During the “Fan Ceremony,” the President of the Senate responded to a question about the possible acquisition of the news agency by the parliamentarian from the League
Mass Media24/07/2024 by Enzo Boldi
When trying to evade a precise and timely question, other factors are often brought into play to tilt the scales in one’s favor and avoid answering the initial inquiry. And when it’s not just a politician, but the second highest office in the state, the issue becomes much more delicate. This is what happened with the President of the Senate of the Republic Ignazio La Russa, during a press conference following the traditional “Fan Ceremony“, after commenting on the assault suffered by La Stampa journalist Andrea Joly in Turin by some militants of Casapound and exposing himself on undercover journalism (not having a clear understanding of the law that allows journalists to infiltrate), he “diverted” the discussion away from a precise question: is it normal for a news agency like Agi to end up in the hands of a parliamentarian like Antonio Angelucci, who already owns many other media outlets?
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This question received a rather evasive response from the second highest office in the state, who, in addition to underestimating the “Berlusconian” effect of a political power figure controlling – through his holding company – three daily newspapers (Libero, il Giornale, and il Tempo), attempts to bring in other figures from the publishing world who – unlike the League deputy Antonio Angelucci – do not have a political-parliamentary role.
Agi to Angelucci, La Russa’s comment
These, in fact, were the words of Ignazio La Russa in response to the question about Agi to Angelucci (a negotiations in progress that has not yet been finalized) during the “Fan Ceremony”.
«If you think that Angelucci’s newspapers dominate the press, then you need to strengthen your knowledge. It doesn’t seem to me that Angelucci, whatever the assessment, conditions communication more than my friend Cairo does.»
Is Urbano Cairo like Antonio Angelucci? The former is a publisher-entrepreneur, President and CEO of RCS Mediagroup (Corriere della Sera, Gazzetta dello Sport, and many others among dailies, weeklies, and monthlies) and of Cairo Communication (La7). Thus, he has a large communication and journalism hub. Tosinvest, the financial company of the League deputy, only has Libero daily, il Giornale, and il Tempo. While waiting to understand whether the acquisition of Agi will go through. Therefore, from a media perspective – even in terms of “circulation” – Angelucci has a “lesser” weight compared to Cairo. But he is a deputy of the Republic and this makes the matter much more delicate, rendering Ignazio La Russa’s words rather careless.
The response from Agi’s Cdr
Indeed, following the statements of the President of the Senate regarding the possible transfer of Agi to Angelucci, the Editorial Board of the News Agency published a statement reminding of the different roles (political and institutional) of the two figures mentioned by La Russa:
«With the utmost respect for his institutional role, we remind you that a news agency is not a newspaper and that in no European country is a primary source of information owned by a business group linked to a parliamentarian. We are advocates of free markets, but we do not see even a trace of it in our situation where a state-owned company would find itself transferring a branch of its business to a group tied to a parliamentarian, moreover from the governing majority. A situation that the Commission and the EU Parliament are monitoring and about which the most authoritative international media have written.»
A news agency has a different role from a newspaper that can, in fact, also be “opinionated.” Just like the three that are in Angelucci’s hands. The news agency collects and publishes news, and with a parliamentarian at the top, the principle of informational transparency would be undermined.