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EXPLAINED: What is Italy’s public TV ‘censorship’ row all about?

Italy's state broadcaster Rai has been on the defensive after accusations of censorship and homophobia from a popular tattooed rapper made front-page news on Monday. 

EXPLAINED: What is Italy's public TV 'censorship' row all about?
Italian rapper Fedez, pictured with his wife, fashion blogger Chiara Ferragni, is at the centre of a row about censorship and party politics at Rai. Photo: Andreas SOLARO/AFP

The scandal, in which Rai managers appeared to try to dissuade rapper Fedez from criticising far-right politicians during a May Day concert, has reignited longstanding questions about neutrality and political pressure at Rai.

Politicians and media groups have stepped up calls for reform of the top management of the publicly-funded broadcaster, which is named by government ministers.

Rai’s current president, Eurosceptic journalist Marcello Foa, was picked for the top job by the League.

READ ALSO: Salvini backs conspiracy theorist as head of Italian state broadcaster

“For years we have been denouncing a ‘system’ at Rai: it’s the party-ocracy, which with alternating parties occupies the public service,” the USIG union of Rai journalists said.

“Let Rai be free, let ideas, information and art be free.”

Fedez, who has over 12 million followers on Instagram and is married to star blogger Chiara Ferragni, used his appearance at a televised May 1 concert to denounce Italy’s far-right League and its blocking of an anti-discrimination bill in parliament.

Before reciting a litany of anti-gay public comments by members of the League – including by one who said that “If I had a gay son, I would burn him in the oven” – Fedez told fans that Rai had attempted to silence him ahead of the concert.

When Rai denied it, Fedez published a recording of a phone conversation in which the concert producer said Fedez must “adapt to a system” that precluded him from naming names.

In the same call, the vice director of the Rai3 channel said she considered the context “inappropriate” for the rapper’s planned comments.

Rai later said the video had been edited to remove statements by the broadcaster’s executive saying that Rai was not censoring him.

However, it has since received about 2.2 million views and prompted some politicians, including former prime minister Giuseppe Conte, to voice support for Fedez.

The story was front-page news in Italy on Monday, with La Repubblica splashing “Fedez cyclone over Rai” on its front page.

The president of the lower house of parliament, Roberto Fico, called for Rai to put “competence and independence at the forefront”.

Independence at the public broadcaster is a long-running controversy in Italy.

The media landscape was upended by former premier and media mogul Silvio Berlusconi, whose Mediaset conglomerate helped cement his grip on power.

READ ALSO: Six key things to know about press freedom in Italy

A 2015 reform under former premier Matteo Renzi, supposed to free Rai from political influence, merely transferred the power to nominate top managers from parliament to the cabinet.

Under new prime minister Mario Draghi, media watchers expect a shakeup to occur in July.

That could include the exit of CEO Fabrizio Salini, who has struggled to reverse declining advertising revenues and rising debt.

Rai is the most-watched broadcaster in Italy, with about 36 percent of viewership.

But its position depends on ageing viewers, and is challenged by pay-TV platforms, such as Sky Italia, as well as No. 2 competitor Mediaset.

Rai president Marcello Foa, a supporter of Vladimir Putin who has posted conspiracy theories online, was the choice of League head Matteo Salvini.

He was appointed in 2018, when the party shared power with the populist Five Star Movement.

Although a parliamentary commission at first rejected Foa’s appointment, the ruling coalition pushed it through against the wishes of the then opposition Democratic Party – who are now in government.   

READ ALSO:Italian TV show investigated after outrage over ‘sexy shopping’ tutorial 

Rai’s code of ethics published on its website lists as priorities: “freedom, completeness, transparency, objectivity, impartiality, pluralism and fairness of information.”

The broadcaster’s budget comes from advertising and a license fee paid byItalian households.

The latest outcry comes just days after the broadcaster said it would no longer allow “blackface” on its channels.

The practice of white performers painting their faces to portray black characters, long banned in many European countries, occurred recently on one of Rai’s weekly variety shows.

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TERRORISM

Italy on maximum terror alert over Easter after Moscow attack

Italy was to increase surveillance in busy areas ahead of the Easter holidays and following the bombing of a Moscow concert hall, ministers agreed on Monday.

Italy on maximum terror alert over Easter after Moscow attack

Italy’s national committee for public security, chaired by Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi, on Monday said anti-terrorism monitoring in Italy must be strengthened ahead of the Easter holidays, with more surveillance to be carried out at popular tourist spots and at “sensitive sites”.

The committee agreed on “the importance of continuing monitoring activity, including online, by police and intelligence forces for the identification of possible risk situations” in Italy, reported news agency Ansa.

The security meeting was convened following the terrorist attack in Moscow on Friday where armed men opened fire and set the building ablaze, killing at least 133 people.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani had stressed to the public on Sunday that Italy faced “no concrete risk” and said the country’s security and law enforcement services were “always on the alert to prevent any attack.”

“During the Easter holidays you will need to be very careful. We will always do the utmost to ensure the safety of citizens and tourists,” Tajani said, speaking on national broadcaster Rai’s current affairs show Restart.

READ ALSO: Terror alerts: Should I be worried about travelling to Italy?

The fight against terrorism “has nothing to do with the war in Ukraine,” the minister continued.

“We support Ukraine” as an invaded country in which international law has been violated, he said, “but as the Italian government we have expressed our condemnation of the attack [in Moscow] and closeness to the families of the victims and the survivors”.

Cabinet Secretary Alfredo Mantovano said on the same programme that the main terrorist threat Italy faced at the moment was mainly from “lone wolves” and “not so much from organised groups.”

“I believe that a group like the one that acted in the Moscow attack, which must have been trained and had logistical support, would be intercepted sooner in Italy,” he said.

“The most worrying threat” in Italy was online recruitment, he said, noting that propaganda was closely monitored.

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