Rai, controversy over the new service contract. Ranucci accuses: “Inquiry journalism has disappeared”. Schlein: “Hypocritical government”

Controversy over the new Rai service contract. The reason: from the new document, anticipated by Republic, the enhancement of investigative journalism disappears and at the same time the obligation is introduced for the public service to contribute “to the promotion of the birth rate and parenthood”. Points disputed by the secretary of the Pd Elly Schlein, but not only. Because in addition to the dem leader, a piece of the world of information also joins the chorus of controversies. It is the case of the conductor of Reports, Siegfried Ranucciand of the president of the Italian National Press Federation, Victor DiTrapani.

“In the Rai service contract, the valorisation of investigative journalism is removed and instead the promotion of the birth rate is inserted. What does it mean and how does it affect programming?”, asks Schlein, who adds: “A government of hypocrites which meanwhile increases precariousness and is about to cut the Pnrr on the nests”. For Alexander ZanPd rights manager, “eliminating the enhancement of investigative journalism and including the promotion of the birth rate in the Rai service contract means fully applying the Orbàn model”. Even the M5S, through the group leader in the Supervision commission Dario Carotenutospeaks of a “very serious act” and attacks: “A company like Rai cannot fail to mention such a relevant element for information in a document as important as the service contract”, says the deputy.

“I understand that the service contract presented to Rai has been deprived of a part that was in the old service contract which concerned the enhancement of investigative journalism”, says Ranucci interviewed by Radio 1. Reports directly accuses the government: “If this were true, it would be very serious, because the service contract was signed by the Made in Italy ministry, led by bearwhich was the subject of an investigation by Reports“. And he concludes: “If the minister who is the subject of an investigation deprives Rai of the valorisation of investigative journalism, in my opinion it is a very bad sign – he continues -. I am convinced that it was just a careless mistake and that part will be restored as soon as possible.”

Even the president of the FNSI is tough. “Is it true that in the draft of the service contract brought to the Rai board of directors, any reference to the obligation to “enhance and promote one’s own investigative journalistic tradition” has disappeared? Why?”, he wrote on Twitter. Not only that: there are several criticalities found by Di Trapani. “The previous service contract was based on the general principle of ‘promoting social cohesion’. Is it true that in the drafts of the new text this value is greatly reduced to the point of reducing it to an aside in an out-of-context article on Made in Italy?”. And again: “In the new text, alongside the already existing obligation to ‘disseminate the values ​​of the family and parenthood’, that of the ‘birth rate’ is introduced. This means that different positions – fully legitimate and legal – present in the society?”.