“Amadeus? In Sanremo he can count on a parterre of journalists who never disturb him, under penalty of exclusion from the magic circle. Channel 5? We expected more interesting first evenings. Barbara D’Urso? In my opinion she is an asset, she can do everything. She promised me that in January she would come clean, but she didn’t. Something must have happened.” Talking on the pages of Italy Today is Antonio Ricci, the “father” of The news spreads who has his say on Italian television. Starting with an appeal to Pier Silvio Berlusconi, vice president and CEO of Mediaset:
“Mediaset once had the big variety shows. Now Saturday evening is up to De Filippi. Well, I’d like to try with the big variety shows, and then I’d take a look at dramas, even if Mediaset prefers to have Turkish series which are cheap and have good ratings. But I know, for variety shows and dramas you need a lot of money, and the Rai offer, thanks also to the rich resources that come from the license fee, crushes any opponent. We must always try to do better and obstacles are opportunities not to be missed.”
What if Berlusconi entrusted him with all three goals for six months?
“I would make a revolution, with completely different programs. I would ruin it. In reality, I don’t feel like criticizing what we see on Canale 5, Rete 4 or Italia 1, because I know that it responds to a project with its feet on the ground. Maybe it’s not clear from the outside, but Mediaset doesn’t get upset, it all adds up. And that’s what matters in a private company. Although I am convinced that we can do better. And they are working to do better. But it is complicated to deal with Rai, which has a disproportionate wealth of offerings. And knowing that they pay for all this trouble with our public money should pose some problems.”
And highlights the merits of The news spreads:
“We give stability to prime time and provide a crucial young audience base. It’s clear that we were expecting more exciting first evenings from Canale 5. But I know full well that it’s not easy. […] We in Striscia experiment. The others, however, are all on the safe side. We like to dare, give space to new faces, I’ve been doing it since the Drive In days […] We do a lot of public service, in general. With Marco Camisani Calzolari and all the deep fakes, it’s true, we have been promoting digital literacy for many years, and it’s incredible that others don’t do it. On the other hand, in 35 years of existence of Striscia, we have used all the technologies to receive reports from viewers”.
The program must challenge Amadeus which, at the same time, hosts Your business on Rai Uno. On the future of the presenter, fresh from five years of success in Sanremo, Ricci says:
“Objectively, the songs chosen by Amadeus at the Sanremo Festival that he hosted have a reason, they work. In other Festivals, songs won and then disappeared. He has put together a valid proposal. He knows how to do it. And then he is a self-deprecating animal, he never gets annoyed, which instead would make us rejoice. Furthermore, he can count on a parterre of journalists who never bothers him in Sanremo, under penalty of exclusion from the magic circle”.
There is also a reference to Barbara D’Urso’s exit from Mediaset.
“I’ve known her since she did Stryx in 1978 with Enzo Trapani. In my opinion she is an asset, she knows how to do everything, she touches all the registers. I do not know what happened. She promised me that in January she would come clean, but she didn’t. But something must have happened.”
