Journalists "rebell" in Italy: RAI has turned into a government propaganda megaphone!

The public broadcaster RAI has turned into a megaphone in the propaganda of the Italian government, so declares the International and European Federation of Journalists.

RAI adopted a new regulation that gives ministers and government officials unlimited airtime in its programs when referring to institutional issues.

On April 11, journalists and news anchors on RAI's main channels interrupted news programs to read a statement from the Union of Rai Journalists (USIGrai) explaining RAI's new policy while condemning it, comparing RAI with the "megaphone" of the government.

"The International and European Federations of Journalists (IFJ-EFJ) together with their branch Federazione Nazionale Stampa Italiana (FNSI) condemn this further attempt to politicize public information services for propaganda purposes and demand that RAI respect the fundamental principles of journalism ", the statement says.

"The majority of the government has decided to transform RAI into its own megaphone", this is how the speech of USIGrai journalists began after the policies announced by the Supervisory Commission of RAI. The latter adopted a rule that allows government representatives to "speak in talks without time limits and without questions".

 "This is not our idea of ??public broadcasting. The work of journalists should be central, where they ask questions, even uncomfortable ones, verify what is said and point out inconsistencies. For this reason, dear viewers, we inform you that we are ready to mobilize to guarantee you independent, balanced and plural information", declared the Italian journalists.

Another rule will allow Rai News to broadcast political rallies at any time and in full, announced only with a short introduction and without journalistic mediation.

RAI's decision illustrates once again the Italian government's attempts to use the public service for personal and propaganda purposes and in opposition to the main pillars of the work of journalists.