Transport Minister Danilo
Toninelli said Friday the government would force newspapers to
divulge the names of all those who fund them.
Toninelli is a leading figure in the anti-establishment
5-Star Movement (M5S) which has vowed to make media funding
transparent and uncover allegedly biased interests.
On Monday Deputy Premier and Labour and Industry Minister
Luigi Di Maio, the M5S leader, blasted Italian newspapers'
coverage of the government and said legislation is on the way to
ensure media organs are not seeking to further hidden economic
interests.
"The operation to discredit this government continues without
rest," Di Maio said on Facebook.
"The newspaper publishers have their hands in the pasta
everywhere in State concessions: motorways, telecommunications,
energy, water.
"The order to attack the M5S with any type of falsehood and
conjecture came from the owners.
"This is no longer free journalism.
"It is necessary to have a law to ensure the publishers are
pure (of other economic interests) and the journalists are free
to do investigations".
The M5S has frequently claimed that interests close to the
centre-left opposition Democratic Party (PD) are behind many
newspapers.
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