Union statement

Reading the documents, for now the evidentiary seizure decree, of the investigation by the Naples Prosecutor's Office into the Multiversity affair raises, in our opinion, a double set of problems, one specific and one general. The first, which directly concerns Il Sole 24 Ore: beyond the possible criminal relevance and the legitimate defense objections to the development of the events, what emerges is the permeability of the top management of the newspaper and the company to mediations conducted by opaque characters with questionable interests.

Anyone who represents a newspaper that qualifies itself as a point of reference for the world of finance, economics and law must maintain maximum attention and total unavailability to receive requests or suffer improper pressure. The authority of an entire editorial team is at stake, of an entire company that still has information as its characteristic business, until proven otherwise. But to offer authoritative information, we need credible journalists supported by a company that protects their autonomy and independence, putting them in a position to seek news, understand our times and explain it. Conditions which, if absent, risk compromising the image, if not the substance, of an entire working group in the eyes of readers.

The general point is then evident, in some ways as old as journalism: the attempt by economic and financial power to direct information. The fragility of the income statement of the majority of publishing groups has made the editorial offices increasingly exposed to external pressure, based on the volume of investments in any capacity, from advertising to marketing through training and events. Whether the pressure constitutes a real crime is certainly yet to be demonstrated.

Much more evident, however, is the constant assault on the independence of journalists, with commercial and advertising relationships not attributable to simple market relations, but at the service of ulterior objectives, for example a favorable attitude that emphasizes positive news and waters down or even completely omits unfavorable news. It is disheartening, but not surprising, that entrepreneurs, managers and large public and private economic players feel entitled to this type of action. But, if information has a future, it will have to resist these pressures, regardless of judicial investigations, returning to being a service for all and not a tool for a few. We owed a lot to you readers, but above all to us.

The Cdr