Friday 11 June 2010 Roy Greenslade
Italian media are up in arms over a law curbing police wiretaps and imposing fines for news organisations that publish transcripts. Many journalists view it as an attempt by prime minister Silvio Berlusconi to gag them.
The law, which passed a first hurdle with a confidence vote in the Senate yesterday, is hotly contested not only by most media but also by magistrates who say it will greatly hamper their fight against corruption and organised crime.
The left-leaning La Repubblica ran an almost blank front page with only a tiny "post-it" style yellow memo reading: "The gagging law will deny citizens the right to be informed".
Corriere della Sera called it "a dark day" for justice and L'Unita, paper of the largest opposition party, ran its headline with typeface that was used when Benito Mussolini ran Italy and controlled the media.
Berlusconi maintains that new rules are needed to protect privacy, but the opposition accuses the government of scrambling to cover up corruption.
The journalists' union has called a strike on 9 July and vowed "all-out, unending resistance".
The law carries penalties of more than €450,000 for publishers and up to €20,000 for journalists who flout the ban. Anyone who records or films without the approval of the person who is being recorded or filmed may also be jailed.
Only "professional journalists" (journalists belonging to the state-approved, corporatist Italian National Order of Journalists) would be allowed to record and film individuals without previous authorisation.
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