"Dead-Tree Media" Grows in Bologna

(photo by midable)

In what can only be seen as a hopeful sign for dead-tree media readers everywhere (myself one of them), Milan's Il Corriere della Sera launched yesterday 50,000 inserts -- anzi, veri e propri giornali! -- Il Corriere di Bologna. The newspapers will be distributed in conjuction with all Bologna-area Corriere della Sera's. Edited by Armando Nanni (formerly of Il Resto di Carlino) Bologna's new baby is 16 pages, full color and staffed by 14 top-notch bolognesi editors. The Corriere's Milan-based media company (RCS) also includes Il Corriere del Mezzogiorno (published in Naples), Il Corriere del Veneto, Il Corriere di Verona, Il Corriere del Trentino and Il Corriere del Alto-Adige.

Italy's internet usage is not as high as some of its EU neighbors, but it is growing. A recent study by Italy's Aie reported that 46% of Italians use the internet. Italy's internet penetration ranks higher than the Spaniards (43%), but Sweden (75%), Portugal (74%) Denmark (70%), Germany (62%), and the UK (62%) are all considerably higher. Approximately 70% of Americans use the internet, 67% of the Japanese and 10% of the Chinese. (source: Neilsen/NetRatings 2007)

Rai Tre to Air Segment on American Mistreatment of Italian Immigrants

Rai Tre, the most "anti-Berlusconi" of the Rai's, is scheduled to air a segment (January 29th and February 5th) on American mistreat of Italian immigrants in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The documentary focuses on the angry 1891 mob lynching of 11 Italians in New Orleans -- lynched for being "murder suspects".

It also mentions the first terrorist attack to ever take place in New York City, the 1920 "car bomb" attack carried out by Italian anarchist Mario Buda. Buda's attack, a horse-drawn wagon packed with explosives and iron scrap, killed 39 people in NYC's financial district. A final segment of the documentary deals with the internment of 2,500 Italian-Americans during WWI, deemed stranieri nemici -- foreign enemies by the U.S. government; in the 1920s Washington passed a law bringing Italian immigration to a historic low: 2% (from 200,000 a year to 4,000). The idea of Italian-Americans as foreign enemies, however, was not limited to the U.S. goverment. During the massive waves of Italian immigration in the 19th and 20th centuries the KKK defined Italians popolo di mezzo -- subhumans, neither black nor white.

The documentary, entitled Pane Amaro -- Bitter Bread, is shot by Gianfranco Norelli, a regular contributor to PBS and the BBC, and an Italian immigrant who has lived in New York City since 1980.

Del Piero Completes 500th with Juventus

Alessandro Del Piero, one of Italy' biggest calciatori has completed his 500th game as a Juventino.

Vicenza: Commies, Pro-Americans Stage Counter Protests in U.S. Air Base Tiff

In the past few days Pro-Americans (above: "A friendship that brings well-being") and the Italian Communists (below: "Shame on You!") have sparred over Uncle Sam's desire to expand its airfield in Vicenza. The Vicenza airbase is a Nato forward-operating base, and close to 70% of the munitions dropped during the war in Kosovo originated in Vicenza. To the Commies disapproval, Prodi, on Friday, gave the U.S. the go-ahead and the base will be expanded. As I type, a mass sit-in is taking place in the Italian Parliament led by Il Partito di Rifondazione Communista and I Verdi, the Communists and the Greens. Prodi, however, is unlikely to reverse his position.

Berlusconi: Italy is an Enemy of the USA

Berlusconi came out swinging this weekend, calling Prodi's government a "slave to the ambitions of Paris", "unreliable" in the eyes of Americans, and ultimately branding Italians "slaves to France".

Berlusconi's rant didn't stop there, however. "In our five years of governing we gave life to a loyal foreign policy and stressed transatlanticism", Berlusconi said, "but the Italy of Prodi, serving the Paris-Madrid axis, pursues the French ambition: a European-Arab axis."

D'Alema, quick to respond said Berlusconi's "bullet" was nothing other than an "ideological campaign", and that "working together with the big European and Mediterranean countries is part of Italy's foreign policy...and always has been."

The ex-Prime Minister's outburst could likely be attributed to two recent "anti-American", Prodi-generated overtures in Italian politics, the first being Massimo D'Alema's criticism of Bush's "surge" plan in Iraq, the second being Italy's likely rejection of the the U.S.'s desire to expand its base in Vicenza.

Berlusconi: Killing Saddam was a mistake

Commenting Saturday on Saddam Hussein's hanging, Italian ex-Prime Minister Berlusconi stated: "The exectuon of Saddam Hussein was a political and historic error. The hanging of Saddam Hussein, even if decided by a legitimate court and not being an expression of summary justice, represents a step back in the difficult path forward toward a democratic Iraq. In fact, there is a serious risk that this act (the execution) will lead to another spiral of vendettas, and bloody retaliations between the Shia and Sunnis in a country that is already on the edge of a tragic civil war."