“Serena Bortone should have been fired for what she did and she wasn’t fired. She wasn’t punished.” Rai CEO Roberto Sergio returns to the Scurati case at the Foglio Innovation Festival in Venice and does not mince words in judging the journalist’s behavior, provoking an indignant reaction from the Democratic Party. The CEO denies, on the other hand, that a TeleMeloni exists and does not shy away from questions about his future, ensuring that the relay pact with general manager Giampaolo Rossi remains standing and that after the European elections the two will exchange roles without “No problem”.
What causes discussion, first of all, are the clear statements about the presenter of ‘Chesarà…’, who denounced the episode of the failure to air Antonio Scurati’s monologue on 25 April on social media and is therefore grappling with a disciplinary proceeding. “The 11th of this month will represent your theses and we will evaluate, but certainly no employee of any company would be allowed to say things against the company in which he works – said Sergio -. She did this and was not punished “. Then she denied any censorship, explaining that she had sent “a WhatsApp to Bortone” with which he invited her “to broadcast the monologue” and that the writer chose not to go only because “he wasn’t being paid”. According to her, she also falsely reported the news about a punishment reduction of the episodes of Bortone’s program. “The schedules for next season will be presented to the top management on Friday next week – he added -. So it’s news that doesn’t exist at the moment”.
“I categorically deny the RAI CEO’s statement according to which I did not participate in Serena Bortone’s program because ‘I wasn’t paid’. It is simply false. And it is yet another denigrating statement against me. No one has ever proposed to participate for free. I challenge you to provide proof to the contrary.”
Antonio Scurati says this in response to the statements of Rai CEO Roberto Sergio regarding his monologue on April 25th which should have been broadcast on Rai3 on Serena Bortone’s program Chesarà… “I will not go into the merits of the internal convulsions of a company evidently in disarray, whose managers exert ‘suffocating pressure’ on freedom of information (it’s not my opinion, it’s a quote from an official statement from the main journalists’ union of that same company. I would never go back to the topic). – and on the other hand it wasn’t me who denounced the censorship but once again a Rai journalist” explains Scurati.
“I must, however, defend – here and possibly in the appropriate legal venues – my reputation. I therefore reiterate that the Rai3 program Chesarà commissioned me to write a monologue about a month in advance, ensuring that I had full freedom over form and content. economic agreement, perfectly in line with that of the writers who preceded me, had already been closed for several days, the train tickets and the hotel reservation had already been sent to me by the Rai offices (I can prove this only then, that same morning). of my participation, after I had sent the text of my speech – with which, it is essential to remember, I raised embarrassing questions for the head of government – when I already had my bags packed, I was informed that my contract was cancelled” adds the Premio Strega writer.
In his reconstruction, Scurati then underlines: “I am a man of culture, not a politician. I have no interest in arguing with this Rai management. Furthermore, I know very well the value of work and money. I have taught for 30 years, and I continue to do so today, in schools and universities for a modest fee, motivated by the desire to contribute as much as I can to spreading knowledge and culture. I no longer tolerate people slandering me by accusing me of veniality to divert attention from the real issue. Especially from the top management of a company, Rai, which gives an influencer and rapper of dubious morality several tens of thousands of euros to give interviews about his marriage that Rai had agreed with the agency that represents me it rewarded not only a short original text but the 2000 pages I wrote on the subject of fascism in four substantial volumes, translated, read and praised all over the world” reiterates the author of the M series of novels dedicated to Mussolini.
“In any field, a professional career is accorded adequate economic recognition. The CEO of Rai – often defined as the largest cultural company in the country – demonstrates, however, that he does not want to recognize the value of cultural work. He thus demonstrates that he despises the culture.
Allow me to point out that this vulgar contempt makes him totally unsuitable for the important role he holds.”
Finally, “I must also note that this smoke screen, raised by false and misleading arguments, once again has the effect of allowing the prime minister not to respond to the embarrassing questions raised by me in the monologue that Rai had commissioned from me and which then he didn’t allow me to read” he says.
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