RAI Minus A President Again
Less than a week after Paolo Mieli was appointed president of Italian state broadcaster RAI, the former newspaper editor resigned as head of the network, citing "technical and political" reasons it was reported by the HOLLYWOOD REPORTER. The upheaval has been unfolding amid controversy over prime minister Silvio Berlusconi's supposed sway over RAI when he controls Mediaset, RAI's main private rival. Mieli is said to have accepted the post on the condition that he would be free to choose the appointee to the general director post, currently held by Angostino Sacca. He also wanted to put programs by journalists Enzo Biagi and Michele Santoro back on the air in primetime. Their shows had been pulled after the prime minister complained these journalists were biased against him. Last month, former RAI president Antonio Baldassarre stepped down amid criticism to move the pubcaster's RAI-2 station from Rome to Milan.