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View Network with Italian Film Producer Vittorio Cecchi Gori and German Media Tycoon Leo Kirch

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View Network with Italian Film Producer Vittorio Cecchi Gori and German Media Tycoon Leo Kirch SILVIO BERLUSCONI AND THE AMERICANIZATION OF ITALIAN POLITICS: A POLITICAL ANALYSIS THROUGH THE COMMENTARIES OF IL CORRIERE DELLA SERA by Attilio D’Agresti Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in the English Program YOUNGSTOWN STATE UNIVERSITY May 2008 Silvio Berlusconi and the Americanization of Italian Politics: A Political Analysis through the Commentaries of Il Corriere della Sera Attilio D’Agresti I hereby release this thesis to the public. I understand that this thesis will be made available from the OhioLINK ETD Center and the Maag Library Circulation Desk for public access. I also authorize the University or other individuals to make copies of this thesis as needed for scholarly research. Signature: Attilio D’Agresti, Student Date Approvals: Sherry Linkon, Thesis Advisor Date Steven Brown, Committee Member Date Jay Gordon, Committee Member Date Peter J. Kasvinsky, Dean of Graduate Studies Date iii Abstract Silvio Berlusconi changed the concept of political communication in Italy when he “entered the field” of Italian politics on January 26, 1994. As owner of three Italian TV channels Berlusconi promoted himself as a new politician able to restore a country tormented by the political collapse of the old multi-party system caused by the Mani pulite investigations. The phenomena of Silvio Berlusconi, superficially perceived as a funny, successful businessman and media tycoon represented in reality something else. In this thesis I want to reveal unknown elements of Berlusconi’s life and public success, because he was able to manufacture his personal political consent through the massive use of his own three commercial networks, applying media and marketing strategies to Italian politics, importing from the Unites States the use of polls as consent multipliers. From 1994 the entire concept of political communication through the TV medium changed drastically, because the political arena was thrust into the mass media stage. However, Berlusconi was not without opposition. Italian newspapers tried to respond to the rampant media tycoon. The most important Italian newspaper, Il Corriere della Sera, was able to expose some of the dark sides of Berlusconi. The articles are significant because they saw Berlusconi as an anomalous politician approaching Italian politics in a flamboyant new way. Since the political elections of 1994, Berlusconi has appeared as an extraordinary and charismatic political leader in the eyes of the Italian people, because of an (un)controlled and totalitarian use of the media. This thesis documents Berlusconi’s story – both told and untold aspects; it uncovers the face of modern media fascism in Italy. iv Acknowledgements I would like to thank the entire Foreign Languages Department for the kind help and support through the last two academic years. I am most grateful to all those who helped me in the work that lead to this thesis and particularly indebted to the following: First of all Sherry Linkon head of my thesis committee, who strongly supported me pushing me on further. Steven Brown and Jay Gordon, members of my thesis committee and both very helpful during the final stages of this thesis project. I also would like to thank Iole and Albert Checcone, the Keifer, Napolitan and Amero families, for all their strong help and support through the last two years. Rosanna O’Neil for the sincere friendship and the support inside Maag Library. John Sarkissian, Laura Goist, Ivania Del Pozo, Meirel Foltz, Servio Becerra, Melissa Smith, Luba Lenher, John Boehm, Herve Corbe’, Ivan and Diana Gonzalez. Joey Savini and John Ludt for computer assistance. Gary Salvner and Jim Schramer for the academic support. The Dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences Dr. Shearle Furnish for the kind attention and encouragement, and to Barb Jones and Terry Hjerpe for the extraordinary assistance. Thanks also to Servio Becerra and Ndinzi Masagara for supporting my continuous requests of information. I would also like to thank my colleagues of the English Department: Bret, Nick, Kelly and Jenny for their true friendship. I want to express my sincere gratitude to Phillip Hamrick, the best friend I could find on campus, who always helped me with incredible energy, moral support and motivation. His guidelines helped me to improve my English knowledge and technically everything related to this thesis. Thank Phil I also had the luck to appreciate the v importance to teach cognitive grammar in a foreign language context. Special thanks to Laura Cuppone, my Italian colleague for true friendship and support. We had a great time promoting Italian language and culture in our Italian classes and in our history seminars here at Youngstown State University, John Carroll University and Lake Erie College. Oliviero Bergamini, Bruno Cartosio and Angela Locatelli for their dynamic academic friendship and support. Inspiration and strong motivation came, above all, from Salvatore Attardo, my former advisor and English Grammar teacher. Very special thanks also to Noam Chomsky and Howard Zinn for patiently answering my long e-mails. Thanks to Serena, my little sister. I would like to conclude expressing my total gratitude to my family, for making this wonderful experience possible. vi Exclusively dedicated to my Mother and my Father. vii Table of Contents Introduction………….…………………..…………………………………………...……1 Chapter1. Historical Introduction…………………………………………………............3 Chapter 2. Berlusconi. The man and the businessman before the new politician…...........9 1994. Berlusconi and Forza Italia….................................................................................14 Chapter 3. Berlusconi through Il Corriere della Sera Commentaries Methodology and Analytical Approach.............................................................................22 Il Corriere della Sera: the Most Authoritative Italian Newspaper....................................24 Berlusconi through Il Corriere della Sera Commentaries 1 Berlusconi is not a traditional politician.........................................................................27 2 Berlusconi cannot reunite heterogeneous political movements under the same coalition…………………………………………………………………………………..30 3 Berlusconi cannot guarantee unbiased information through his television networks…………………………………………………………………….....................35 And the winner was Berlusconi………………………………………………..………...40 Chapter 4. Conclusions. Berlusconi’s effects on Italian Political Communication……...42 Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………..45 Selected Articles…………………………………………………………………………47 1 Introduction Silvio Berlusconi changed the concept of political communication in Italy when he “entered the field” of Italian politics on January 26, 1994. As owner of three Italian TV channels Berlusconi promoted himself as a new politician able to restore a country tormented by the political collapse of the old multi-party system caused by the Mani pulite investigations. The phenomena of Silvio Berlusconi, superficially perceived as a funny, successful businessman and media tycoon represented in reality something else. In this thesis I want to reveal unknown elements of Berlusconi’s life and public success, because he was able to manufacture his personal political consent through the massive use of his own three commercial networks. Berlusconi applied media and marketing strategies to Italian politics, importing from the Unites States the use of polls as consent multipliers. Within the historical context of Mafia assassinations of government officials like Giovanni Falcone and Paolo Borsellino, and the destruction of traditional Italian parties, Berlusconi created a new political movement, Forza Italia (Go Italy) producing a significant effect on Italian citizens. By exploiting the power of mass media publicity Berlusconi made it difficult to distinguish reality from fiction. How is it possible to perceive and detach facts from manipulated opinions when the mind is constantly bombed by brainwashing political spots? I will place my analysis also in the context of Berlusconi’s life well before 1994 elections, showing who Berlusconi really is, where is he coming from, and how he created the Berlusconian thought. From 1994 the entire concept of political communication through the TV medium changed drastically, because the political stage was thrust into the mass media 2 stage. Behind this was a successful businessman telling audiences that we wanted to do in politics what he already had done in business; Berlusconi wanted to save Italy from corruption and most importantly from modern communists. However, Berlusconi was not without opposition. Italian newspapers tried to respond to the rampant media tycoon. The most important Italian newspaper, Il Corriere della Sera, was able to expose some of the dark sides of Berlusconi. The articles are significant because they saw Berlusconi as an anomalous politician approaching Italian politics in a flamboyant new way. The result is that Berlusconi seared his positive and victorious image into the minds of the Italian people. Behind the scenes, Italians did not realize that the person they voted for was and still is a man with criminal connections. Since the political elections of 1994, Berlusconi has appeared as an extraordinary and charismatic political leader in the eyes of the Italian people, because of an (un)controlled and totalitarian use of the media. This thesis documents Berlusconi’s story – both told and untold aspects; it uncovers
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