RAI 1 chief denies 'early' NYE countdown decision (2)

(ANSA) - Rome, January 12 - The director of RAI Channel 1 public broadcaster denied Tuesday that a decision had been made to start the New Year's countdown 40 seconds early. "Under no circumstances was a decision so irrational and disrespectful of the public. ..shared with network executives," Giancarlo Leone said. "Authorization was neither requested nor given".
    RAI 1's program L'Anno che Verrà (The Year to Come) sparked widespread condemnation when it anticipated the New Year's Eve countdown by 40 seconds during its live December 31, 2015, broadcast from the Basilicata city of Matera, which is to be the European Culture Capital in 2019. Program director Antonio Azzalini was disciplined for the mistake, but told La Repubblica daily in an interview out Tuesday that the move to start the countdown early was RAI "practice" and that he had no reason to believe Leone would have disagreed with his decision.
    Leone, however, denied this vehemently.
    "No such practice existed, nor was such a hypothesis ever taken into consideration," he said.
    "Believing one's action to be shared by others is an ambiguous and misleading formula - in our line of work responsibility is everything, and is based on knowing and doing, not on conjecture," Leone said.
    RAI has never "covered nor supported" such decisions, the executive at the public broadcaster's flagship Channel 1 said.