Freedom of Press: Italy in 46th Place, Behind Armenia, Fiji, Tonga
Compared to the previous report, Italy drops five positions to just ahead of Poland
Italy is ranked 46th out of 180 countries in the World Press Freedom Index published on Friday, May 3, by Reporters Sans Frontieres (Reporters Without Borders, RSF). The report was launched on the occasion of “World Press Freedom Day.” It was declared in 1993 by the UN General Assembly to emphasize the importance of press freedom and to remind governments of their obligation to uphold and enforce freedom of expression as enshrined in Article 19 of the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
In the RSF’s annual ranking, Italy has dropped five places from 2023 behind Armenia, Fiji, and the Kingdom of Tonga, but in front of Poland, Croatia, and Romania.
The total number of points scored by Italy has grown from 41 to 46. Italy was penalized in particular because of a legislative framework that was “significantly below” other indicators (27th place). “Press freedom in Italy,” the RSF report said, “continues to be threatened by mafia organizations, particularly in the south of the country, as well as by various small, violent extremist groups. Journalists also denounce attempts by politicians to obstruct their freedom to cover judicial cases by means of a ‘gag law’ – ‘legge bavaglio’ – on top of the SLAPP procedures that are common practice in Italy.”
SLAPP (similar to “slap”) is a term formed from the acronym Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation. It denotes legal actions aimed at blocking participation in public life. Winning is not the primary goal of this action. The goal is to intimidate the opponent (according to RSF journalists) and stifle public debate. SLAPP is not based on actual legal reasons.
Overall, the RSF analysts write, “the Italian media landscape is developed and has a wide range of media outlets that guarantee a diversity of opinions. The broadcast sector includes several public TV channels (such as RAI 1) and radio stations, as well as many privately owned media outlets. This diversity is also found in the print media, which includes nearly 20 dailies (such as Corriere della Sera and La Repubblica), about 50 weeklies (such as L’Espresso and Famiglia Cristiana), and many magazines and various news websites.”
Regarding the “political context” of journalistic work in Italy, RSF noted that “for the most part, Italian journalists enjoy a climate of freedom. But they sometimes give in to self-censorship, either to conform to their news organization’s editorial line, or to avoid a defamation suit or other form of legal action. This can be aggravated for crime and court reporters by the ‘gag law’ advocated by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s ruling coalition.”
The law “prohibits the publication of a provisional detention order until the end of the preliminary court hearing.”
The first three places in the ranking are taken by Scandinavian countries: Norway, Denmark, and Sweden. Rounding out the list are Afghanistan and Syria, with Eritrea at the last step.
