One million infected, news outlets desperate for hope. And Biden “climbs” the attention span. Eurispes-CoRiS Sapienza Television News Observatory Report

One million infected, news outlets desperate for hope. And Biden “climbs” the attention span. Eurispes-CoRiS Sapienza Television News Observatory Report

One million infected, prime time looks for signs of hope. Berlusconi-Zingaretti, calls for unity. Calabria case, between disbelief and scandal. Biden “climbs” the attention of the news.

The news from 9 to 13 of November – With the one million infected reached on Wednesday and the record 41,000 new positives touched on Friday, the prime time news bulletins punctuate the evenings as they wait for an improvement that does not seem to be coming. The inversion of the trend – seen by Rai news in the very first signs of a fall in the infection indices – clashes in the reports with the “dramatic increase” (Tg2) of the Covid victims, while the joy raised by the announcement of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine (9 headlines from Monday, with the opening of Tg La7) is flanked, from mid-week, by the concern for the health service in Campania and the controversy over the story of the elderly man found dead in one of the Caldarelli baths in Naples.

In this tense scenario, the government’s action continues to garner the greatest number of openings, while the voices of dissent appear less present than in recent weeks. For the oppositions, it is Berlusconi’s calls for unity – interviewed on Wednesday by Tg5 – that dominate, answered by Zingaretti on Thursday on Tg3. Tg4, however, remains combative, and from Monday to Wednesday it returns three times to the “Calabria case” in its opening, with strong criticism of the government for the appointment of two ‘incompetent’ health officials, first Cotticelli, then Zuccatelli. A similar incredulity is expressed on Monday by Gabanelli, on the sidelines of a reportage on the activities and problems of the 44,000 general practitioners in the country, with the proposal to demand the return of Cotticelli’s salary. Both Tg La7 and Mediaset’s Tg relaunched De Luca’s attacks against the executive on Friday, while La Verità columnist Daniele Capezzone pointed the finger at the Campania governor’s “theatrics” and the inaction of Mayor De Magistris (Tg4).

Much attention was paid to the measures taken at territorial level. There are numerous references to the “health” escapes of the sick from the red regions in search of hospitalisation at facilities in neighbouring regions. Right from the headlines, there is growing attention to the economic condition of the country and families, with headlines and reports for the Mediaset Tg, Tg2 and, on Friday, also for Tg La7. Attention is also being paid to the “Report” investigation into the discos that reopened in August in Sardinia and which have become, predictably, hotbeds of contagion: 8 headlines and reports for all.

Motorways, barriers “stuck”. Landini at Tg2: 2021, the year of work. Mentana on Ilva: Arcuri “risks” ending up with “one foot in two stirrups”.

Even in an edition dominated by contagion numbers, the chilling content of the interceptions of Aspi managers has been in the headlines since Wednesday, earning the opening of Studio Aperto. Also on Thursday, the News Mediaset news programme interviews the current CEO Tomasi, who assures that the guilty managers have already been removed and that the sound barriers, «stuck with vinavil», have been duly removed. Space is also given to the topic of work, with worrying employment data and the risks for over 400,000 small businesses. On Friday, Tg2 interviews CGIL leader Landini, who hopes that in 2021 the focus will be on employment recovery. The state’s decision to enter through Invitalia with a majority stake in the governance of the former Ilva is presented by Mentana as “strong news”. From the director of the La7 news also comes, however, the advice to the CEO of Invitalia, Domenico Arcuri – since the spring extraordinary commissioner for the fight against the epidemic – to limit his duties, or else risk becoming a sort of “lightning rod” for all the failures and problems on the Covid and Ilva sides.

US, Trump attempts stalemate. Sicily Channel, renewed focus on deaths at sea.

The aftermath of the US vote continues to dominate the foreign page, occupying 20 headlines. Having confirmed Biden’s victory, who at the end of the count gains 306 large voters, his figure acquires a central place in the reports, while the “stalemate” manoeuvres attempted by a Trump – who is not giving up despite the opposing opinions of his staff –, slide down in the reports. Friday’s Tg2 in-depth report on the Brazilian communities affected by Covid was good. Limited space was given to the resolution of the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, which was only mentioned in the middle of the week by the Rai news services.

After a long absence, the deaths in the Sicilian channel returned to the prime time schedule, with the 94 victims of the shipwreck off the coast of Libya present on Thursday on Tg3 and reported on Friday by the other newspapers.

In conclusion, we report the interesting interview on Tuesday’s Tg2 with Maria Luigia Pelizzari, the first woman to hold the post of Deputy Chief of Police in the history of the Republic.