It may also be true that accusing Rai today after the incredible injury of the year-end evening on Rai 1 is a bit like shooting at the Red Cross, but state TV collects serial gaffes and there seems to be no limit to its sloppiness . Today anyone who wanted to attend a special event such as Ferrari's debut in Piazza Affari would have searched in vain for live coverage on the three main Rai networks and, in the end, could not have done anything but take refuge on Class CNBC.
And yet, the debut of the Ferrari from Maranello on the Italian Stock Exchange was and has been a unique event in its own way and not only because the Prime Minister, Matteo Renzi, the CEO of FCA, Sergio Marchionne, the president of Exor John Elkann were there , all the staff of Ferrari and the president of the Italian Stock Exchange, Raffaele Jarusalmi. But because the quotation of Ferrari – which is the icon of Made in Italy and the most popular brand in the world, even more than Apple and Google – has many values: industrial, financial, economic, stock market, political and sporting. And therefore a potentially very captivating audience of viewers.
Is it possible that no one on the upper floors of Rai thought that an event like this deserved the live coverage of one of the three main networks, even at the cost of cutting back a bit the usual dull morning programs for desperate housewives? If Rai isn't there on occasions like that of Ferrari, where is it and what is the public service? Half an hour of attention would have been enough because the debut ceremony lasted so long. But so be it.
The president of Rai, Monica Maggioni, is an excellent journalist and the director and future CEO of state TV, Antonio Campo Dall'Orto, has in the past led a fresh and youthful network like MTV to success, but it's time they gave a nice rebuke to those Rai executives and journalists who have made sloppiness their banner and who have not yet understood that the public service is a duty and a professional passion rather than a permanent job.
Dear Rai, you're not the BBC, but it's time you woke up because the country is already on another wavelength and you haven't noticed it yet.
