The trouble over Fazio's salary is not yet clear if, how and when it will be resolved. In the meantime, the real challenge now arises for the new Rai General Manager, Mario Orfeo.
The most important one began just a few days ago with the convening of the first internal meeting in Viale Mazzini aimed at starting the drafting of the working draft on the new service contract. As known, this is the most strategically important commitment for the life of the radio and television public service as far as it commits it to observe the operational indications contained in the recently approved Convention with the Ministry of Economic Development.
The service contract still in force dates back to 2010-2012 as the discussion on what should have been subscribed at the next natural expiry was suspended until, in 2014, the need to raise cash emerged through the sale of 36% of the shares of the subsidiary Rai Way. In the meantime, the regulatory and technological framework has evolved and quite a few innovations have appeared.
Let's see the salient points on which the working group is called to work. First of all, address the general framework of reference with a clear focal point: with this new Convention, basically, Rai is required to do more things with fewer economic resources. New services are requested, new services, against a substantially reduced fee - reduced to 90 Euros - compared to past years. Not only that, the disbursement of the same is granted on condition that a sort of "accounting audit" must take place every year. Through this mechanism, the company's industrial planning is made even more complex as it appears difficult to be able to count on uncertain and periodically variable resources. No company could bet on its future under certain conditions. In comparison with the Ministry and the other interested parties, this point appears decisive.
The service contract should, in fact, put into practice the general guidelines expressed by the Convention and, in this sense, the strategic challenge for Orfeo consists precisely in balancing the interests of the public requirement expressed by the Law with the ordinary and extraordinary management of Rai. It is no small matter and exactly in these terms that the credibility, strength and future of his management are at stake.
The key issues under discussion are the following. First of all, to associate the typical themes of the public service with the extension and strengthening towards new technologies and multimedia. That is, to assume the typical traits of that much-imagined media company. In this area there are all the editorial and information offers to be addressed both to the traditional audience of radio and television, and to so-called "new audiences" who today have a different, mobile, non-traditional approach and use of audiovisual products. And here the need to assign a greater share of typical "public service" programs in terms of genres, technological tools and recipients of the same (minors, vulnerable groups, linguistic minorities, etc.) appears under discussion at the working table. A related node is the need to guarantee 100% coverage of the broadcasting of radio and television signals on the national territory. This is a burning issue. also in view of the forthcoming introduction of new European regulations on the reallocation of frequencies around 700 Mhz which could change the cards on the table quite a bit.
Another topic at stake concerns the support that the Company can provide to the development of the country's digital education. Just as in its origins Rai contributed decisively to its literacy, in the same way today it can accompany the diffusion of digital knowledge. The Industry 4.0 project is mainly intended for private companies but Rai, albeit indirectly, cannot be exempt from participation.
There are then at stake the creation of new channels (which, moreover, should fall within the broader framework of the reorganization of the information offer) intended to make Rai closer to citizens on the one hand and to the vast public, not only national, on the other. This is the "institutional" channel where "politics" finds its voice, understood in its most relevant form, i.e. the one that dialogues with and represents all areas of civil representation and therefore gives space and visibility to institutions at various levels, central and peripheral, national and international. The other channel that has been talked about for some time is the one aimed at those all over the world who watch our country, our culture, history and tradition with interest and attention and therefore an English-language channel.
Finally, and let's not talk about an irrelevant detail, appears the question of advertising. The new Convention expressly refers to the provisions of the Consolidated Act on audiovisual and radio media services (TUSMAR) which establishes precise limits on crowding by channel, prefiguring a substantial reduction in commercials and consequent lower advertising resources.
The second terrain of challenge for Orpheus is instead, relatively, very simple: acquire a new authoritative team, efficient, strong, where all the components are already in-house. Last week it began with the appointment of the Human Resources Director, Luciano Flussi, historic manager of Viale Mazzini with a respectable curriculum. Now the box to be occupied urgently is that of Chief Financial Officer, recently vacated by Raffaele Agrusti. Then the seat from is available Chief Technology Officer, also vacant following the departure of Valerio Zingarelli. Other strategic boxes remain at stake that could be subject to evaluation such as, for example, that of Legal Affairs, Staff (crucial point) and External Relations. Do not forget the listed Viale Mazzini, Rai Way, to which the Convention has given a kind of green light, assuming that "for longer-term developments, the construction of common systems with the other television and telecommunications operators can be envisaged." In other words, as Giacomelli often repeated in one of our interviews, "Yes to the pole of the towers, as long as the public role is guaranteed." Even in Via Teulada there could soon be a changing of the guard at the presidency of the company, where, at the moment, Viale Mazzini has only one representative on a Board with a majority of independents.
