H. E. Carlo Azeglio Ciampi
President
Office of the President
Palazzo del Quirinale
00187 Rome
Italy
Fax: +39 06 46992384
Vienna, 10 December 2003
Your Excellency,
The International Press Institute (IPI), the global network of editors, media executives and leading journalists in over 120 countries, is deeply concerned at the decision of the Italian Parliament on 2 December to pass the so-called Gasparri law on TV broadcasting.
According to information provided to IPI, the new law removes previous restrictions on one person owning more than two national broadcasting stations. As the owner of Mediaset which controls three nationwide commercial channels, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi will now be able to continue owning these media interests without fear of having them wrestled from him for being in breach of the old law.
Aside from his direct control over some of Italy’s broadcasting stations, Prime Minister Berlusconi exerts considerable indirect influence as the head of the Italian government. In addition, two large newspapers, Il Foglio and Il Giornale are also run by the Prime Minister’s wife and brother, respectively. Furthermore, he is also the owner of the Mondadori publishing house that owns Panorama, one of the country’s two biggest news weekly magazines.
IPI believes that this law paves the way for continued media concentration in the Italian market, a proposition which carries with it the following problems: 1) a less viable and vigorous media to suit an expanding information market; 2) a lack of democratic pluralism, creative expression and cultural diversity within Italian society; 3) a failure to distance the media from political institutions and prevent political and commercial pressure on journalists.
The European Union (EU) has attempted to set democratic standards for the media markets within its boundaries, but the media concentration in Italy causes concern over the quality of democracy in Europe as a whole. Earlier this year, Italy, currently holding the EU presidency, issued a “work plan” calling on the Ukraine to introduce greater diversity in its media market. However, Italy itself is failing to set the kind of standard that the EU expects other countries to follow.
IPI would remind Your Excellency that legislation favouring increased media concentration defeats the democratic goals of the EU to guarantee pluralism in broadcasting, regarded as an important safeguard for democracy and cultural diversity.
With the above in mind, IPI calls on Your Excellency to veto this law which threatens press freedom and to introduce a genuine plurality of ownership within the Italian media market.
Yours sincerely,
Johann P. Fritz
Director
