Interim findings for media consultation in Rome

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Interim findings for media consultation in Rome

Media Representation

There are a number of distortions regarding how some social contexts are represented in the media: on the one hand the hierarchy of the news is made in accordance with principles which are too focused on domestic policy, on the other hand it is necessary to differentiate between traditional journalism and niche journalism. In the latter case, one can recognize a greater focus on different sections of society (especially with regard to the issue of immigration) which are generally presented according to a schematic that does not capture the complexity of the phenomenon. Secondly there is the question of who is defined as the recipient of the communication: there is a tendency to consider the reader / listener more as a voter rather than as a citizen / individual.

Proposals:

Greater involvement of foreign companies in the Italian media
-Opening of foreign offices of the Italian with local media personnel
-A reformulation of schedules which introduce in-depth programs scheduled at more accessible times
-An effort to find a new equilibrium which tends to replace the aforementioned schematic with a more critical approach

Pressure on journalists by political and economic powers

The world of journalistic communication is exposed first and foremost to the pressures of organized crime, which constitutes a real threat to the media which strive to represent reality in a faithful and detailed manner. Furthermore, Italy suffers from the absence of “pure” editors: the majority of media owners are the businessmen who are not specialized in this particular profession and their efforts in the publishing field are merely a means to protect their own interests.

Proposals:

-Initiatives to raise public awareness on the damage that the crisis of legality has on the freedom of information
-A reorganization of the regulatory framework that now allows a high level of insecurity within the journalistic profession
-The organization of events that confront journalists with public opinion in order to reduce the separation between represented realities and the lived realities of individuals

Public Sphere and Counterpower

The reader / listener has rights which s/he does not exercise, furthermore, there are also major difficulties in public opinion in their ability to influence the choice of news which is presented and discussed in-depth. In addition, there is a problem of controlling sources and failure of specialization on behalf of journalists. Finally, it is necessary to specify that, although it is a sign of vivaciousness, informal media can not replace traditional media because there must be a regulation which protects the accuracy of the information, as the Feltri- Boffo case has recently shown. The principle to protect is the realization that good information is the fundamental basis for critically choosing and to monitoring attacks that freedom and pluralism of media suffer.

Proposals:

-Take paths alternative to that of traditional media
-Impose the accuracy of information at least for scientific or objective data through readers and the introduction of observers appointed for this specific purpose
-Record the rate of change in news with objective errors and make a periodic report showing the virtuous and non virtuous media under this aspect

Pluralism and media concentration

The presence of monopolies in the media market is a widespread problem throughout Europe, but Italy is an anomaly that constitutes a threat to other countries, because the mechanisms that have allowed the evolution of this situation can be reproduced outside the peninsula.

Proposals:

– an information campaign at a European level to explain and raise awareness of citiznes of the Italian problems in this context

– a collection of signatures for popular initiative law that protects media pluralism in EU countries

– the creation of a European Authority or at least European standards governing the activities of the national authorities

-promoting European training for access to the journalistic profession