Italy drops in press freedom rankings

Last week Italian TV channel RAI lost two leading profiles that resigned in protest of Silvio Berlusconi’s increasingly strong grip on Italian media. The chairman of the board at RAI, Lucia Annunziata, said that RAI had become a “mailbox for Berlusconi’s demands”.

Accordingly, Italy now drops in Freedom House’s press freedom rankings. For the first time since 1988 a Western European country apart from Turkey is now ranked “partly free”. The press in all countries in Western Europe apart from Italy and Turkey are considered “free”.

Link via Phil’s Place.