Lucia Annunziata, a former RAI political programming host and news editor, has been appointed president of RAI, its second president in less than two weeks, it was reported by the HOLLYWOOD REPORTER. Italy's two parliamentary chambers named her the chief executive a day after Paolo Mieli stepped down as RAI president only five days after he was appointed. Mieli claimed political and the technical difficulties spurred his resignation. It has been widely speculated the underlying reason for the upheaval at RAI is due to the pressure prime minister Silvio Berlusoni supposedly exerts on the RAI channels. The prime minister controls Mediaset, RAI's main private rival. A few weeks ago former RAI president Antonio Baldassarre stepped down amid political pressures. Annunziata was a news exec with AP-Biscom, an Italian news agency reflecting the merger of Associated Press and E-Biscom. She was a correspondent for LA REPUBBLICA, MANIFESTO and LA CORRIERE DELLA SERA.
