Rai Under Political Siege: CEO Speaks Out

"For weeks, Rai has been the victim of a daily political war aimed at destroying it," explains Rai CEO, Roberto Sergio, in a conversation with La Stampa following the censorship case of the April 25 monologue by writer Antonio Scurati. And on this matter, the CEO announces that "what happened cannot end here" and that "by Monday I have requested a report, drastic measures will be taken." In fact, according to Sergio, it is "surreal, surreal how it could happen, it is necessary to investigate and provide answers. Whoever made a mistake will pay." Serena Bortone reads Scurati's monologue at the start of the broadcast: "She gave me the text she had written for us," Regarding the censored monologue, "no one informed me. I learned about the Scurati case," he says, "from the post that journalist Serena Bortone published on social media profiles. It should have been handled differently. We can also discuss the request for one thousand and eight hundred euros for a minute on the broadcast, whether it was excessive or not or not compatible with Rai standards, and therefore also ethically unacceptable, but I certainly would not have censored it. "I would have aired it and would have asked Serena Bortone, if necessary, for a rebalancing according to the regulations governing equal treatment." Finally, on the possible political interferences by the government, the Rai CEO assures that "I have never received interventions or phone calls from the government majority to influence choices on programs, presenters, or topics of any kind."