The Life and Career of Franco Di Mare: From Journalist to Rai Director

Who is Franco Di Mare? He is a professional journalist since 1983. In 1980 he began working at l'Unità as a judicial reporter. The following year, he started collaborating as a correspondent from Naples also for the AGA (Associated Newspapers Agency) and for Radiocor (Economic and Financial Press Agency). Mesothelioma, the rare tumor (related to asbestos) suffered by Franco Di Mare: symptoms and treatments. Entering Rai In 1991, he joined Rai at the foreign editorial office of TG2, where in 1995 he took on the role of special correspondent covering the Balkan War. Here he may have contracted the disease he is suffering from now. In 2002, he moved to TG1, following most of the conflicts of the last twenty years: Bosnia, Kosovo, Somalia, Mozambique, Algeria, Albania, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Rwanda, the first and second Gulf War, Afghanistan, East Timor, the Middle East, and Latin America. Throughout his journalistic career, he has covered international politics, serving as a correspondent during failed coups in Latin America, presidential election campaigns in the United States, France, Bulgaria, and Algeria. Documentaries He has been the author of reports and documentaries on national (Sicily, Campania, Calabria, and Puglia) and international organized crime (Germany, Russia, and Bulgaria). He has conducted investigations and reports following terrorist attacks in Japan, Russia, Kenya, Egypt, the United States, and the Middle East, as well as reportages from areas hit by natural disasters like Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Alabama, India, Anatolia, and Louisiana. Interviews He has interviewed eminent personalities from the world of politics and culture such as Tony Blair, Shimon Peres, Jacques Chirac, Yasser Arafat, Condoleezza Rice, Tzavo Mbeki, Naguib Mahfouz, Amos Oz, Jorge Amado, Eli Vizer. Hosting in Rai In 2003, he became a television host on Rai 1, where he led Unomattina Estate, Uno Mattina weekend and then from 2004 Uno Mattina. From 2005 to 2009, he hosted Sabato e domenica, a leading information and current affairs program in the morning slot - broadcast on Rai 1 - on weekends from 6:30 to 9:30. Since 2005, he has hosted the TG1 news segments within Uno Mattina on Rai 1 (three slots with news and insights), a role he also held for the 2010-2011 season. Promotion On July 20, 2019, he became the new deputy director of Rai 1, with a mandate for in-depth reports and investigations. From January 14, 2020, he is the general director of Rai's daytime programs. On May 15, 2020, he took over the direction of Rai 3. On June 19, 40 years after the Ustica Massacre, he hosted the special Volo Itavia 870 on Rai 3. Personal Life He was born on July 8, 1955, in Naples. His zodiac sign is Leo. He is 1.77 m tall. He has been romantically linked to Giulia Berdini (2017- today) and Alessandra Di Mare (1997- 2012). He has a daughter, Stella Di Mare. He has 3 brothers, one of whom is named Gino. Relationships At 35, when he was sent to Sarajevo to document the war in Bosnia, he decided to adopt a ten-month-old girl he met in an orphanage in the city. Stella is today the adopted daughter of Franco Di Mare. At that time, the journalist was engaged with Alessandra Di Mare, his wife until 2012. In 2017, he met Giulia Berdini, head of catering services in Rai. There is a 36-year age difference between them, and they made their relationship official the following year.