Italian journalists escalate revolt after Olympic commentary fiasco

Journalists at Italian state broadcaster RAI have called a one-day byline strike for Friday, escalating a standoff with management over a gaffe-strewn commentary at the opening of the Winter Olympics.

The Milano Cortina Games started with a slick ceremony last Friday at Milan’s San Siro stadium, but the event was marred for Italian TV viewers by a stream of on-air mistakes from the head of RAI’s sports division, Paolo Petrecca.

Seen as close to Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s Brothers of Italy party, Petrecca opened the evening by welcoming everyone to the “Olympic Stadium”, which is in Rome, rather than the iconic San Siro.

He went on to misidentify Italian actress Matilda De Angelis as U.S. megastar Mariah Carey, and confused the president of the International Olympic Committee, Kirsty Coventry, with the daughter of Italy’s president.

He failed to recognise two members of Italy’s women’s highly successful volleyball team, who were torch bearers, said Spanish athletes were “always very hot” and that many Chinese athletes “naturally … have phones in their hands”.

In a note sent to staff on Wednesday, the main RAI journalists’ union Usigrai said his running commentary represented “a serious blow to RAI’s image and to the dignity of all journalists”.

Petrecca did not respond to a request for comment.

PETRECCA NOT ALLOWED TO COMMENTATE ON CLOSING CEREMONY

RAI has also not commented on the outcry, but a source for the broadcaster said Chief Executive Giampaolo Rossi has decided not to let Petrecca commentate on the closing ceremony on February 22.

The Olympics provide RAI with a high-profile stage to showcase journalistic excellence and test cutting-edge broadcast technologies, but this has been overshadowed by the Petrecca controversy.

Usigrai pressed senior management to acknowledge the situation and assume its responsibilities. A union statement explaining their protest will be read out at the end of each news programme lasting at least five minutes on Friday.

RAI’s sports journalists have said they will withhold their bylines from Olympic coverage in protest and stage a three-day strike at the end of the Games.

The dispute comes amid a broader cultural battle that has engulfed Italy’s public broadcaster since Meloni’s right-wing coalition took office in 2022.

Opposition parties have rebranded the network “TeleMeloni”, accusing the government of packing it with underqualified loyalists. Government ministers have rejected the criticism, saying RAI had been dominated for years by the centre-left, which was now angry about relinquishing control.

RAI is the country’s largest media organisation and operates national television, radio and digital news services. It employs more than 2,000 journalists, out of a total workforce of roughly 12,500.