Editto Bulgaro
Encyclopedia
The Editto Bulgaro also going under the name of "the Bulgarian Ukase
" in Italian
newspaper
s, was a statement of Silvio Berlusconi
, at the time Prime Minister of Italy
, about the behavior of some journalist
s and television
stars in the Italian media system, which was pronounced during a press conference with Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha
, at the time Prime Minister
of Bulgaria
, on 18 April 2002.
cancelled Biagi's, Santoro's and Luttazzi's shows, officially because they were no longer competitive (though the figures portrayed very good results). Biagi and Santoro were allowed to work with RAI after Berlusconi's House of Freedoms
was defeated in the 2006 Italian general election
, but Daniele Luttazzi
is still banned from RAI
. He went back on TV briefly when the La7 network
hired him in 2007.
, and initially his show, Il fatto (the fact) was moved in a late time, then moved to the channel Rai Tre
and in the end cancelled. Feeling himself mocked by the RAI, he decided not to renegotiate his contract with the network. The contract expired on December 31, 2002.
Biagi continued to criticize Berlusconi in Italy's leading newspaper, Il Corriere della Sera, and was defended by the direction of the newspaper in an argument with Silvio Berlusconi.
He reappeared on television on May 26, 2005, when he was interviewed by Fabio Fazio for Che tempo che fa
of Rai Tre
. He returned to Fazio's program twice, demonstrating his affection for Rai, especially Rai Tre. He was invited to the show Rockpolitic along with Luttazzi and Santoro for an episode about freedom of press, but he declined to appear, citing health problems.
On April 22, 2007 he returned to TV with a program called RT - Rotocalco Televisivo (Television Magazine), but after seven episodes he could not continue due to his worsening health. He died ten days afterwards, on November 6, 2007, in Milan
, at the age of 87.
, Berlusconi's party, sued RAI because of Santoro's show on six separate counts, which led to Santoro's dismissal.
Santoro sued RAI for unfair dismissal, and won the case in 2005, with a compensation of 1,400,000 € and the reintegration in the same time range in TV with the program Anno Zero.
Officially, the suspension of Luttazzi's show, as well as of Biagi's, were motivated by the necessity of RAI
to counter the competition (its main competitor being Silvio Berlusconi's Mediaset
). Moreover, Luttazzi's show had already generated controversy at least in two separate occasions: in parodying David Letterman's, he sniffed actress Anna Falchi
's panties after she'd taken them off and given them to him; in a later show, he simulated coprophagia
(actually eating chocolate). Such episodes were later used among the official motivations for the suspension of the show.
On the other hand, Luttazzi claims the real reason was his interview to journalist Marco Travaglio
, aired before the official start of 2001 general elections campaign
(an Italian law forbids to discuss political themes - outside political debates and ads - after the campaign has started). In this interview Travaglio talked about his book L'odore dei soldi ("The smell of money"), in which he questioned the obscure origin of Berlusconi's wealth at the beginning of his career, and the alleged liaisons of him and some of his closest aides with the Mafia
.
Following the interview, in fact, Luttazzi and Travaglio were sued separatedly by Silvio Berlusconi, his party Forza Italia
, the enterprises Fininvest
and Mediaset
(directly linked to Berlusconi) and Giulio Tremonti
(later appointed minister by Berlusconi). The two were accused, among the rest, of having damaged Berlusconi's image during the campaign as well as the image of the above mentioned enterprises. Both Luttazzi and Travaglio were later ruled not guilty (according to the judges, all they had told in the interview was based on true facts and documents, and the interview took place before the official beginning of the campaign). A later edition of L'odore dei soldi triumphantly read on the cover "the authors released [from any accusation], Berlusconi ruled to pay for legal expenses".
Daniele Luttazzi
is still banned from RAI
. He went back on TV in 2007, when the new general election were won by Romano Prodi and his centre-left coalition. The network La7 hosted some episodes of his new show, Decameron, until its abrupt cancellation in December. The official motivation was a crude joke addressed to journalist Giuliano Ferrara, a well-known supporter of Berlusconi and former Minister for the Relationship [of the government] with the Parliament. Ferrara hosted his own show on La7, Otto e Mezzo ("Half past Eight", after the time in which the show's usually aired), and the network claimed that Luttazzi, by offending him with the above-mentioned joke, had gone too far.
Luttazzi claims the alleged offence to Ferrara is a scapegoat, as the next episode of his show was going to focus on the pope, hinting that the network wanted to prevent that episode from being aired.
Ukase
A ukase , in Imperial Russia, was a proclamation of the tsar, government, or a religious leader that had the force of law...
" in Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
newspaper
Newspaper
A newspaper is a scheduled publication containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising. It usually is printed on relatively inexpensive, low-grade paper such as newsprint. By 2007, there were 6580 daily newspapers in the world selling 395 million copies a...
s, was a statement of Silvio Berlusconi
Silvio Berlusconi
Silvio Berlusconi , also known as Il Cavaliere – from knighthood to the Order of Merit for Labour which he received in 1977 – is an Italian politician and businessman who served three terms as Prime Minister of Italy, from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006, and 2008 to 2011. Berlusconi is also the...
, at the time Prime Minister of Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, about the behavior of some journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
s and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
stars in the Italian media system, which was pronounced during a press conference with Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha
Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha
Simeon Borisov of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, Tsar Simeon II or Simeon II of Bulgaria is an important political and royal figure in Bulgaria...
, at the time Prime Minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
of Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
, on 18 April 2002.
Statement
English translation
The aftermath
After this statement, the then-new management of RAIRAI
RAI — Radiotelevisione italiana S.p.A. known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane, is the Italian state owned public service broadcaster controlled by the Ministry of Economic Development. Rai is the biggest television company in Italy...
cancelled Biagi's, Santoro's and Luttazzi's shows, officially because they were no longer competitive (though the figures portrayed very good results). Biagi and Santoro were allowed to work with RAI after Berlusconi's House of Freedoms
House of Freedoms
The House of Freedoms , was a major Italian centre-right political and electoral alliance led by Silvio Berlusconi. It was initially composed of several political parties:*Forza Italia *National Alliance...
was defeated in the 2006 Italian general election
Italian general election, 2006
In the Italian general election, 2006 for the renewal of the two Chambers of the Parliament of Italy held on April 9 and April 10, 2006 the incumbent prime minister Silvio Berlusconi, leader of the center-right House of Freedoms, was narrowly defeated by Romano Prodi, leader of the center-left The...
, but Daniele Luttazzi
Daniele Luttazzi
Daniele Luttazzi , real name Daniele Fabbri, is an Italian theater actor, writer, satirist, illustrator and singer/songwriter. His stage name is a homage to musician and actor Lelio Luttazzi...
is still banned from RAI
RAI
RAI — Radiotelevisione italiana S.p.A. known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane, is the Italian state owned public service broadcaster controlled by the Ministry of Economic Development. Rai is the biggest television company in Italy...
. He went back on TV briefly when the La7 network
La7
La7 is an Italian television channel owned by Telecom Italia Media and operated by Telecom Italia.-History:In 2001, Lorenzo Pellicioli and Roberto Colaninno, of Telecom Italia announced they had acquired Telemontecarlo, in order to create a strong competitor against the six other national channels...
hired him in 2007.
The aftermath for Enzo Biagi
Enzo Biagi began a controversy with the RAIRAI
RAI — Radiotelevisione italiana S.p.A. known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane, is the Italian state owned public service broadcaster controlled by the Ministry of Economic Development. Rai is the biggest television company in Italy...
, and initially his show, Il fatto (the fact) was moved in a late time, then moved to the channel Rai Tre
Rai Tre
Rai 3 is part of RAI, the Italian government broadcasting agency, which owns other channels, such as Rai 1 and Rai 2 . Rai 3 first started transmissions on December 15, 1979. In the eighties it was under the predominant political influence of the Italian Communist Party...
and in the end cancelled. Feeling himself mocked by the RAI, he decided not to renegotiate his contract with the network. The contract expired on December 31, 2002.
Biagi continued to criticize Berlusconi in Italy's leading newspaper, Il Corriere della Sera, and was defended by the direction of the newspaper in an argument with Silvio Berlusconi.
He reappeared on television on May 26, 2005, when he was interviewed by Fabio Fazio for Che tempo che fa
Che tempo che fa
Che tempo che fa is a popular Italian television talk show hosted by the Italian television host Fabio Fazio and is broadcast live on Saturdays and Sundays on the Italian State TV Channel Rai Tre in Milan since 2003....
of Rai Tre
Rai Tre
Rai 3 is part of RAI, the Italian government broadcasting agency, which owns other channels, such as Rai 1 and Rai 2 . Rai 3 first started transmissions on December 15, 1979. In the eighties it was under the predominant political influence of the Italian Communist Party...
. He returned to Fazio's program twice, demonstrating his affection for Rai, especially Rai Tre. He was invited to the show Rockpolitic along with Luttazzi and Santoro for an episode about freedom of press, but he declined to appear, citing health problems.
On April 22, 2007 he returned to TV with a program called RT - Rotocalco Televisivo (Television Magazine), but after seven episodes he could not continue due to his worsening health. He died ten days afterwards, on November 6, 2007, in Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
, at the age of 87.
The aftermath for Michele Santoro
Forza ItaliaForza Italia
Forza Italia was a liberal-conservative, Christian democratic, and liberal political party in Italy, with a large social democratic minority, that was led by Silvio Berlusconi, four times Prime Minister of Italy....
, Berlusconi's party, sued RAI because of Santoro's show on six separate counts, which led to Santoro's dismissal.
Santoro sued RAI for unfair dismissal, and won the case in 2005, with a compensation of 1,400,000 € and the reintegration in the same time range in TV with the program Anno Zero.
The aftermath for Daniele Luttazzi
Luttazzi's show Satyricon was suspended in December 2002. Satyricon had high shares, with audience peaks of 7.5 millions.Officially, the suspension of Luttazzi's show, as well as of Biagi's, were motivated by the necessity of RAI
RAI
RAI — Radiotelevisione italiana S.p.A. known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane, is the Italian state owned public service broadcaster controlled by the Ministry of Economic Development. Rai is the biggest television company in Italy...
to counter the competition (its main competitor being Silvio Berlusconi's Mediaset
Mediaset
Mediaset S.p.A., known as Gruppo Mediaset in Italian, is an Italian-based media company which is the largest commercial broadcaster in the country...
). Moreover, Luttazzi's show had already generated controversy at least in two separate occasions: in parodying David Letterman's, he sniffed actress Anna Falchi
Anna Falchi
Anna Falchi is an Italian-Finnish model and film actress.-Career:Anna Falchi was born Anna Kristiina Palomäki in Tampere, Finland, the daughter of an Italian father and Finnish mother. In 1978, at the age of six, she moved to Italy with her family. She started her career as a model...
's panties after she'd taken them off and given them to him; in a later show, he simulated coprophagia
Coprophagia
Coprophagia or coprophagy is the consumption of feces, from the Greek κόπρος copros and φαγεῖν phagein . Many animal species practice coprophagia as a matter of course; other species do not normally consume feces but may do so under unusual conditions...
(actually eating chocolate). Such episodes were later used among the official motivations for the suspension of the show.
On the other hand, Luttazzi claims the real reason was his interview to journalist Marco Travaglio
Marco Travaglio
Marco Travaglio is an Italian investigative journalist, writer and commentator.-Biography:Travaglio was born in Turin. He started his career writing for Catholic publications such as Il nostro tempo , then worked for the renowned journalist Indro Montanelli for newspapers such as Il Giornale and...
, aired before the official start of 2001 general elections campaign
Italian general election, 2001
A national general election was held in Italy on May 13, 2001 to elect members of the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate of the Republic. The 14th Parliament of the Italian republic was chosen....
(an Italian law forbids to discuss political themes - outside political debates and ads - after the campaign has started). In this interview Travaglio talked about his book L'odore dei soldi ("The smell of money"), in which he questioned the obscure origin of Berlusconi's wealth at the beginning of his career, and the alleged liaisons of him and some of his closest aides with the Mafia
Mafia
The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
.
Following the interview, in fact, Luttazzi and Travaglio were sued separatedly by Silvio Berlusconi, his party Forza Italia
Forza Italia
Forza Italia was a liberal-conservative, Christian democratic, and liberal political party in Italy, with a large social democratic minority, that was led by Silvio Berlusconi, four times Prime Minister of Italy....
, the enterprises Fininvest
Fininvest
Fininvest is a financial holding company controlled by Silvio Berlusconi's family and managed by Silvio Berlusconi's eldest daughter Marina Berlusconi.-Structure:...
and Mediaset
Mediaset
Mediaset S.p.A., known as Gruppo Mediaset in Italian, is an Italian-based media company which is the largest commercial broadcaster in the country...
(directly linked to Berlusconi) and Giulio Tremonti
Giulio Tremonti
Giulio Tremonti is an Italian politician. He served in the government of Italy as Minister of Economy and Finance under Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi from 1994 to 1995, from 2001 to 2004, from 2005 to 2006, and from 2008 to 2011....
(later appointed minister by Berlusconi). The two were accused, among the rest, of having damaged Berlusconi's image during the campaign as well as the image of the above mentioned enterprises. Both Luttazzi and Travaglio were later ruled not guilty (according to the judges, all they had told in the interview was based on true facts and documents, and the interview took place before the official beginning of the campaign). A later edition of L'odore dei soldi triumphantly read on the cover "the authors released [from any accusation], Berlusconi ruled to pay for legal expenses".
Daniele Luttazzi
Daniele Luttazzi
Daniele Luttazzi , real name Daniele Fabbri, is an Italian theater actor, writer, satirist, illustrator and singer/songwriter. His stage name is a homage to musician and actor Lelio Luttazzi...
is still banned from RAI
RAI
RAI — Radiotelevisione italiana S.p.A. known until 1954 as Radio Audizioni Italiane, is the Italian state owned public service broadcaster controlled by the Ministry of Economic Development. Rai is the biggest television company in Italy...
. He went back on TV in 2007, when the new general election were won by Romano Prodi and his centre-left coalition. The network La7 hosted some episodes of his new show, Decameron, until its abrupt cancellation in December. The official motivation was a crude joke addressed to journalist Giuliano Ferrara, a well-known supporter of Berlusconi and former Minister for the Relationship [of the government] with the Parliament. Ferrara hosted his own show on La7, Otto e Mezzo ("Half past Eight", after the time in which the show's usually aired), and the network claimed that Luttazzi, by offending him with the above-mentioned joke, had gone too far.
Luttazzi claims the alleged offence to Ferrara is a scapegoat, as the next episode of his show was going to focus on the pope, hinting that the network wanted to prevent that episode from being aired.