Republic, change at the top of the newspaper and of the Gedi group. John Elkann, in fact, leaves the presidency of Cheetah, of which he remains a shareholder through Exor, and in his place takes on the role of president Maurice Scanavino, who in turn leaves the CEO position to Gabriele Comuzzo, current general manager. At the helm of Republic get Mario Orpheus that leaves the Tg3, Maurice Molinari remains a collaborator and editorialist.
Repubblica, Elkann leaves the presidency of Gedi: why?
A turnover that materializes after many union disputes and two days of strike proclaimed last week by the assembly of journalists against the “interferences” of the property on the occasion of the “Italian tech week”. Behind this choice – according to Primaonline – there would be the will to clear the field of any ambiguity related to the role of editor who "is continually suspected of exerting pressure and influencing the information policy of newspapers, to instead focus his attention as an entrepreneur on the results of company management". However, there are those who are keen to underline that these appointments do not represent a "revolution" at all, nor a return to that identity that had characterized the company over the years. Republic, a return invoked over and over again by the Editorial Committee. Scanavino, we remember, is Elkann's right-hand man.
Mario Orfeo, who is the new director of Repubblica
Mario Orpheus, started professionally right from the then newborn Neapolitan editorial team di Republic, in 1990, from Monday he returns to the Gedi group's newspaper with the role of director. Orfeo, born in 1966, in 1988 becomes a professional journalist at Napoli Church and collaborates with various national newspapers, including the weekly Panorama, then move on to Republic where he first became deputy Sports, then moved to the Interior and in 2001 became central editor-in-chief. In 2002 he became director of the Morning.
His career in Rai begins in 2009, when he was appointed director of Tg2 on the proposal of the then general director Mauro Masi. After a break from state television, from March 2011 to November 2012 - when he accepted the proposal of the publisher Caltagirone to direct the Messenger – on 29 November 2012 he was appointed director of the Tg1.
During his management, the news program of the flagship network underwent a major renovation, inaugurating the era of HD, digital production and transmission in the 16:9 panoramic image format. From 9 June 2017 to 27 July 2018 he was the general director of Rai. In May 2020 he was appointed director of the Tg3, where he was reconfirmed also during the government of Giorgia Meloni in May 2023.
Gedi, the company press release
“Il group Cheetah renews the top management and opens a new phase which focuses on theAccelerating digital transformation and on improving economic results through one rigorous business management“: this is explained in a note from the group released a few hours after the first rumours about the musical chairs leaked out. “The board of directors of Gedi, which met today in Turin, has appointed Maurice Scanavino president of the company and Gabriele Comuzzo CEO”.
John Elkann, Ad of Exor, shareholder of Gedi, commented: “Gedi today is one of the European protagonists of digital transformation, with a clear scope of activity, centered on entertainment and quality journalism. organizational changes announced today will allow for greater focus and rigor in group management".
After the board of directors, Mario Orfeo was appointed director of Republic. Orfeo takes the place of Maurizio Molinari, to whom Gedi expressed his thanks for his commitment at the helm of the newspaper. Molinari will continue to collaborate with Republic with the role of commentator and editorialist. President Scanavino stated: “I thank the shareholder for his trust and I wish Mario Orfeo good work. I take on the new role with the aim of working together with the CEO Gabriele Comuzzo to accelerate the ongoing evolution and achieve ambitious profitability targets for the future.”