The reform of public service broadcasting in Italy

Abstract

This thesis provides an overview to a series of reforms undertaken at RAI (Radiotelevisione Italiana), the Italian public service broadcasting company between June 1993 and April 1996. The reform process began as a direct result of the collapse of the Christian Democrats and its coalition partners after 45 years of continuous government and was initiated by the centre-left 'Technocrat' government led by the former governor of the Bank of Italy, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi (April 1993 to May 1994); it was also continued by the centre-right Berlusconi government (May 1994 to December 1994) and by the centre-left Dini technocrat government (January 1995 to April 1996). The research aims to focus on two related topics in order to fully explain the broad social, economic and political context within which the reforms took place. Firstly, especial interest wil be given to an historical analysis of public service provision in Italy in the light of the twin pressures coming from the state and market. Historically, these twin pressures have had a detrimental effect on public service broadcasting in Italy. Secondly, the research also focuses on the impact of the reform process on the functioning of public service broadcasting in Italy. It identifies four areas of RAJ's operations which merit special attention: the system of political occupation, the so-called lottizzazione; the internal network system; the devolution of Raitre; and RAI and Fininvest-Mediaset duopoly. This thesis uses a combination of qualitative and quantitative methodologies, including primary and secondary analysis and interviews with key architects of the reform process.