“On air more than other networks”, Sergio dismantles sinister theories –

Marco Zonetti

July 13, 2024

No one would have thought that the second round of the French legislative elections might spark a debate almost more heated in Italy than across the Alps. And instead, since Sunday 7 July, our country has been discussing the failure to cover the French election results by Rai, with the PD, M5S, CDR of RaiNews24, unions and so on on the warpath. Prompted by Senator Barbara Floridia, president of the Rai Supervisory Board, the CEO of the public television Roberto Sergio has produced a report including data and figures to deny the accusations point by point.

First, the Rai CEO states that Tg1, Tg2 and Tg3 have dedicated a large part of their evening editions to the French legislative elections; with an additional special of Mario Orfeo’s Tg3 broadcast in the late evening on Rai3 when the polls closed. Thus refuting Senator Floridia’s point, according to which no specials had been made on the three Rai generalist networks. Roberto Sergio also specifies that the state TV has dedicated over nine hours of information, with a coverage of almost twenty million viewers, only for what concerns the generalist news. An audience to which must be added that of RaiNews24, of the Rai radio channels, and of the rainews.it portal.
The Rai CEO also explained that the Rai all-news channel directed by Paolo Petrecca dedicated a one-hour special to the run-off in France, with Italian and French guests; and overall – from 6:00 pm on Sunday 6 July until 6:00 am on Monday 7 – 44.6% of the news on the electoral round across the Alps.

Sergio then underlined that Rai’s information regarding the 2024 elections was superior to that which Mario Draghi’s Rai, with CEO Carlo Fuortes and President Marinella Soldi at the helm, dedicated to the 2022 French legislative elections. This latter fact is easy to confirm. The previous runoff of the French legislative elections was held on Sunday 19 June 2022.

Rai1 dedicated prime time to the rerun of the fiction Mina Settembre; Rai2 to the series 9-1-1; Rai3 to Kilimangiaro Estate. A special Tg1 in the late evening gave space to the elections in France, the same time slot in which a Special Tg3 on the French runoff was broadcast on July 7th. But at the time, no one objected. And on June 12, 2022, the first round of the French legislative elections? In prime time, Rai1 aired a rerun of Mina Settembre; Rai2 the play off of Lega Pro Palermo-Padova; Rai3 the film Una doppia verità. The commentary on the first round of France was postponed to the late evening of Rai1 with a special Porta a Porta. Dedicated – it must be said – not only to the fate of our French cousins, but also to the Italian municipal elections and the outcome of the abrogative referendum on the issue of Justice.

Returning to the data of the CEO Sergio, Rai’s information coverage was in line or even superior to that of other European public broadcasters, with the exception – obviously – of the French channels. Ultimately, according to Sergio’s clarifications, public television dedicated more space to the French elections than French public television dedicated to the Italian general elections of September 2022.

If the Left was claiming that «TeleMeloni» had deliberately ignored the outcome of the French elections, this is the message that emerges from Roberto Sergio’s response – these data paint a diametrically opposite situation. The CEO Sergio also sent a second letter to Rai President Marinella Soldi, who days ago had deplored the lack of coverage of the French elections by the company he heads. Sergio complains that the president would have based her statements on the statements of «some competing national newspapers», thus causing «reputational damage» to Rai.