Italian public media journalists strike against Meloni government’s influence – POLITICO

Last month, a prominent author accused RAI of censorship after the reading of an anti-fascist monologue was abruptly canceled “for editorial reasons”. The monologue was scheduled to be broadcast on RAI 3 television channel on April 25, a public holiday celebrating Italy’s liberation from fascism in 1945.

Usigrai, the main union of radio and television journalists, declared in a statement on Monday: “We are striking to defend the autonomy and independence of the public radio and television service against the omnipresent control of broadcasting spaces. information by politicians. »

The broadcaster responded that it was “determined to safeguard the values ​​of pluralism and freedom of expression”.

The Meloni government, which declined to comment for this story, has been accused of strategically using defamation suits to silence media dissent, including complaints against the Domani newspaper and journalist Roberto Saviano.

Meloni’s brother-in-law and minister Francesco Lollobrigida filed a criminal complaint against a commentator on La7 television, an independent channel, for saying that Lollobrigida spoke “like a Gauleiter“, referring to the regional leaders of Adolf Hitler’s party.

In Italy, defamation can be considered a crime punishable by up to six years in prison. The Constitutional Court has ordered a reform of the defamation law to end the criminalization of journalists – but the Meloni government has postponed parliamentary debate on the bill.

Italy has lost five places and finds itself in 46th place in the latest World Press Freedom Index established by Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

The RSF report cites “Giorgia Meloni’s Italy” as an example of political groups “orchestrating control over the media ecosystem… where a member of the ruling parliamentary coalition is trying to acquire the second largest news agency ( AGI)”.