«The director Paolo Petrecca can also claim that what he broadcasts is “institutional”, but it is enough to listen to what Giorgia Meloni says to understand how little institutional there is, and how much “Giorgia” is instead in the midst of the political competition of the campaign electoral”. These are the words contained in the statement from the RaiNews24 editorial committee against its director Paolo Petrecca, released after the sharing of the video of the prime minister who renamed her “Notes” to “TeleMeloni”, the expression used by the opposition to criticize the choices of the government on Rai. «The only “TeleMeloni” is this. Everything else is fake news from the left, which, being used to occupying television, thinks that everyone else is like it”, said the leader of the Brothers of Italy. «TeleMeloni is not new», write the editorial representatives, «it has existed for some time at RaiNews24 thanks to the direction of Paolo Petrecca». The Cdr disputes the choice of its director, «among the first to broadcast in full version the Prime Minister’s social column “Giorgia’s Notes”, a political diary without cross-examination that Meloni uses to try to establish a relationship with the Italians friendly relationship, to show herself close to ordinary people”. The prime minister’s move to change the name of the column to TeleMeloni has “the intent of mocking her opponents and of overturning in her favor a narrative which unfortunately is a sad reality”. «RaiNews24 naturally», continues the note, «did not miss the opportunity to make its TV and web channels available to the president to give resonance to the event, and so the users found themselves from 12.26 to 12.30 also with a logo different from that of Rai”. And it then concludes: «The Cdr of this newspaper will always fight to ensure that there are no Tele-Presidents of any political colour, to rediscover the dignity of free journalists serving only the spectators who have the right to impartial and correct information».
Unirai’s response
Representatives of Unirai, the new centre-right public television union, responded to the Cdr’s statement, denying their colleagues’ version. «Reporting violations may perhaps play into the hands of some politician at the gas pipe, but it is certainly not a good service to citizens», writes the secretary Francesco Palese, «citizens who demonstrate that they do not believe in these campaigns, as well as Rai employees who they recently rejected the TeleOssessionati party in the elections for the employee representative on the Board of Directors. Rainews24 has never been sanctioned in the past and even today operates in compliance with laws and regulations.”
