Scurati case, Usigrai: “Asphyxiating control of information from the top”
The Scurati case, whose monologue on April 25th was censored by Rai, did not go unnoticed, causing, among others, a protest from Usigrai, the RAI journalists' union.
Usigrai has issued a note which has been requested to be read on today's news and news broadcasts. Below is the text of the press release released.
“The control of Rai's top management over public service information becomes more suffocating every day. After having emptied two channels of their identity, the managers appointed by the Government are now intervening by blocking even unwelcome guests, such as Antonio Scurati who was entrusted with a monologue on April 25th, on a network, Rai3, whose schedule has now been completely distorted and unrecognizable for the viewers. The same company that spent 6 million euros on the Avanti Popolo program is now putting forward economic reasons for the exclusion of Scurati. Motivations already denied by the facts. We are faced with a pervasive system of control that violates the principles of journalistic work. The assembly of the RAI editorial committees on Wednesday proclaimed a state of unrest and approved 5 days of strike. Dear viewers, we dissociate ourselves from the company's decisions and fight for an independent, balanced and plural public service.”
Rai's reply
The company responded with another statement, available below.
“No control over information and no censorship have been carried out by the company against programs and hosts. Rai is the heritage of all Italians and today more than ever expresses the values of pluralism and freedom of expression. The company's effort is to add, innovate, experiment with new content and new narratives. Adding opinions, ideas and points of view means being even more pluralist than Rai has been in the past. No one has ever questioned the possibility of participation of the writer Antonio Scurati in the program “Che Sara” hosted by Serena Bortone, whose presence had been widely announced. The attempt to exploit a case made out of nothing with sterile controversy risks undermining the great commitment that the company has made in recent months to improve its industrial and economic structure and to protect and enhance the great tradition of the Public Service”.
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