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Media for All conference: Silvio's Back
DATELINE: 14/10/09
Two sessions at the Media For All conference are now more timely than ever. Alexander Stille, the author of The Sack of Rome, one of the best books on Berlusconi is a keynote speaker in the opening session at the conference and one of the workshops, European Media Rules, has Aidan White, General Secretary of the International Federation of Journalists, which sent a fact-finding mission to Italy to investigate threats to independent journalism and Alison Harcourt, an expert of European media regulation, from Exeter University.Silvio Berlusconi is back centre-stage – in fact he is a rarely out of the news these days.On 7 October 2009 Italy's constitutional court decided that the law passed in 2008 granting parliamentary immunity to the Italian prime minister was at odds with the country's constitution.Berlusconi was already under pressure over the scandal of his relationships with young women and his harassment of media critical of him. His response to both issues is the same - to present himself as the victim and to rail against ‘leftists’ who distract him from doing his job.One piece worth reading identifies the problems posed by a politician, corporate tycoon and media showman who had dominated Italian public life for years. Geoff Andrews is a perceptive observer of Italian politics, and Berlusconi in particular. He is the author of Not A Normal Country: Italy after Berlusconi (Pluto 2005) and writes regularly for Open Democracy. His most recent piece, well worth reading, is Silvio Berlusconi: The last battle.The other news is the launch of a European-wide campaign for Press Freedom.It has won significant support from a group of MEPs who will launch a debate on the dire situation for media freedom in Italy. They have produced a dossier, The State of the Media in Italy: A European Problem (well worth reading too).Finally another piece, ‘La Dolce Berlusconi’ by Anne Applebaum, in The Washington Post:"Of course, Berlusconi also has at least one tool that none of the others have: popular television. He controls three mainstream channels and various digital channels because he owns them. He also in effect controls state television because he is the prime minister. There are newspapers, magazines and late-night talk shows that criticize him, but they don't reach the same numbers of people: Much like his friend Vladimir Putin, the Russian prime minister, he doesn't try to exert influence over all of the media, just the media that reach most of the voters."That may not determine the outcome of elections, but it sure helps. It has also made Italy the center of the largest movement for press freedom outside the former Soviet Union."LINKSLa Dolce Berlusconi
Europe-wide press freedom campaign
Silvio Berlusconi: The last battle
Last modified: Wednesday, October 14, 2009
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Notices
Events & Announcements
World Press Freedom Day
More reporters are currently imprisoned in Turkey than in any other country in the world. Only a matter of weeks ago lawyers failed to persuade a Turkish court to release a 76-year-old journalist from a Turkish internet news station.
World Press Freedom Day on Friday May 3, 2013 is being marked in Britain by a rally to highlight the dangers facing journalists in Turkey and in this podcast, Nicholas Jones speaks to Barry White, Organiser at the Campaign for Press and Broadcasting Freedom, and Sam Bamford, the TUC's policy officer for Eastern Europe and Africa about the importance of a campaign to highlight international press freedom.
The World Press Freedom Day rally is being staged by the National Union of Journalists at the NUJ head office, Gray’s Inn Road, London WC1 on Thursday May 2, 6pm-8pm.
DATELINE: 27/4/13
UK launch of EU media campaign
DATELINE: 13/3/13
The UK launch of a 'European Citizens' Initiative' calling for EU rules against concentration of media power will take place on Thursday March 21 from 11:00am – 12:30pm in Committee Room 4A at the House of Lords, London. Guest speakers will include actor and activist Hugh Grant (pictured), media consultant Claire Enders, Professor Steven Barnett, Barry McCall (President of the NUJ) and Marc Gruber (Director of the European Federation of Journalists).
A European Citizens' Initiative is an official petition, like a Downing Street petition. If it succeeds in gathering a million signatures across the EU, the Commission is obliged to respond.
This petition calls for the EU to act to protect media pluralism and press freedom.
CPBF Annual General Meeting
DATELINE: 1/3/13
Make a note in your diary
Saturday 13 July 2013 from 10.00am
NUJ HQ, 308/312 Gray's Inn Road, London WC1.
Leveson, media ownership, CPBF future work.
DOWNLOAD FREEPRESS NOW
DATELINE: 26/3/10
Download Freepress in PDF, ePub or mobi format. Issue 194 now available.
MEDIA FOR ALL CONFERENCE
DATELINE: 26/3/10
Papers from the Media for All Conference
MEDIA MANIFESTO
DATELINE: 26/3/10
The media’s job is to inform and entertain us but we rely on them too to tell us what our rulers and representatives are up to. In the run-up to the Iraq war the government used spin and disinformation in the media to create panic and mislead people. The truth is coming out now, but we need stronger, more independent media to be able to scrutinise governments and make informed choices.
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Previous stories
Media Ownership
Passion and humour in fight to save Observer
Economic stimulus plan needed for local journalism
New threat to media ownership rules
Conservative media plans will damage journalism
Government acts on future of regional media
NUJ in government talks to save local media
Journalists urged to find 'back to basics' business model
Local media ownership review looks at survival of newspapers
Local media ownership rules 'likely to be relaxed'
BSkyB loses appeal ruling
Appeals tribunal rules BSkyB must sell ITV stake
Tribunal to rule on BSkyB's ITV stake
TUC condemns erosion of civil liberties and press freedom
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Lords take stand against media barons
BBC Trust concludes its review of bbc.co.uk
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Sky and Virgin go to law
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BSkyB and ITV
BSkyB and ITV
Campaign welcomes government ruling on ITV shares
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Murdoch and ITV
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