Scandals highlight the powerlessness of the media

First came the sex scandals involving Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and now video footage which puts Piero Marrazzo, the head of government of the Italian region of Lazio, in a compromising position has surfaced. The left-liberal daily La Repubblica writes that in Italy scandals become public in a different way to countries where "the media is not at the disposition of politicians. In Italy the selection process [of journalistic control and examination] doesn't exist. There's no need to bother with it because there is no distribution of media power. One and the same subject orders others to collect the dirty stuff on someone - that's if he doesn't actually fabricate it himself. He has control over the supply, over unlimited financial resources, over newspaper bosses and editors. … He doesn't need to convince anyone to publish the dirt. He publishes it in his own media and gives it priority on account of his political position."

» full article (external link, Italian)
More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Media policy, » Press freedom, » Italy
All available articles from » Giuseppe d'Avanzo

» To the complete press review of Tuesday, October 27, 2009