A local Italian politician faced criticism on 20 September 2024 after abruptly leaving a press conference, which he allegedly himself had called. Journalists present attempted to ask questions at their effobout local issues, burts were met with a lack of response, and the politician left the press conference without addressing important questions of public interest.
In response to this, journalist organizations in Italy, including the Associazione Ligure dei Giornalisti (Ligurian Association of Journalists – https://www.associazioneliguregiornalisti.org/), the Ordine dei Giornalisti della Liguria (Order of Journalists of Liguria – https://www.ordineliguregiornalisti.org/) and Ligurian Reporters Group (Gruppo Cronisti Liguri), strongly condemned the politician’s actions. They emphasized that all politicians, regardless of party affiliation, should respect journalists’ work, as they play a vital role in ensuring the public’s right to be informed.
In response to this, local journalist organizations condemned the politician’s actions, calling them “absurd, incomprehensible, and unjustifiable.” They emphasized that all politicians, regardless of party affiliation, should respect journalists’ work, as they play a vital role in ensuring the public’s right to be informed.
Despite these criticisms, the politician’s team denied any wrongdoing, claiming he did not avoid questions and that the press conference had not been organized by the politician himself. They further claimed that he had even made himself available to answer additional questions. The journalist organizations remained firm in their condemnation, stating that this incident is part of a pattern of intolerance towards press inquiries.
This episode has sparked renewed calls for respect and protection of journalists’ rights, with many insisting that the freedom to ask questions is essential to uphold transparency and ensure that citizens remain well-informed about matters of public interest.
The South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) will be closely monitoring the situation and developments connected to this case, as also any future incidents involving freedom of the press in this part of Italy.
South East Europe Media Organisation (SEEMO) is a regional non-governmental, non profit network of editors, media executives and leading journalists in Southeast, South, East and Central Europe. SEEMO members are in Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Greece, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Moldova (with the territory of Transdnestria), Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Türkiye / Turkey, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. Austria, Italy, Vatican and San Marino have a special status in SEEMO. SEEMO has over 3000 individual members, and additional media as corporate members.
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