the forgetful of censorship –

While the controversy rages over Rai’s failure to cover the second round of the French elections, with “Telemeloni” in the crosshairs of USIGRai, Pd, M5s, and requests for the resignation of Paolo Petrecca, director of RaiNews24, no one remembers that a similar case occurred with Mario Draghi’s Rai. That is, when Giorgia Meloni was still in opposition and FdI was not part of the board of directors of the public television. We are talking regarding the run-off elections of Sunday 26 June 2022, when Draghi’s Rai did not dedicate the slightest space to commenting on the consultations, leaving the field open to La7 and Rete4, which instead followed the count from the very beginning. This was pointed out by the then secretary of Rai Supervision Michele Anzaldi, who underlined how commercial TVs – thanks to the timely commentary on the outcome of the run-off elections – had even managed to beat Rai1 in the Auditel data. The Prima Rete Rai had in fact broadcast the rerun of a Tg1 Special, then defeated in the ratings by the usual Enrico Mentana on La7 and by a special with Giuseppe Brindisi on Rete4, both of which managed to exceed 8% of share in the late evening. Michele Anzaldi, at the time a deputy of Italia Viva, presented a question to ask – to the then CEO of Rai Carlo Fuortes – clarifications on the choice to obscure the commentary on the run-offs, but no one on the Left cared to support his requests. That’s not all.

On January 6, 2021, with the PD-M5S government installed at Palazzo Chigi and with Rai CEO Fabrizio Salini on the M5S side, another similar case occurred. And for an event of global importance, namely the assault on the Capitol in Washington. If, once once more, Rete4 and La7 were on the ball and commented live on what was happening in the US capital, the three generalist Rai channels were practically off, with the sensational case of Rai1. While the world was following the riot on Capitol Hill with bated breath, TV users interested in American events were in fact forced to follow Rete 4 and La7, since the Speciale Lotteria dei Soliti Ignoti was broadcast on the Prima Rete Rai. Tg2 Post, directed at the time by Gennaro Sangiuliano, had covered the events in Washington as much as it might, but then was forced to hand over the baton to Tg3, obliged to go on the air with an “extraordinary” edition at 11:00 p.m., imitated by Tg1 which finally decided to interrupt “I Soliti Ignoti” late in the evening. Too bad that by that time the revolt had already been quelled, and that Barbara Palombelli on Rete4 and Enrico Mentana on La7 had been following the events for hours. Did the Left ask for the leaders to resign? Obviously not.

Anzaldi and his then counterpart, the secretary of Rai Vigilanza, the Lega Nord member Massimiliano Capitanio, asked Rai for explanations on the lack of coverage of an event of global importance, but USIGRai and the editorial board of Tg1 rejected the attacks to the sender. Then they buried the episode in oblivion. But, in light of what is happening these days, it is appropriate to say: he who is without sin, cast the first stone.