Rai fined for pro-Berlusconi news broadcasts


Rai has been fined €100,000 for giving too much airtime to Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and his ministers ahead of local elections.

The Italian public broadcaster is the chief rival of commercial broadcaster Mediaset, which is controlled by a Berlusconi family trust. Berlusconi’s political rivals said the fine was evidence of Berlusconi’s influence over all Italian media. Italian communications regulator Agcom levied the fine, which specifically related to the Tg1 news programme on Rai.