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Alert

Candidates asked to commit themselves to upholding the independence and pluralism of audio-visual information

(RSF/IFEX) - In letters to Silvio Berlusconi, head of the House of Liberties (CDL) centre-right coalition, and Francesco Rutelli, head of the Olive Tree centre-left coalition, RSF asked the two candidates for the presidency of the Italian Council to clarify their intentions with regard to the means of upholding the independence and pluralism of audio-visual information following the 13 May 2001 legislative elections.




Concerning public media outlets, RSF asked the two candidates to commit themselves to reinforcing the guaranties of independence and pluralism of the RAI public television network's three stations. Public audio-visual media in Italy are controlled by RAI's board of directors, whose members, appointed by the speakers of the two assemblies, are mostly close to the ruling coalition. This council appoints public television's president and director-general. Until now, the custom has been to award some of the three public television stations' positions of responsibility to representatives of the opposition, to varying degrees for RAI 1, RAI 2 and RAI 3. However, worrying remarks have been made in the course of the electoral campaign, notably by Member of Parliament Maurizio Gasparri of the Allianze Nationale, a member party of the coalition led by Berlusconi. On 29 March, in the course of a televised interview, Gasparri named three journalists and a RAI (TG3) editorial office which he suggested should be quickly punished in the event of a centre-right victory.

Concerning private media outlets, RSF expressed concern about the absence of preestablished rules designed to avert conflicts of interest between the duties of those holding executive power and the active control of the country's major private audio-visual media outlets. Through the Mediaset group, Berlusconi currently controls Italy's three major private television stations. According to a statement made by his advisor Roberto Poli on 10 May, Berlusconi has professedly asked that a restructuring plan be produced for the control structure of Fininvest, the holding company to which the Mediaset media group is accountable, to resolve the conflict of interest.

RSF does not consider this announcement to constitute a sufficient guarantee of candidate Berlusconi's commitment to upholding the pluralism of audio-visual information in Italy. RSF notes that the issues of independence and pluralism of information are not included in the list of promises, presented on 1 May, which Berlusconi committed himself to respecting before the next general elections in 2006.