Media

Television is a potentially powerful tool in Italy

Italy's heady blend of politics and media has often made headlines at home and abroad, with concern regularly being expressed over the concentration of media ownership in the hands of one man - former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi.

Mr Berlusconi's Mediaset empire operates Italy's top private TV stations, and the public broadcaster, Rai, has traditionally been subject to political influence, so that when Mr Berlusconi was prime minister, he was able to exert tight control over both public and private broadcasting.

Between them, Rai and Mediaset dominate Italy's TV market and are a potentially powerful political tool, especially as 80% of the population is said to rely on television for its daily news - the highest percentage in the EU. From 2010-11 a more recent entry into the TV market with a strong emphasis on news and current affairs, La7, steadily increased its viewer ratings.

News Corp-owned Sky Italia has a near-monopoly of the pay-TV sector.

The Italian press is highly regionalised, reflecting the country's strongly regional history and character. Milan in particular is home to many dailies and news magazines. Most newspapers are privately-owned, often linked to a political party or run by a large media group. Newspaper readership figures are low compared to other European countries.

Around 2,500 commercial radio stations broadcast in Italy. Some have national coverage; most are music-based. They share the airwaves with public broadcaster Rai's networks.

Reporters Without Borders has warned of the "grip of mafia gangs" on the media, which it says forces many journalists to tread warily. And the Berlusconi government's attempts to introduce a "gag law" that would have restricted reporting based on material gained from police wiretaps gave rise to protests from freedom of expression campaigners.

By June 2012 there were 35.8 million internet users (Internetworldstats.com). Facebook is the most popular social media platform.

Summary:

La mezcla embriagadora de Italia de la política y los medios de comunicación a menudo ha sido noticia en el país y en el extranjero, debido a que esta solamente en manos de un solo hombre - el ex primer ministro Silvio Berlusconi.

El Imperio Mediaset de Berlusconi opera las principales cadenas de televisión privadas de Italia, y la cadena pública, Rai, ha sido tradicionalmente objeto de influencia política, de modo que cuando Berlusconi era primer ministro, él era capaz de ejercer un estricto control sobre tanto la radiodifusión pública y privada.

Propiedad de News Corp Sky Italia tiene casi un monopolio del sector de la televisión de pago.

La televisión es una herramienta potencialmente poderosa en Italia. El número de lectores de periódicos son bajos en comparación con otros países europeos. Tiene alrededor de 2.500 estaciones de radio comerciales transmitidos en Italia. 

Reporteros sin Fronteras ha advertido del "apretón de bandas mafiosas" en los medios de comunicación, lo que se dice obliga a muchos periodistas a andar con cautela. Y los intentos del gobierno de Berlusconi para introducir una "ley mordaza" que habría restringido el reporte basado en el material obtenido de las escuchas telefónicas de la policía dio lugar a protestas de activistas de la libertad de expresión.

En junio de 2012 había 35,8 millones de usuarios de Internet (Internetworldstats.com). Facebook es la plataforma de medios sociales más populares.