Lucia Annunziata, the Chairwoman of Italys public service broadcaster RAI, has resigned in a dispute that rekindled controversy over the influence exerted over the national media by PM Silvio Berlusconi. Ms Annunziata announced her departure at a news conference in Milan where she accused Berlusconi’s centre-right government and its supporters of trying to pack RAI with political appointees.
RAI has three of Italy’s seven main television channels, as does Mediaset, the company that forms part of the Berlusconi family business empire. Together RAI and Mediaset account for 90 per cent of Italy’s prime-time TV viewers. Berlusconi’s unusual position as media magnate and premier was criticised last month in a European parliament report that argued it was not right for one man to be in a position to influence so much TV content in one country.
Ms Annunziata described the proposed job appointments at RAI as “the final act in an organised campaign by the government majority aimed at full control over public service broadcasting”. Last week, Italy’s parliament approved a controversial media law which, critics say, strengthens Mr Berlusconi’s hold over the media. Ms Annunziata, once one of the country’s leading journalists, had said she would resign if the Italian government passed the bill.