Hallin and Mancini (2004) consider Italy as an example of a “polarised pluralist” model. This is characterised by a high level of politicisation or “political parallelism”, a strong influence of the state on the media, and a low level of professional autonomy. In particular, in Italy, the ties between politics (and powerful social and interest groups) and journalism have always been tight.
The roots of the politicisation of the Italian press can be traced back to the pre-fascist period, even though it was during Mussolini’s dictatorship that the political and consensus-oriented role of journalism was reinforced. After World War II, the first newspaper licences went to anti-fascist political forces, thus enhancing a politically oriented form of journalism, which wasn’t abandoned with the rise of market-oriented media in the 1970s. Partisanship and polarisation rose again with the entrance of Silvio Berlusconi, a media entrepreneur, in politics in the early 1990s.
This is true also with respect to broadcasters. The public broadcaster RAI has always reflected the political orientation of the country, for instance that of the Christian Democrats in the 1950s and 1960s. With the erosion of the dominance of the Christian Democrats in the 1970s, parties started to divide channels, personnel, and more generally power and resources according to their weight in Parliament, a phenomenon known as lottizzazione [allotment]. The collapse of the Italian party system in the early 1990s did not change the foundations of this system, in which political affiliations continue to play a role.
The importance of political affiliation in contemporary public radio and television service is reflected in statements from the interviews. According to the editor-in-chief of Tg1, “This company was born with a peculiar characterisation, which is to respond in some way to politics”. It is not just the board of directors’ influence on the company’s choices, but rather a composite picture of weights and counterweights.
We have a system of pressure that is also quite significant, through the monitoring by the Osservatorio di Pavia, as well as Agcom, particularly during the election period. And when there are data that don’t work, the company tells you, you must correct it.
Although the independence of the editorial office with respect to the owner is formally guaranteed (see Indicator F5 – Company rules against internal influence on newsroom/editorial staff), ties between journalism and political parties, as well as big businesses, have always been strong (see Indicator F6 – Company rules against external influence on newsroom/editorial staff). Media have been used by commercial owners – sometimes private, and sometimes linked to the state – to wield influence in the political world. In this respect, the case of Berlusconi’s Mediaset is a landmark.
The Italian State has also played an important role as the owner of media enterprises, not only broadcasters but also commercial media and print press. The country is indeed characterised by a low number of “pure publishers”, that is, entrepreneurs present only in the publishing industry. The figure of Urbano Cairo is an exception in this respect (see Table 5).
The launch of Il Fatto Quotidiano in 2009 shows an attempt to counter the parallelism between the media and power. It is owned by a corporation without a majority shareholder and, among the shareholders, there are also journalists from the newspaper. This choice was made, in the words of the founder Antonio Padellaro, in order to create a newspaper “with a property, not a master”. As underlined by the editor-in-chief we interviewed, “We have an anomalous corporate form. We have a female CEO who is a stockholder. We have journalists as shareholders. The shares in the hands of journalists are able to guarantee independence”. Also, thanks to this corporate and editorial strategy, over time, the newspaper focused on investigative reporting, especially in the field of politics.
Nevertheless, in most cases, powerful organisations or individuals own or control important shares of leading news media in Italy. It remains to be seen if the rise of electronic media will transform the situation in the country.
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