Rome – The public broadcaster Rai has removed Sigfrido Ranucci as host of the investigative news program „Report.“ The network handed the program over to two younger journalists, Giulia Presutti and Daniele Piervincenzi, and in return offered Ranucci three other positions within the company. The longtime host immediately rejected the decision.
Presutti and Piervincenzi were selected through an internal screening process. Presutti has been working for „Report“ for years and is considered an expert in investigative reporting on topics of public interest. Piervincenzi became known, among other things, for his appearances on the shows „Nemo“ and „Popolo Sovrano“; in 2017, while conducting an investigation in Ostia, a member of the Spada clan headbutted him on camera. The Rai 3 program has shaped investigative journalism on Italian television since the days of Milena Gabanelli; Ranucci has hosted it since 2016.
Ranucci calls it a „mediocre“ election
Ranucci called the casting „mediocre“ and stated that it sealed the fate of „Report.“ He said two people had been chosen whose professional competence paled in comparison to that of those who had carried the program for years. He rejected the three alternatives offered to him—a specially created deputy director position at the news magazine Tg3, a similar position at the news channel Rainews, and a post as a foreign correspondent—as a demotion. The show’s editorial staff described the decision as „completely unacceptable“ and threatened to leave the program en masse. Program Director Paolo Corsini, however, defended the restructuring.
The personnel decision had been in the works for days. Regarding the Crucial moments behind the scenes at Rai There had been a lot of speculation recently.
Opposition suspects political interference
The opposition leveled sharp criticism. The Five Star Movement referred to it as an „Editto Meloni,“ meaning an authoritarian encroachment on press freedom—an allusion to the „editto bulgaro,“ which Silvio Berlusconi had used in 2002 to force unwelcome journalists off the air. Representatives of the Democratic Party accused the network’s leadership of a „perfect crime“ and coined the term „Telemeloni.“.
The debate comes amid a tense situation. In October 2025, an explosive device detonated near Ranucci’s home south of Rome, targeting his cars; his daughter narrowly escaped the attack by mere minutes. Meanwhile, the mediator Valter Lavitola has confessed to having ordered the attack. Against this backdrop, media associations are following the dismissal with particular attention.
