Journalist Marco Travaglio now relates some of the wierd facts of Italian poltiical life on Beppe Grillo’s blog, live every Monday. What a relief to get away from the strangehold of the RAISET duopoly and the dazing stupidity of its infotainment programmes and get some straight facts. accurate information. A perfect example of freeing information through the Web.
Italian journalist Marco Travaglio is in the firing line after this weekend’s program “Che tempo che fa” hosted by Fabio Fazio. Travaglio illustrated how the political climate of the moment dictates what so-called journalists should or shouldn’t be writing.
“It’s obvious”, he says “that if the political climate is conducive to a non-conflictual relationship between the opposition and the new government majority - Schifano has had friendships with members of the mafia - I don’t write that Schifani has had friendships with members of the mafia because neither the right-wing nor the left-wing want me to – and what have I got to do with right and left? They can take any political stance they want to but I have to do my job as a journalist - I have to write about it. Lirio Abbate has written about this in his book with Gomez and he is rightly lauded as a heroic journalist who is threatened by the Mafia. So they should either have the courage to say that Lirio Abbate is a villain and a liar or they must have the courage to take note of what he says about the second most important institutional role and ask this person to explain his relationship with those gentlemen who have been sentenced for Mafia crimes”
Although Travaglio didn’t actually say during the programme was that Schifani, president of the Italian Senate, has friends among the Mafia, but merely quoted from Abbate and Gomez’s book ”I complici” (The accomplices), now both right and left are thirsting for his blood.
Perhaps what annoyed politician’s most was Travaglio’s comment about the kind of leader of the Senate which can be expected after Schifani – perhaps an earthworm or a form of mould, a comparison which Travaglio managed to rectify in time. Likening Schifani to an earthworm or mould would be an insult to lower organisms. Mould can at least be used to produce penicillin.
On 14 March 2001 Daniele Luttazzi invited Travaglio to his program “Satyricon”. During the 30 minute interview. the journalist told viewers about prosecution revelations that pentiti (mafiosi turning state evidence) had divulged information about meetings they had with Silvio Berlusconi and his right-hand man Marcello dell’Utri. This was in 1992, before the murder of Falcone and Borsellino. Travaglio also discusssed Paolo Borsellino’s final interview before his murder in which he said that Palermo investigators had been examining the relationship between Berlusconi, Dell’Utri and Vittorio Mangano. The latter two had mentioned a “horse”, (a drug delivery) during a phone coversation.
The programme was broadcast two months before the general election. Berlsuconi, who accused the RAI of using a public service for “criminal ends”, asked for 10 million euro damages. Carlo Freccero, director of Rai 2 and Bibi Ballandi, producer of the programme, were also taken to court.
As Travaglio commented, what was said in the program was much less than what had actually been written down in black and white in the judgement of the court against dell’Utri.
The Prime Minister not only lost the case but was also left with the legal costs amounting to 100,000 euros.
The case brought against Travaglio by Forza Italia (the tycoon’s party) for 5 million euro damages because of the same interview, was also thrown out, as was Giulio Tremonti’s.
(adapted and translated from Lornezo Salvia’s article in La Corriera della Sera Thursday October 20 2005)
See also: http://www.guardian.co.uk/italy/story/0,12576,870525,00.html#article_continue