RAI also rapped over drilling referendum (2)

(ANSA) - Rome, April 28 - Italy's media watchdog AGCOM has reprimanded RAI public broadcaster for inadequate coverage of a campaign leading up to an April 17 offshore oil drilling referendum that flopped, Media Oversight Committee Chair Roberto Fico, who is from the anti-establishment 5-Star Movement (M5S), said Thursday. "AGCOM issued harsh criticism of RAI reporting quality on the drilling referendum," he wrote on Facebook. The referendum was requested by coastal regions and environmentalists concerned over offshore platforms' harmful effects on the marine ecosystem on which Italy's fishing and tourist industries depend. The government urged voters to boycott it so it wouldn't reach the necessary quorum.
    Fico pointed out that leading talk shows such as Agorà and Unomattina gave wrong or misleading information about the referendum.
    "They diminished its national importance and failed to live up to standards of impartiality and correctness," he said.