Michele Santoro says goodbye to RAI

This time it's almost done: Michele Santoro , journalist and host star, made ​​his farewell to the Italian public television. It was the outcome of years of tumultuous and passionate relationship with the management of RAI.Opening the last of his weekly show, "Annozero," Mr. Santoro said he had "yet signed a contract with anyone" , but the standing ovation that accompanied its release stage, Thursday, June 9, 23 h to 30 does not disappoint. The assumption, not contradicted, the imminent arrival of a journalist on La 7, owned by Telecom Italia Media, drove the company under almost 20% at the Milan Stock Exchange .

Mr. Santoro, 61, began his career in the early 1970s in a small Maoist newspaper.Its happened on TV ten years later and the "field visit" from Silvio Berlusconi in the early 1990s will make him the symbol and spokesman of the opposition to Berlusconi, although it will yield to the sirens Mediaset, the broadcasting group and editorial board whose chairman is the owner.

For nearly twenty years, he signed the heyday of public service. Driven from the antenna by Silvio Berlusconi in 2002, he became an MEP for two years left of center, before returning to television in 2006.

Journalist or politician? Mr. Santoro did not hide his sympathy or his critics in the Italian left. But it was Mr. Berlusconi himself, criticizing him recently of being a leader of the defeat of the right in local elections, which has ensured its success.By hoisting the rank of number one opponent, it has increased tenfold the hearing of "Annozero" (around 20%, while the general audience of the channel does not exceed 10% on average). His appointment was followed Thursday night by the front anti-Berlusconi as well as fans of "Cavaliere", wanting to see the face of their hated enemy. During the 2010-2011 season, the show has grossed more than 15 million euros in advertising revenue for RAI 2.

The arrival of La 7

This departure, described as "industrial accident" by the opposition, a sign the end of an era, when the RAI and Mediaset, both managed by political rather than economic priorities have become the battleground for the clash policy. Called "MediAR" or "Raiset" duopoly, controlled by Mr Berlusconi when he is in power, winning nearly 80% of Italian television audiences.

The arrival of the 7th to the early 2000s changed all that. Now, viewers have an alternative to the hysteresis in the media landscape confronting pro-and anti-Berlusconi. The success of log 20 hours of Enrico Mentana , like that of the political program "The Infedele" by Gad Lerner , shows that more and more Italians are relying more information dominated by the power political leaders and offers new opportunities.

But by choosing to desert the land of their classic confrontation weekly, Mr. Santoro Notes the breathlessness of Berlusconi understood as domination of the media."We can not always resist. The weather resistance is over" , has he said, citing the opposition victories in Milan and Naples. The post-Berlusconi can begin.