Minzolini having a friendly tête à tête with Berlusconi? So what’s so strange about that? A member of the Agcom Oversight Committee being advised by the Prime Minister to cancel the “Anno Zero” talk show? So what? We don’t need any further proof in order to be convinced that the television broadcasters (public or private) are being controlled and that the Directors are merely puppets being manipulated by the politicians. The only difference is that Berlusconi is more brazen, more of an asshole (after all, they have been tapping into his calls for the past 30 years yet he still gets caught out), more arrogant, more used to lying and having others lie on his behalf, than anyone else. The television and the newspapers are littered with puppet directors, with the likes of “Umilio” Fede, “Minchiolini” and “Vespasiani”. It is like a gallery of acquiescent language, disappearing news items and reliance on articles dishing up indigestible garbage.

The Master’s voices have become totally indistinguishable, all alike in their prostitution of the truth. The worst ones are those that are less obvious, those dressed in Camel overcoats and ties knotted a-la Nuvoletti. The red carpet rolled out for the De Bortoli of the overlooked news items and the Fabio Fazio-style thunderings without any subsequent questions. The Scalfaris that defend Napolitano’s constitutional aberrations, the mindless babblings of politicians like Ventroni, the self-approval of the Riottas, not forgetting “Il Sole 24 Ore” hailing Tremorti as economist of the year. Minzolini is innocuous because not even Gasparri would believe him and even Giovanardi would have his doubts. The real test is the Voghera housewife test. He has a face like that of the “Natural Born Killer” of the TV news. He is an evening appointment with bullshit that aids digestion even better than a Falqui sweet. One word (from him) is enough to make one want to tell him to piss off. But do we really want to get Minzolini off our television screens only to be replaced by Belpietro or Giordano, Feltri or Rossella? Why be satisfied with substitutes, with spokesmen or second row dancers? Berlusconi could just as easily replace Minzolini and the time he spends talking to him on the phone would be better spent addressing the television viewers. Then, in the interests of equality, Fini could appear on the early and late night TG2 news and Bersani and D’Alema (who are basically one and the same) could take turns appearing on the TG3 news.
The regime media has turned into the media regime. In order for the black hole of information to exist, there has to be a number of managed Managers, as well as a huge number of stupid arseholes. In Italia we have plenty of both.