RAI Channel 1 Director Andrea
Fabiano said Wednesday the public broadcaster must obtain signed
release forms from its subjects and interviewees before and not
after the interview takes place.
"The rule has been in place since April 6," Fabiano told
the parliamentary RAI oversight commission.
RAI's flagship Channel 1 came under scrutiny after it
emerged that the son of renowned mobster Totò Riina signed the
release form only after personally reviewing his taped interview
with journalist Bruno Vespa for his Porta a Porta talk show,
which aired exactly a week ago.
Critics of the controversial interview said it tacitly
justified the mafia instead of condemning it.
Also on Wednesday, Fabiano told the commission he approved
Vespa's plan to interview Riina Jr. as a way to delve into the
reality of the Mafia way of life for the purposes of providing
information to the public as per the public broadcaster's
mandate.
"This was the sole intention," he told lawmakers. "Other
motivations would be genetically incompatible with RAI (which in
its entirety) stands on the side of the anti-mafia (struggle) -
a duty, a value and a responsibility we are fully aware of".
Former national anti-mafia prosecutor and Senate Speaker
Pietro Grasso harshly denounced last Wednesday's interview and
said that he had always had to sign a release form prior to
being interviewed.
Grasso said maybe Salvo Riina was allowed to sign after
the interview to give him a chance to cover up any incriminating
revelations he may have made inadvertently.
The interview also sparked numerous street protests.
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