The Politicization of Italian Public Television: Giorgia Meloni’s Plan for Rai

Giorgia Meloni’s television

A few days before Fabio Fazio, the managing director of Rai, Carlo Fuortes had also bowed out. “I can no longer accept compromises on changes in editorial lines and on programming, which I consider contrary to the interests of Rai, just to obtain an agreement from the board of directors on new programs” he justified, speaking of political pressures which had intensified since the beginning of the year. Freed from this cumbersome man who had been appointed by Mario Draghi, the government chose two names close to the right, Roberto Sergio, a conservative, new managing director and Giampaolo Rossi as general manager, a lieutenant of Giorgia Meloni, a man who has always animated the celebrations and public events of the Fratelli d’Italia party. The replacement of presenters, journalists, editors of radio and television newspapers should follow.

A public service that has always been politicized

In Italy, the “spoil system” is well anchored. With each change of political power, a game of musical chairs is imposed by the new power in place in all administrations. At Rai, the Italian left has undoubtedly abused it in the past. But when the leader of the right was called Silvio Berlusconi, a kind of balance was respected since he was the owner of the largest private Italian television group, Mediaset. With Giorgia Meloni in power it’s a different story. “It’s a really difficult phase, we don’t know what will become of many Rai programs and personalities”explains Corrado Augias, a high-flying intellectual often present in quality broadcasts. “Some names circulating are good, others less so. The occupation of Rai by political parties has always been massive. Before, everything was in the hands of Christian Democracy, but they, beyond the choices of morality, knew how to make good television. Then when we created the second channel, the socialists wanted to get their hands on it and so on, until Rai since 2004 was managed by parliament. Giorgia Meloni behaves like the others, with the difference that she shows some nervousness, she does it with less discretion. ”

TV, queen of information

According to a study on the habits of Italians, the Censis report dating from 2022, 51% of them still claimed to get information only through television. TG1, the television news of the first public channel is the most watched, with twelve million viewers on average. Not to mention the many “talk shows”, those talk shows on political themes that clutter the Italian audiovisual landscape with often more than questionable quality. Controlling Rai by changing the men and women in power and on the air therefore seems obvious to Giorgia Meloni. The question, still open, is what the right and the extreme right will do with it, and how to change the narration and programs of Italian public television to culturally change society.