In the newspaper editorial office The Republic the climate is becoming increasingly heated. The journalists' assembly disqualified the director Maurizio Molinari and called a 24-hour signature strike to protest against the “censorship” of an article.
The vote of the assembly is not binding and Molinari, at least for now, remains in his place, but the no-confidence vote – approved with 164 yes, 55 no, 35 abstentions – represents a signal that is difficult to ignore, the culmination of the tensions created by time between the director and his journalists.
What triggered the revolt in the editorial team was Molinari's decision to withdraw and send to the pulp mill 100,000 already printed copies of the newspaper because inside there was an article with contents probably unwelcome to the owners: a piece on industrial relations between Italy and France written by Giovanni Pons who should have “opened” the insert Business&Finance of April 8th.
In fact, the article also talked about the relationships between the Meloni Government and the Italian-French multinational Stellantis, of which 14.2% is owned by Exor, the holding company of the Agnelli-Elkann family which also controls the group Gedi, owner of The Republic.
The title of the disputed piece, according to what was leaked, was “High-voltage affairs on the Rome-Paris axis” with the following: “The STM, Tim cases and the escape of ArcelorMitta from Ilva reignite the controversy over the unbalanced relationship between Italy and France” . The director allegedly demanded that Pons' text be replaced with one signed by deputy director Walter Galbiati, modifying the title as follows: “High-voltage affairs on the Rome-Paris front” with “The STM, TIM cases and Arcelor's escape from Ilva” controversy reignites. They work when business drives.”
As is evident, in the modified version of the headline the tone was generally softened and the reference to the “unbalanced relationship” between Rome and Paris in favor of the French was eliminated.
“The director has the power to decide what is or is not published in the newspaper he directs, but not to intervene at the conclusion of research work, verification of facts and comparison with sources by a colleague, especially if agreed with the editorial team”, protests in a statement the editorial committee of the newspaper, which also contests “the waste of time and resources for the reprint (…) at a time when the editorial team with yet another early retirement plan is called to new sacrifices.”
But the rift between the journalists of Republic and Molinari has origins far back in time. For the past two years the editorial committee has been periodically calling for strikes and writing fiery statements against the choices made by the management in agreement with the owners.
A similar case occurred last February, when Molinari blocked the publication of an interview with the rapper Ghali in which he also spoke about the war in Gaza.
Below is the full text of the press release of the Editorial Committee of The Republic.
The assembly of journalists from Repubblica approved by a large majority (164 yes, 55 no, 35 abstentions) a motion of no confidence in the director Maurizio Molinari and proclaimed a signature strike for 24 hours. A strike proclaimed by the Cdr to denounce the seriousness of the facts that led to the censorship of the opening report of Affari&Finanza in the April 8 issue.
The director has the power to decide what is or is not published in the newspaper he manages, but not to intervene at the conclusion of research work, verification of facts and comparison with sources by a colleague, especially if agreed with the editorial team. In this way the autonomy of every single Repubblica journalist is undermined and this constitutes a precedent that calls into question, for the future, the value of our work.
The Cdr considers it equally serious that the intervention led to the blocking of the newspaper's printing, in particular because the management had already given the green light to publication. It is an indication of a lack of organization that exposes everyone's work to uncontrolled arbitrariness.
The Cdr condemns the waste of time and resources for the reprinting of a part of Affari&Finanza, at a time when the editorial team with yet another early retirement plan is being called to make new sacrifices; points out how the incident exposes Repubblica in a negative way to its external interlocutors and to readers, not least the fact that for a few hours the two openings of Affari&Finanza circulated online, before and after the management's intervention.
What happened is the latest episode in a series of sensational errors originating from management choices that have put the collective work of Repubblica in a bad light. The journalists of Repubblica withdraw their signatures from the newspaper and the site for 24 hours – signatures mortified by the management's intervention – to protect their professional dignity and independence. For all the reasons listed above, the Cdr put the vote of no confidence in director Maurizio Molinari to the vote in the assembly.
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