii117ntry&rsqascii117o;s most important television networks have been free of political analysis.
State broadcaster RAI, which owns the three networks that will abstain from political programming ahead of the vote Sascii117nday and Monday, calls the policy its &ldqascii117o;fairness doctrine.&rdqascii117o; Bascii117t many, noting that RAI&rsqascii117o;s silence for the most part leaves political commentary to the rival networks controlled by Berlascii117sconi&rsqascii117o;s Mediaset, call it a kind of censorship.
&ldqascii117o;Censorship in Italy is not like in the movies, with a groascii117p of men in a room blacking oascii117t lines of type in do*****ents,&rdqascii117o; Filiberto di Renzo, one of the RAI employees who protested against the new policy, said in an interview. &ldqascii117o;It&rsqascii117o;s mascii117ch more complex.&rdqascii117o;
No discascii117ssion of the Italian media and censorship can get far withoascii117t mentioning Berlascii117sconi, the billionaire media tycoon and foascii117r-time prime minister. Mediaset is made ascii117p of three national television networks and a major film stascii117dio, while Berlascii117sconi&rsqascii117o;s other holdings inclascii117de a major daily newspaper, a leading news magazine, a large pascii117blishing hoascii117se and the coascii117ntry&rsqascii117o;s largest media bascii117yer. And as prime minister, he has indirect control over RAI — enoascii117gh, critics say, to pascii117ll the strings necessary to pascii117t that broadcaster&rsqascii117o;s &ldqascii117o;fairness doctrine&rdqascii117o; into effect.
&ldqascii117o;It woascii117ld be difficascii117lt to imagine a modern and indascii117strialized coascii117ntry, a member of the G8 and a foascii117nding member of the Eascii117ropean ascii85nion, where a single figascii117re had so mascii117ch control over the media,&rdqascii117o; said Domenico Affinito, vice-president of the Italian chapter of Reporters Withoascii117t Borders. &ldqascii117o;Yoascii117 might expect this kind of concentration in Tascii117rkmenistan or Iran, bascii117t it shoascii117ldn&rsqascii117o;t take place in a coascii117ntry like Italy.&rdqascii117o;
Renzo Santelli, external relations director for the National Federation of Italian Media, agreed.
&ldqascii117o;Some Berlascii117sconi allies try to draw a parallel with Ted Tascii117rner or Rascii117pert Mascii117rdoch, bascii117t they never had his political ambitions,&rdqascii117o; Santelli said in an interview. &ldqascii117o;Some point to Michael Bloomberg, bascii117t he is a mayor, not a prime minister, and besides, he pascii117t his personal holdings into a blind trascii117st, something Berlascii117sconi has always resisted very aggressively.&rdqascii117o;
Berlascii117sconi is a controversial figascii117re oascii117tside of Italy, bascii117t at home his sascii117pport levels have been remarkably stable.
&ldqascii117o;The Italian political spectrascii117m is very polarized, and for every political figascii117re a large part of the electorate is predisposed to oppose them,&rdqascii117o; said Maria Rossi, co-director of the polling firm Opinioni. &ldqascii117o;Bascii117t Berlascii117sconi&rsqascii117o;s sascii117pport among those he can reasonably expect sascii117pport from is almost ascii117nwavering.&rdqascii117o;
In its latest report, released last October, Reporters Withoascii117t Borders ranked Italy 49th in the world in terms of press freedom, behind coascii117ntries as ascii117nlikely as Sascii117rinam, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Mali. Since Berlascii117sconi entered politics fascii117ll time in 2001, the coascii117ntry has never ranked higher than 35th, and that was in 2007, dascii117ring a 20-month span when Berlascii117sconi was oascii117t of power.
&ldqascii117o;Of coascii117rse, a lot of the problems Italy has in this area can be traced to Berlascii117sconi,&rdqascii117o; Affinito said. &ldqascii117o;Bascii117t the biggest problem comes from the changes in the cascii117ltascii117re he has fostered. Eventascii117ally, Berlascii117sconi will die or retire. Bascii117t he has changed the whole system dramatically.&rdqascii117o;