Abstract
The chapter explores the public service media in Italy. In the comparative literature the Italian RAI is often taken as a paradigmatic case of a highly (party) politicized public service broadcaster. Political interference has arguably been a constant feature of RAI’s sixty-year-long history, although the forms in which this phenomenon has manifested itself have changed considerably over time. After briefly contextualising historically and comparatively the case of public service media in Italy, the chapter sets out to discuss recent developments, including the effects of recent reforms to RAI’s governance and funding regimes. It then places these developments and the current debate over the role and future of RAI against the backdrop of a changing political landscape, the country’s ongoing economic problems and major social and cultural transformations.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Agcom. (2016). Relazione Annuale 2016 sull’Attività Svolta e sui Programmi di Lavoro. Available at https://www.agcom.it/relazioni-annuali. Accessed 17 July 2018.
Agcom. (2017). Relazione Annuale 2017 sull’Attività Svolta e sui Programmi di Lavoro. Available at https://www.agcom.it/relazioni-annuali. Accessed 17 July 2018.
Blumler, J. (1992). Public Service Broadcasting Before the Commercial Deluge. In J. Blumler (Ed.), Television and the Public Interest (pp. 7–21). London: Sage.
Bordignon, F. (2014). Matteo Renzi: A “Leftist Berlusconi” for the Italian Democratic Party? South European Society and Politics, 19(1), 1–23.
Brevini, B. (2010). Towards PSB 2.0? Applying the PSB Ethos to Online Media in Europe: A Comparative Study of PSBs’ Internet Policies in Spain, Italy and Britain. European Journal of Communication,25(4), 348–365.
D’Arma, A. (2009). Broadcasting Policy in Italy’s Second Republic: National Politics and European Influences. Media, Culture and Society,31(5), 769–786.
D’Arma, A. (2015). Media and Politics in Contemporary Italy: From Berlusconi to Grillo. Lanham: Lexington Books.
Hanretty, C. (2009). The Political Independence of Public Service Broadcasters. Thesis Submitted for Assessment with a View to Obtaining the Degree of Doctor of Political and Social Sciences of the European University Institute, Fiesole, Italy.
Hibberd, M. (2001). The Reform of Public Service Broadcasting in Italy. Media Culture & Society, 23(2), 233–252.
Hibberd, M. (2004). RAI Under the Center-Right: Wither 50 Years of Public Service Television. In S. Fabbrini & V. Della Sala (Eds.), Italian Politics: Italy Between Europeanization and Domestic Politics (pp. 150–165). New York and Oxford: Berghahn.
Humphreys, P. (1996). Mass Media and Media Policy in Western Europe. Manchester: Manchester University Press.
Il Fatto Quotidiano. (2017, May 22). Rai, bocciato il piano news: Campo dall’Orto sfiduciato dal CdA. La fine del direttore voluto (e mollato) da Renzi. Available at https://www.ilfattoquotidiano.it/2017/05/22/rai-bocciato-il-piano-news-campo-dallorto-sfiduciato-dal-cda-la-fine-del-direttore-voluto-e-mollato-da-renzi/3606029/. Accessed 17 July 2018.
La Repubblica. (2018, January 4). “Abolire il canone Rai”, la prima mossa del PD. Available at https://rep.repubblica.it/pwa/generale/2018/01/04/news/_abolire_il_canone_rai_la_prima_mossa_del_pd-185826101/. Accessed 17 July 2018.
Mancini, P. (2009). Elogio della Lottizzazione: La Via Italiana al Pluralismo. Rome-Bari: Laterza.
Mazzoleni, G., & Vigevani, G. (2005). Italy. In Television Across Europe: Regulation, Policy and Independence (Vol. 2, pp. 865–954). Gyoma: Osi/Eumap.
Ofcom. (2017). International Communications Market Report. Available at https://www.ofcom.org.uk/research-and-data/multi-sector-research/cmr/cmr-2017/international. Accessed 17 July 2018.
Padovani, C. (2010). Public Service Communication in Italy: Challenges and Opportunities. In P. Iosifidis (Ed.), Reinventing Public Service Communication: European Broadcasters and Beyond (pp. 183–196). Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
Padovani, C., & Tracey, M. (2003). Report on the Conditions of Public Service Broadcasting. Television and the New Media,4(2), 131–153.
Prima Comunicazione. (2018). Classifica e trend dei siti di news più seguiti a gennaio per audience complessiva e aggregazioni. Available at http://www.primaonline.it/2018/03/23/269047/classifica-e-trend-dei-siti-di-news-piu-seguiti-a-gennaio-per-audience-complessiva-e-aggregazioni-tal-tabella/.
RAI. (2017). Relazione e bilancio consolidato al 31 dicembre 2016. Available at http://www.rai.it/dl/doc/2016/07/21/1469115109446_Bilancio%20Rai%202015%2030.06.2016.pdf. Accessed 17 July 2018.
RAI. (2018). Bilanci separato e consolidato intermedi al 30 giugno 2017. Available at http://www.rai.it/dl/doc/1510592883264_Bilancio%20semestrale%20Rai%202017.pdf. Accessed 17 July 2018.
Richeri, G. (1990). Hard Times for Public Service Broadcasting: RAI in the Era of Competition. In Z. Baranski & R. Lumley (Eds.), Culture and Conflict in Postwar Italy (pp. 256–269). London: Macmillan.
Sehl, A., Cornia, A., & Nielsen, R. K. (2016). Digital News Project 2016: Public Service News and Digital Media. Available at http://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/our-research/public-service-news-and-digital-media. Accessed 17 July 2018.
Sehl, A., Cornia, A., & Nielsen, R. K. (2018). Digital News Project 2018: Public Service News and Social Media. Available at https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/our-research/public-service-news-and-social-media. Accessed 17 July 2018.
Spada, C. (2007). Sulle Proposte del Ministro delle Comunicazioni in Materia Televisiva. Economia della Cultura,17(1), 77–85.
Tarchi, M. (2015). Italy: The Promised Land of Populism? Contemporary Italian Politics, 7(3), 273–285.
Usigrai. (2017a, May 22). RAI, atto finale di dg e cda. Tutti a casa. Available at http://www.usigrai.it/rai-atto-finale-di-dg-e-cda-tutti-a-casa/. Accessed 17 July 2018.
Usigrai. (2017b, January 5). Tutto da copione: Parte la campagna elettorale e si attacca la Rai. Available at http://www.usigrai.it/usigrai-attacco-alla-rai-in-campagna-elettorale-un-copione-che-si-ripete-da-anni/. Accessed 17 July 2018.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
D’Arma, A. (2019). PSM in Italy: Troubled RAI in a Troubled Country. In: Połońska, E., Beckett, C. (eds) Public Service Broadcasting and Media Systems in Troubled European Democracies. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-02710-0_6
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-02710-0_6
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-02709-4
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-02710-0
eBook Packages: Literature, Cultural and Media StudiesLiterature, Cultural and Media Studies (R0)