In Italy's changing media landscape, social-networking websites have emerged as an alternative to an information industry long tied to the government, political parties and industrialists. Newspapers are generally tied to political parties or industrial concerns, resulting in a press that seems less written for the general public than for politicians and other insiders.
In Italy, 80% of people get their news from television.
A recent episode has become emblematic of both the Prime Minister's grip on the press and the potential for new media to undermine his control. An Italian court dismissed the case against a lawyer who had been found guilty of taking bribes from the Prime Minister. The court made no ruling on the evidence — it simply closed the case because the 10-year statute of limitations had expired. But when his flagship channel reported that the lawyer had been "acquitted" of the charges. Until recently, the comment would have gone unchallenged. This time, however, the clip went viral on Facebook. A group set up to protest the broadcast quickly grew to nearly 200,000 members, most of whose names were printed out and delivered to RAI's offices in a suitcase. RAI's producers have since said the presenter's comment was a mistake.
Yet, the best measure of how the Internet is shaking up the media landscape may be the establishment's response, which has thus far been harsh. Both left- and right-leaning governments have floated legislation in recent years intended to rein in online expression. In addition, an Italian court recently held three Google executives responsible for a video posted to YouTube that showed teenagers bullying an autistic classmate, sentencing each to a suspended six-month jail term.
Read more at Time Magazine.
