Political controversy in the news, from Recovery to Grillo’s case
Countdown to Recovery and reopenings. From the news, judgement without appeal for Grillo. Super league flop: for Tg3, “Johnson’s success”.
Diversified openings for prime time news. After weeks dominated by the news of contagion, political tensions on the reopening front have imposed themselves in many editions, receiving, between Tuesday and Wednesday, 10 openings. With the decisions on curfews and school returns disappointing the expectations of the Presidents of the Regions and provoking the reactions of the League, the Tg “record” these exchanges without entering into the merits of the dispute. The only exception was Tg5 which, in a report on Friday, described Salvini’s actions as “a continuous bombardment of a government of which he is a member” aimed at not leaving Giorgia Meloni a free field. Similar attention has been paid throughout the week to another countdown: the one on the presentation of the 221 billion Recovery Plan, the subject of several reports on Friday 23rd (Studio Aperto, Tg1 and Tg2). These are some of the results that emerged from the analysis of the Osservatorio Tg Eurispes – CoRiS Sapienza from 19 to 23 April.
Beppe Grillo’s intervention on social media in defence of his son, who is under investigation for alleged gang rape, is vehemently felt in Monday’s editions, arousing reactions of indignation in many services; Mentana’s displeasure is significant, as he is forced to “give so much prominence to such an affair”: headlines for all, with Tg5 that on the cover spends words in defence of the girl who reported the violence, against whom Grillo made serious insinuations in front of an audience of millions of followers. Tg4 was particularly active on Monday, dedicating more than half of its edition to the intervention of the Movement’s guarantor, and following developments over the next few days with headlines and various interventions, and on Friday it presented a hard-hitting editorial accusing both Grillo and the 5 Stars of having become “guarantors every other day”. In the shadow of this squalid affair, the break between the Movement (destined to be led by Conte) and the Rousseau Platform receives less attention, and appears on Friday’s political page (headlines for Mediaset and the 8pm news).
In the first part of the week, the epic of the “Super League”, announced on Monday with great enthusiasm and deflated after just “48 hours from kick-off” due to the avalanche of pressure on the 12 promoting clubs, both from the world of politics and from fans and sports associations from all over Europe. There were many reports, with Tg1 interviewing sports journalist Tim Parks on Wednesday, while Tg5 offered a commentary by Coni president Giovanni Malagò on Thursday. Interesting analysis by Tg3 on the role played by the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in determining the turnaround of the English teams, a success that contributes (along with the record of vaccinations in the United Kingdom) to rehabilitate the figure of the Tories leader, after the mistakes in the first phase of the pandemic and the continuous references on Brexit.
On Thursday, the international climate summit was given great prominence. Thanks to US President Joe Biden, after five years the world’s great leaders agreed to halve emissions, with Tg1, Tg2, Tg5 and Studio Aperto reporting. Strong focus on foreign affairs for Tg5, which on Wednesday opens on the conclusion of the trial for the murder of George Floyd, with the conviction of the agent responsible for his death by asphyxiation.
The new massacre of migrants in the Strait of Sicily, which the NGOs denounced as having taken place amidst the apparent indifference of the European authorities, brought the topic of migration back into the prime time lineup after a long absence: Tg3 opened the show on Friday, while the other RAI news, La7 and Tg4 made headlines. Several newspapers raised the appeals of the associations, also taken up by President David Sassoli, but also on this occasion the coverage of prime time does not offer any analysis of the phenomenon able to go beyond this single dramatic event. The only one to “make an effort” seems to be Tg4, which, however, broadcasts a long report focusing on the “evidence” of collusion between smugglers and NGOs operating in the Mediterranean, with a commentary by Maurizio Gasparri.