italy's state television rai and the need for reform
DESCRIPTION
With recent changes in its top management, Italy’s state broadcaster, RAI, has come back into the spotlight. As usual, discussions revolve around appointments and their political dependence. But how does the Italian state television work, and who is in charge of appointment procedures?This slide-show is a preview of the project "Media in Italy and the digital challenge", which quattrogatti.info has carried out with the support of the Open Society Foundation. The project is divided in three main episodes, focussing on information sources, digital terrestrial television and online journalism.TRANSCRIPT
21 June 2012
By Gianluca MartellianoAnd Davide MorisiWith the support of
Media in Italy and the digital challenge
Italy’s state television RAIand the need for reform
Italy’s state television RAI and the need for reform – 21 June 2012
www.quattrogatti.info
The Mapping Digital Media project
In this first presentation we concentrate on Italy’s state broadcaster RAI and recent proposals for reform.
In early 2011 the Open Society Foundation (OSF) launched the Mapping Digital Media project to examine the global opportunities and risks created by the transition from traditional to digital media.
Among the 60 countries in the study, the situation in Italy was analysed in a detailed report published in October 2011.
Thanks to funding from OSF quattrogatti.info has developed a series of slide-shows and videos highlighting key aspects of this report as well as new data and analysis.
Italy’s state television RAI and the need for reform – 21 June 2012
www.quattrogatti.info
New appointments, old procedures
As the mandate of the RAI board is coming to an end, potential candidates are being thrown into the arena.
For the first time Parliament prepares to select the new Board with candidates selected not only by political parties but also by civil society.
It is therefore worth understanding how RAI works, and, especially, why a reform of the Italian public service broadcaster is urgent.
Photo by ginozar
Italy’s state television RAI and the need for reform – 21 June 2012
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RAI started regular television broadcasting in 1954 and is still the exclusive concessionaire of public radio and television.
As established by its statute, Rai-Radiotelevisione Italiana is a limited company, controlled:• 99. 56% by the Ministry of Economy,• 0.44% by SIAE (the Italian society of authors and publishers).The radio and television law (decree law. 177/2005) and the so-called Gasparri Law (Law n. 112/2004) define its function and main roles, including producing programmes «devoted to education, information, training and cultural promotion».
A limited company
Italy’s state television RAI and the need for reform – 21 June 2012
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Who pays?
2. Rai,official data, Bilancio 2010. According to a study by the Italian taxpayers’ association (2012) the percentage of those that do not pay the license fee is as high as 87% in some regions.
RAI is more than half financed by television license fees which in 2010 accounted for more than 1.5 billion euros.
While the fee (112 euros) is in the European average, record numbers avoid paying, with an average of 25/30% compared to 10% throughout Europe2.
As well as sustaining the public service function the licence fee also helps RAI not to exceed the 12% per hour advertising limit in prime time (while private TV reaches 18%).
Sources of RAI funding 2010
(Total revenue: 3012 million euros)
Li-cence fee56%
Ad-vertis-
ing 34%
Copyrights
3%
Other 7%
Source: RAI’s 2010 Budget (“Bilancio Rai 2010”)
Italy’s state television RAI and the need for reform – 21 June 2012
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Who is in charge?
Director GeneralAnswers to the Board for company management
and supervision.
3 year renewable term
Network directorsIn charge of
programming for channels
News directors
The BoardGuarantees public service broadcasting.
9 members (including the President) with a renewable mandate of 3 years.Appoints the Director General, network and news directors
7 2
Parliamentary committee(“Commissione di Vigilanza”)
40 members among senators and MPs(the head is chosen from the ranks of the opposition)
Appoints 7 members of the Board.Elects the President of the Board whose name is
indicated by the Ministry of Economy
Ministry of Economy
Appoints to members of the Boards.
Indicates the President of the Board
+
Sources: lo statuto della Rai, Testo Unico della radiotelevisione (d. lgs. 177/2005)
Italy’s state television RAI and the need for reform – 21 June 2012
www.quattrogatti.info
Parceling out appointments
As the previous slide shows, RAI is almost completely controlled by political parties by means of the appointment of the members of the Board by Parliament and Government.
In Italy this political control has ended up by producing a system known as «lottizzazione». This means the parceling out of the key posts on the basis of party membership rather than skill and experience.
3. See Open Society Foundation, “Mapping Digital Media – Italy”, page 10
This practice is «incompatible with the Council of Europe guidelines to guarantee the indipendence of public servicve broadcasters»3.
Italy’s state television RAI and the need for reform – 21 June 2012
www.quattrogatti.info
Privatisation of RAI has been repeatedly discussed as a drastic remedy for party control. However, considering other broadcasters such as the BBC it is clear that state ownership does not necessarily mean a lack of independence.
The difference between RAI and the BBC lies in the way the Board is selected.
In the case of the BBC, the process is:•Open (anyone can apply);•Public (the position is published online);•Transparent (all the Board CVs can be consulted online).
Together with the management structure of the BBC these criteria contribute to making public corporations accountable to citizens and to ensuring Board members are competent and free of party interference.
Public but transparent TV
Italy’s state television RAI and the need for reform – 21 June 2012
www.quattrogatti.info
The BBC model: an example for PSBs?
Royal Charter, the «constitution» of the BBCGuarantees independence, defines the functions of the BBC Trust and the Executive Board, defines the public service mission: “to inform, educate,
entertain”
BBC TrustDefines strategies, approves the budget,
guarantees that the BBC is managed in the interest of the public
12 members selected through an open selection process (selected candidates are
approved by the Ministry, the Prime Minister and finally by the Queen)
Appoints the Director General and approves the appointment of the 5 non-executive
directors in the Executive Board
Executive BoardManages the BBC according to strategies defined by the Trust
11 members selected through public calls:
• one Director General• 5 internal executive
directors• 5 external non-executive
directors
Fonti: BBC, BBC Trust
Italy’s state television RAI and the need for reform – 21 June 2012
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In early 2012 Prime Minister 2012 described RAI as «a striking example of a corporation that needs reform». As interim Minister of Economy he appointed the new RAI president, Anna Maria Tarantola, and – stretching the rules – the Director General, Carlo Gubitosi.
At present, however, there is still no clear vision of when and how RAI will be reformed and the new Board has not yet been appointed.
A reform that hasn’t happened (yet)
4. The main RAI reform still dates back to 1975 (Law 103/1975). This reform shifted control over public broadcasting from government to parliament and confirmed the state monopoly. In 2004 the Gasparri law partially reintroduced the Government’s control in the appointment of two Board members.
In order to reform RAI and free it from political interference a structural change is necessary, following the latest reforms4.
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Italy’s state television RAI and the need for reform – 21 June 2012
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Reform proposals (1)
The Communication Regulator, Agcom, has also tried to unsuccesfully promote reform to free RAI from “endogenous political influence”6.
5. See Vogliamotrasparenza.it6. Agcom, 2005-2012, Presentation by the President Corrado Calabrò
The Open Media Coalition has made strenuous calls for changing the selection procedure for the RAI Board. The coalition gathering associations defending pluralism and freedom of information asks parliament and the government to select the new board through “an open, transparent and rigorous selection process”5.
Italy’s state television RAI and the need for reform – 21 June 2012
www.quattrogatti.info
Reform proposals (2)
7. Moveonitalia.wordpress.com
MoveOn Italia, a group inspired by the progressive America organisation, proposes a radical reform in five pillars 7:
1. Abolish the anomaly of the Ministry of Ecomomy as the majority pubic service shareholder.
2. Create an Audiovisual Communications Council to replace the current Parliamentary Committee to include members elected from license fee payers, professionals, local institutions and parliament.
3. The council would appoint RAI’s Board members by means of a public selection process
4. The Council would appoint the members of Agcom5. The Council would be accountable to license fee payers
Italy’s state television RAI and the need for reform – 21 June 2012
www.quattrogatti.info8. See Open Society Foundation, “Mapping Digital Media – Italy”, pag. 94
The Open Society Foundation is also convinced the RAI needs “profound reform” and suggests four pillars8:
1. Introduce a new appointment procedure that will strengthen the guarantees of competence and independence of the board members and the director general.
2. Identify more clearly the public service obligations and start the privatization of the purely commercial part of RAI.
3. Ensure that viewers are allowed to take effective part in developing public service policies.
4. Guarantee sufficient resources for public service innovation and the complete digitization of Italian television.
Reform proposals (3)
Italy’s state television RAI and the need for reform – 21 June 2012
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Conclusions
As the neverending disputes over RAI’s reform have shown, changing the Italian public service broadcaster risks becoming an impossible task.
In nearly 40 years of debate free radio, the Internet and digital TV have taken over. The world has changed and RAI has changed very little.
The proposals mentioned before share three key concepts which would be essential to change Italian public service broadcaster:•Transparency•Efficiency• Meritocracy
Drawing on these basic, but key foundations RAI can be reformed into a truly independent television, working exclusively in the interest of the public.
Italy’s state television RAI and the need for reform – 21 June 2012
www.quattrogatti.info
Open Society Foundation:• Mapping Digital Media – Italy
(Report in English / Report in Italian, non-updated version)
Rai:•Statuto Sociale•Decalogo: il canone di abbonamento Rai•Bilancio 2010•Testo Unico della radiotelevisione (d. lgs. 177/2005) •Legge Gasparri (Legge 3 maggio 2004, n.112)
•Vogliamotrasparenza.it
•MoveOn Italia
•Agcom, Relazione annuale 2011
Useful links
Thanks!
If you appreciated the presentation forward it to your friends and support our project!
We thank Iginio Gagliardone (Oxford University)and Oreste Pollicino (Università Bocconi) for comemnts
To contact the authors : [email protected]
To participate: [email protected]
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