Italian president calls for media diversity and impartiality

Reporters Without Borders today welcomed an appeal by Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi on 23 July for parliament to pass laws guaranteeing diversity and impartiality in the country's broadcasting media, currently controlled by prime minister Silvio Berlusconi. His appeal was a very rare message by an Italian head of state to parliament and the first time Ciampi had made one since taking office three years ago. Reporters Without Borders has several times lobbied both the president and Berlusconi himself on the subject, noting that Italy is the only European Union member-state and the only major Western democracy where the entire broadcasting media, privately or publicly owned, are directly or indirectly controlled by the government. Through the holding company Fininvest, Berlusconi controls Italy's main privately-owned TV group, Mediaset, which runs the country's three leading privately-owned stations, and is among the majority shareholders in Mondadori, one of Italy's main press and publishing groups. He promised in May last year to resolve the conflict of interest between his job as prime minister and his ownership of Mediaset. However, a subsequent bill proposed by the government did no more than provide for a body to see that government officials did not make decisions favouring their business interests. It did not in any way challenge Berlusconi's ownership of Mediaset or his influence over it. In view of this, the country's three other TV stations, which are part of RAI, have a vital role to play in maintaining radio and TV news diversity. But Berlusconi and RAI's new board, appointed by parliament in February, is stepping up pressure on journalists deemed critical of the government. Reporters Without Borders asked on 2 July for a meeting with Berlusconi to talk about the these threats to diversity. On 14 February, before the new RAI board was named, the organisation suggested that the government hand over to an independent authority the job of considering proposals to strengthen RAI's independence. The government has not responded. In a letter to President Ciampi on 23 April, Reporters Without Borders asked the president "to take a clear stand, as guardian of the Constitution, against the current threat to media diversity and freedom of information in Italy."