Imagine, if you will, a variety show with a hefty dose of political and social commentary, satire and rock bands, all hosted by an ageing singer/actor who is as close to being a national institution as one gets, unless you happen to be Sophia Loren or the Pope. Hardly innovative programming, but yet the new Adriano Celentano variety show, Rock Politik has been the main talking point for many this week.
In the weeks leading up to last Thursday’s debut show the national broadcaster RAI has been bombarding us with manga style cartoons depicting Celentano as a mysterious figure ready to save the innocents in an apocalyptic world, and all with the aid of a fender stratocaster. “The mind boggles,” this monkey groaned to himself, swearing to banish Italian TV, once and for all, from his life.
Then, with days to go to the first show, the Director of RAI 1, Fabrizio Del Noce (who ran for Berlusconi’s then nascent party Forza Italia in 1994) declared that, as Celentano had been given an unprecedented autonomy for his show by RAI‘s board of governors, he, as Direcor of the network, would have to absolve himself from all responsibility from the show.
Things could be getting interesting, this monkey thought, filing away his TV ban for future consideration.
The show, truth be told, was poor on virtually every level. Then again, I have a personal phobia of TV hosts that discuss serious issues one moment, and then get up and do a song and dance, literally. Perhaps it’s a cultural thing, alongside Opera. The one saving grace that Celentano’s programme had was that it aired, on the most mainstream public network, arguments that are scarcely considered. Celentano read through the listings from Freedom House‘s report on Press Freedom, where Italy is ranked #77 (between Bulgaria and Mongolia) in the world, with a status of ‘partly free’.
This shouldn’t be news to anyone, having been widely reported in the newspapers, but the sun always shines on TV and news like this is generally ghettoised to reports on RAI 3, a channel with more than its fair share of left-wing commentators.
The faces of Enzo Biagi and Daniele Luttazzi were beamed onto a big screen in the studio, along with their courteous but firm refusals to appear on Celentano’s programme. Biagi in particular was a popular journalist and TV host, who Berlusconi famously accused of “criminally” misusing his position as a public broadcaster. Shortly after Berlusconi’s pronouncement in April of 2002, Biagi received by return post his marching orders from the National Broadcaster. His ‘crime’? To have hosted a show, watched by millions, where he and actor/comedian/future Oscar winner Roberto Benigni discussed conflicts of interest and Berlusconi (amongst other things). In his refusal to appear on Rock Politik, Biagi pointed out that while the management structure in RAI that had fired him remained, he could not in conscience appear on the network.
The next day, predictably the politicians all had to have their say. Berlusconi, slyly pointed out that the very fact that Celentano could go on the national network and talk about the journalists that he (Berlusconi) had effectively banished from TV, proved that Italy has a remarkably free and open media. His colleagues in Alleanza Nazionale, though, called for resignations of the head of RAI and a programme to balance all the nasty things that had been said. Del Noce labelled the programme “left-wing”, though in truth, in the tradition of all good satire, the programme tarred and feathered politicians from across the spectrum. The centre left parties all beamed about the show, although one suspects that many egos were bruised by some of the wise-cracks made at their expense.
The media situation in Italy is much discussed, and, unfortunately often over-simplified. Certainly, currently Berlusconi holds unprecedented control over the media, and should he consider it politically profitable could have Celentano’s programme cancelled in the morning.
But will Italy’s ratings shoot up in the freedom of the press ranks should Romano Prodi win next year’s election? A couple of places perhaps, but Italy is unlikely to be termed the Finland of the south any time soon, even in a post-Berluska era.
Why? Because the tradition of political appointment and interference in the media did not start when Silvio arrived on the scene. For decades the political establishment has divvied up spheres of influence on the national broadcaster as a divine right. Sadly, for many in the political establishment, when they whinge about Berlusconi’s control of the media, what they’re really complaining about is his unfair share of control of the media, not the control issue in itself.