When I was living in Italy I noticed that the News was in a different format than here in Chicago. Usually the big crime and tragic occurances were talked about first. In Italy they usually discuss political news first.

Do you think this is because there is less crime in Italy? Or maybe just a difference in what we like to hype up?? Thoughts, anyone??

Italian politic is a lot more fun!


Or it might be that it strikes more than the other news, then the public pay less attention to the rest of the news.

I think that one reason is that Italy has a ginormous government funded by our taxpayer money. People here have more of an interest in what the government and politicians do because they are doing these things with OUR money. In the U.S., relatively speaking, we don't pay nearly as much in taxes and the decisions that are made on a day-to-day level are probably not as significant and may not affect our lives as much. Add to that that many Italian politicians would typically rather be in front of a television camera than actually rolling up their sleeves and getting some work done (man do those Italian politicians have the gift of gab - how many TV shows are there where they just sit and debate not resolving anything?) and that makes for an interested public and overly loquacious politicians. What I find ridiculous are those stories about which politician snubbed another politician on the beach in August, blah, blah, blah. It's so petty. Just focus on getting some work done and spending our taxpayer money properly. Ugh.
Michelle

I think they discuss politics first here because it is, after all, the core of the news. Crimes and the accidents are not real news, just flagrant, shocking stuff to attract the voyeuristic. What I like about Italian news is that there are no commercial interruptions! I especially like Italian newspapers, La Repubblica and Corriere della Sera, which contain all the news and marvelously rich cultural sections, lately on Hannibal, DNA, a number of contemporary writers.

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Crimes and the accidents are not real news, just flagrant, shocking stuff to attract the voyeuristic.

They are often reported that way, but not always. Personally I believe that a newsreport that I am downwind from Chernobyl or Bhopal would be pretty newsworthy.

Bill,

I agree with you on that. What I hate about news in the US is they have to fill the first 10-12 minutes with murders, rapes, tragic events, etc. If they don't have enough things in their own town they just keep widening the reporting area finding enough stories to fill the time. Then you have the entertainment reports. If I wanted to know who was sleeping around, beating their husbands and kids I'd read a tabloid at the checkout counter of my local supermarket.

Totally agree with you, Bill. That's why I never watch the news here. Good eye.

I agree with Catherine and Gil. In the US there is so much going on about, for example, Paris Hilton, Lacy Peterson and on and on. Who cares? This is not news. Tabloid stuff. Nauseating.

There's always the OFF button.

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There's always the OFF button.

Either that or the Spanish channel on mute!

Some of us tune in, hoping to find out what's going on in the world, instead we are treated to Paris Hilton, etc, ad nauseam. We change channels, but to little avail and eventually are forced to turn it off, just as you wise men suggest.

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Originally posted by Chrisalor2:
Some of us tune in, hoping to find out what's going on in the world, instead we are treated to Paris Hilton, etc, ad nauseam. We change channels, but to little avail and eventually are forced to turn it off, just as you wise men suggest.

How long has it been since you went to Italy? Have you ever even heard of Fabrizio Corona, Luciano Moggi, or Michela Brambilla, the latest friend of Berlusconi who, as future leader of Italy, enjoys displying her thigh highs to the world? I have yet to hear about Paris Hilton on the evening news (ABC, CBS, NBC), except for when she ended up in jail. And when insignificant celebrities get a break from their sentences because of their star status, I want to hear about it and see it being corrected.

There are a multitude of channels in the U.S. where you can become informed. Heck, there's even the BBC if you have cable. Also, don't forget PBS and C-Span. Two of the most brilliant news/entertainment shows I have ever watched are made in the U.S.: 60 Minutes and CBS Sunday Morning. Italy has its own great dossier shows, but let's not knock down all of U.S. television news because of a few gossip shows.

Finally, today there is YouTube and the internet, so you can pick and choose what you want to watch of U.S. news--coast to coast, north to south. Trust me, there is plenty of good stuff out there. If Italian news is what you seek, nothing in the U.S. will do better than the RAI itself, which is also available on line.

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I have yet to hear about Paris Hilton on the evening news (ABC, CBS, NBC), except for when she ended up in jail.

All of the local affiliates, in Connecticut, have time dedicated to entertainment news on just about every newscast. Maybe you have stations in Florida that actually report local news and not stuff they get from their services.

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Originally posted by Chrisalor2:
Some of us tune in, hoping to find out what's going on in the world, instead we are treated to Paris Hilton, etc, ad nauseam. We change channels, but to little avail and eventually are forced to turn it off, just as you wise men suggest.

Italian news can be just as bad - if not worse. Just because many Italian news programs lead with politics doesn't mean it's all 'hard news' (and let's not forget that almost all stations and newspapers here are blatantly partisan so leading with politics is pretty normal). At the end of the year when all of the veline and 'showgirls' come out with their calendars, I've actually seen the news channels here report on that complete with topless and thong shots highlighting the various months. Local American news has gotten pretty crappy but the national news does not typically report on Paris Hilton and definitely doesn't do a five-minute segment about the new topless Paris Hilton calendar coming out for 2008.
Michelle

P.S. And as Simo said, have any of you seen the Italian news in the last six months? There is so much coverage of that stupid Fabrizio Corona scandal, which is just non-news. And that has often been the lead story.

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Originally posted by Bill 2:
There's always the OFF button.

About two months ago, after seeing how nervoso my OH would get after some "news" stories, I suggested we quit watching (as I had done up until he came along, including in the US).

He agreed, and a couple days ago out of the blue told me how much better he feels not seeing that stuff.

We get our news from the Internet, newspapers, and most importantly word of mouth, i.e., if there's something truly interesting, it's the talk at the bar and I can come back home and research it for further information.

To me, major Italian and American news programs are equally bad although in different ways.

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a few gossip shows.

However, you're right. You can find some decent news programs. They're just not network mainstream media.

I was surprised to have access to DemocracyNow! on cable, when I popped into NYC for a week in July. It's an unapologetically left-bias show and does great headline news followed by interviews and in-depth coverage of various issues.

Nobody's yet mentioned the horoscopes being "news" here...

To put it mildly, a major percentage of journalists at RAI owe their positions to political allegiance. At Mediaset the percentage may be lower, but the allegiance even stricter. So no wonder if politics takes the first place. The journalists got their jobs from politicians and they have to reciprocate.

If you watch carefully the news on TG1, for example, you will notice the so called "sandwich" procedure. I.e. first an opinion is asked to a government personality; then one from the opposition; then again one from the government. So the opposition opinion is mostly sandwiched between government statements.

Also, most important is the distinction between politician actually speaking on TV (that are the most important), and those being showed while the reporter voice summarizes their speech (not so important).

I'm of a similar mindset as Testa Dura when it comes to news. It's all crime, violence, politics, etc. (which goes back to what Cassie originally pointed out).

All of it is depressing.

I tune all of it out. Unless it's something that is going to have a direct impact on my day to day life it is of no consequence to me. I never take a stand on politics because I just truly don't care. It doesn't mean I'm irresponsible about the important things like the environment, or technology, etc. Quite the opposite would be true (I hope). I'm just not into divisiveness or debate or verbal conflict about news. Political points of view always tend to be preachy and I'm non-preachy-liking kind of guy. Live and let live.

Got enough things to worry about. News and politics just drag my spirits down. That's how I see it. *shrugs*

-Danse

PS - in place of "news" I watch things like The History Channel, The Discovery Channel, The Science Channel, National Geographic Channel, MTV, VH1, AMC, Comedy Channel, and my absolute favorite, SciFi Channel. Few others. Oh man I am SOOOooo going to have to get me a Sattelite Dish when I hop into the boot.

Generally speaking, to me, the news here in Italy is more serious. I know they tack on a few foolish items at the end of the broadcast, but that seems to be the way the world is. I also mentioned the newspapers here. The Repubblica is wonderful, not only news, politics, but culture, in depth and length. Only the NY Times could equal it. I read that, too. I've been in Italy a long time--I travel back and forth and have a dual citizenship. When in the US, I watch C-Span. While excellent the coverage is narrow, but that is part of its format.
Re: Brambilla: everyone is making fun of her with her non-existent 20 thousand Circoli della Liberta. She is as ridiculous as Berlu--his latest ploy is that he is going to imitate Sarkozy and bring in people from the left--when re-elected. Now the elections will be held in spring. Berlu is losing his grip despite his billions.

PS It occurs to me that almost everyone on this thread knocks Italy--bashes, as they would say today. I find that strange. Most of you live here. I find much in Italy to admire.

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Originally posted by Chrisalor2:
PS It occurs to me that almost everyone on this thread knocks Italy--bashes, as they would say today. I find that strange. Most of you live here. I find much in Italy to admire.

I'm not sure that's a fair assessment as it seems to me American and Italian news have both been criticized here; I find much to admire in Italy as well--just not in the news broadcasts.

In any event, my biggest beef with Italian news is that when it does talk about murders and other crimes (in fact, if you're used to American news, you might think there's remarkably little crime in Italy judging from the lack of stories), it almost always happens to be a migrant/immigrant who is the suspected perpetrator. Every time I saw a report like that I wondered how many similar crimes were committed by Italians that day but didn't make the news.

In America, there's a lot of blood and guts (except about the war, of course) but it seems *slightly* more equal opportunity (although still skewed toward featuring minority crime, IMHO).

But back in Italy, let's not forget that there's very little to no taboo about showing dead bodies slumped over in cars or strewn about on the street; there's another big difference, and an image I can certainly do without.

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Originally posted by Chrisalor2:
PS It occurs to me that almost everyone on this thread knocks Italy--bashes, as they would say today. I find that strange. Most of you live here. I find much in Italy to admire.

Complaining about a country you live in, being your country of birth or the one you choose to live in is totally normal. We all have done it and we have also discussed this fact many times on the board. People need to vent.

It took me years to find a news broadcast that I like here. I cannot stand the Mediaset news as they are full of gossip and stuff that is not news. Rai1 and 2 are both too involved in the government and the church. I prefer Rai3.

I miss PBS - especially the NewsHour, Frontline and Washington Week with Gwen Ifill and National Public Radio (All Things Considered, Morning Edition, This American Life - it's all brilliant.) I also miss certain network shows form the US like 60 minutes. I don't think in depth news shows of this caliber are made here in Italy - correct me if I'm wrong. I also think that American newspapers are fantastic ie the NY Times, the NY Review of Books, the New Yorker, Harpers, the Atlantic, the Washington Post etc. I don't always agree with them but they are all fantastic papers/magazines.

In Australia, I used to like SBS (nightly news with Mary Kostakidis as well as brilliant shows like Foreign Correspondent) as well as the ABC ne