There is a new book which I am very keen to get my hands on. It is a book which analyses the change in the main Italian news program, TG1, written by one of its leading journalists, Giulio Borrelli. Its name, "The hands on TG1", makes it very clear that the change Borrelli is describing is not one he is particularly proud of.

This is a transformation which, however, is far from over. The latest episode is the resignation of Maria Luisa Busi, who has decided that she will no longer be reading the 8pm news. This resignation follows the decision by the TG1 editor, Augusto Minzolini, to remove two other well-known journalists, Tiziana Ferrario and Paolo Di Giannantonio, and to replace them with other journalists who some see as more loyal to the right-wing coalition.

Maria Luisa Busi's letter which accompanied the resignation is a strong accusation. She claims that "real Italy has been cancelled" and that TG1 is now mostly "a combination of infotainment (a mixture of information and entertainmnet) and of politically biased reporting". For this reason she can only withdraw her face from an editorial line she disagrees with.

The TG1 editor has replied saying that he is simply aiming to renew the news. However, the case is already shaking RAI buildings. RAI president, Paolo Garimberti, has accused TG1 of concealing some news from the public. Still, given the fact that the Board has a government-leaning majority, it is unlikely that the editor will be replaced. 

TG1 has often been the mirror image of Italian government. As the main news channel in Italy it has often reflected the views of the parties in power, without, however, creating too much unhappiness among the opposition (or among the other stakeholders in the Italian democracy, namely the Trade Unions or the Church). Lately, however, more than a mirror, TG1 has become a looking glass to get a good insight in the world of Italian media.

The TG1 strifes and the removal of some well-known journalists reflect the growing polarisation of the media and the fact that, even more than in the past, political allegiance counts more than professionality. It is the symbol of a world, that of Italian journalists, which is in a deep crisis and which needs to look for the shadow of politics to overcome its financial and, indeed, professional difficulties.