Italy: News programs punished for one-sided election reports
The Italian media regulatory authority has imposed heavy fines on the Mediaset television group, controlled by the family of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, and on the state broadcaster Rai. They were accused of providing one-sided coverage of the elections.
Five news programs from Rai and Mediaset are accused of giving Berlusconi too much airtime for his election advertising. This is a violation of the election campaign rules.
The news programs TG1 and TG4, which had already been warned, will each have to pay a fine of 260,000 euros. TG2, TG5 and Studio Aperto must pay a fine of 100,000 euros, the media regulatory authority ruled.
The five news programs had broadcast a long election appeal by Berlusconi on Friday, in which he had called on voters not to vote for the left-wing parties in the run-off elections in 86 municipalities next Sunday and Monday.
The penalties imposed by the media regulatory authority cast a harsh spotlight on Berlusconi's conflict of interest since he entered politics in 1994: he owns three TV channels himself, while his government controls three public channels, which together account for around 90 percent of the TV pie in Italy.
The opposition accuses him of using the broadcasters for his election campaign. The head of government, on the other hand, likes to portray himself as a victim of the "left-wing" media that persecute him with hatred and malice. (SDA)
