(ANSA) - ROME, SEP 26 - The Italian parliament on Thursday
elected four new directors to the state broadcaster Rai, two
from a government slate and two from an opposition list,
although the opposition was split on the vote.
The Lower House first elected a candidate close to Premier
Giorgia Meloni's rightwing Brothers of Italy (FdI) party and a
TV journalist close to the leftwing opposition Green-Left
Alliance (AVS).
The FdI candidate was Federica Frangi and the Rai journalist
close to AVS was Roberto Natale.
The centre left was split on the vote with the centre-left
Democratic Party (PD) and the centrist Azione and Italia Viva
parties boycotting the vote for Natale, who was voted in solely
by the leftist populist 5-Star Movement (M5S) and the AVS.
AVS leader Angelo Bonelli said this showed that the "broad field
does not exist," referring to the sometime and erstwhile
difficult alliance of leftwing and centrist parties.
Rai parliamentary oversight panel chair Barbara Floridia
commended the M5S and AVS for "preventing there being a board of
directors deprived of the guard of the opposition forces and the
majority naming all the directors, this ensuring a fundamental
balance for the pluralism of information and the respect of the
various sensibilities in the country."
The Senate later Thursday elected a candidate close to the
ruling rightwing League party and a candidate close to the M5S
to the Rai board.
The new League-linked director is Antonio Marano while the
M5S-linked director is Alessandro di Majo. The centre-left
opposition was again split on the vote, as it had been in the
House earlier.
Further, Economy Minister Giancarlo Giorgetti on Thursday tapped
centre-right post Berlusconi Forza Italia (FI) candidate Simona
Agnes as new Rai president and rightwing Brothers of Italy (FdI)
candidate Giampaolo Rossi as new managing director of the state
broadcaster, moving over from director-general.
Roberto Sergio, until now CEO, is expected to move to the DG
slot, sources said.
Giorgetti made his proposals to the cabinet. The candidates must
be approved by the parliamentary Rai oversight panel.
Meloni has said she is "rebalancing" Rai after past leftwing
bias amid claims she has stacked the public broadcaster with
like-minded appointees and driven out left-leaning journalists.
Rai staff have struck against her allegedly turning Rai into a
government mouthpiece.
Meloni has rejected the "Meloni TV" claims saying the left is
merely irked that Rai is no longer "PD TV", referring to the
main centre-left opposition party, the Democratic Party.
Following are bios of the new directors:
ALESSANDRO DI MAJO - Born in Rome on 20 October 1968, he has a
degree in Law. He works as a lawyer at the Di Majo Law Firm in
Rome, dealing, among other things, with copyright law, sports
law and information law. From 2002 to 2009 he was a member of
the Arbitration Board of the Italian Football Federation (FIGC).
From 2018 to 2019 he was a Councilor at the supreme Court of
Cassation. Since 2022 he has been a Member of the Sports
Guarantee Board at the Italian Olympic Committee (CONI). He also
held the position from 2015 to 2018. From July 2020 to June 2024
he was a Member of the Board of Directors of insurance firm body
ADIR - Le Assicurazioni di Roma - Mutua Assicuratrice Romana. He
carries out research and teaching activities at national
universities. He is a member of several scientific committees,
study commissions and institutes. He collaborated (1999-2016)
with "Il Sole 24 Ore" business daily for the "Norme e tributi"
section and has published about 130 articles, essays, comments
and five monographs. In July 2021 he was elected by the Senate
as a member of the Rai Board of Directors with the votes of the
5 Star Movement. Since January 2022 he has been a member of the
Presidency Council and the General Council of Confindustria
Radio Televisioni.
FEDERICA FRANGI - Born in Rome on 8 May 1973, she has been a
professional journalist since 2005 with experience in press
offices and television broadcasters. She is currently in the
newsroom of Tg2, but has worked for a long time in the editorial
staff of 'Porta a Porta', alongside veteran star Rai broadcaster
Bruno Vespa. She is also involved in trade union activities:
until last February she was a national councilor of the Italian
Press Federation FNSI elected with the Stampa Libera e
Indipendente (Free and Independent Press) list, after having
been at the helm of the Associazione Stampa Romana and a member
of the board of free-speech group Lettera 22. She is also among
the promoters of the association of Italian Journalists. In the
autumn of last year she was called to manage the presence of
Brothers of Italy (FdI) on TV, but she held the position for
only one month preferring to return to her work at Rai.
ANTONIO MARANO - Born in Ascoli Satriano (Foggia) in 1956, a
graduate in architecture, he is a freelance journalist and
television manager. He began his career in 1983 gaining
experience in various television stations. In 1994 he was
elected deputy for the Northern League (now League) and
appointed Undersecretary of Telecommunications. He was hired by
Rai in 2002 as a manager with the role of Director of Rai2 and
two years later he was appointed Director of the Sports Rights
Department. In February 2006 he was again called to manage Rai
2. In May 2009 he was appointed Deputy General Manager for the
Coordination of the Television Offer. Since 2010 he has assumed
responsibility for the editorial and production management of
Rai Notte. In 2011 he was appointed Member of the Board of
Directors of Rai Corporation. Since March 2016 he has been
President of Rai Pubblicità, its advertising arm, and from
January 2018 to February 2019 he assumed responsibility for the
exercise of the powers of CEO of the subsidiary. In January 2021
he became commercial director of the Fondazione Milano Cortina
2026, the foundation organizing the 2026 Winter Olympics.
ROBERTO NATALE - Born in Rome in 1958, a graduate in philosophy,
he has been a professional journalist since 1990. In 1988 he was
hired as a trainee journalist at the Rai Regional Headquarters
in Marche. In 1989 he joined the editorial staff of the Regional
Office for Lazio where, the following year, he became editor
and, later, was also entrusted with the duties of presenter.
From 1991 to 1994 he was the spokesperson for the journalists of
the Fiesole Group. From 1995 to 1996 he was Vice President of
the Roman Press Association. From 1996 to 2006 he was Secretary
of Rai trade union Usigrai. From 2007 to 2012 he was President
of the FNSI. A candidate for the Senate for the leftist Sinistra
Ecologia Libertà in the 2013 political elections, he was not
elected. From 2013 to 2018 he held the position of spokesperson
for the President of the Chamber of Deputies Laura Boldrini, a
leftwing former UNHCR spokesperson. In 2018 he returned to
service at Rai and was assigned to report directly to the
Director of the Communication, External, Institutional and
International Relations Department. During this period, he
collaborated in the launch of the Rai Corporate Newsletter and
was appointed head of the "Social Responsibility" structure. In
October 2018, he was awarded the position of Deputy
Editor-in-Chief and in July 2019 the title of Editor-in-Chief.
In 2020, he was appointed Head of the "PMO and Coordination"
organizational unit of the Rai Social Department. In 2022, he
was appointed Director of the "Rai for Sustainability - ESG"
Department.
photo: Frangi and Natale (ANSA).
Parliament elects govt, opposition candidates to Rai board (3)
Pluralism ensured says oversight panel chair Floridia