Paper war between Cairo and Angelucci on Libero and Corriere della Sera

18 January 20231 year ago babelfish

Q&A between Corriere della Sera and the Libero newspaper. All the details

Q&A between Corriere della Sera and the Libero newspaper.

Is there a war between the editors Urbano Cairo of the Corriere della Sera and Antonio Angelucci of the Libero newspaper ?

It is the question that not only the journalists of the two newspapers are asking themselves but also of other newspapers given how much and how the two titles are giving each other… titles.

THE ARTICLE BY GEROVINI ( COURIER ) ON ANGELUCCI

The blow came from the Corriere della Sera which in an article by the financial reporter Mario Gerevini – known for sifting through the financial statements of not only Italian companies – listed the updated assets and business of the former Forza Italia and now Lega parliamentarian, Antonio Angelucci (in the photo ), publisher of the newspapers Libero and Tempo , about to buy from the Berlusconi family the newspaper Il Giornale now directed by Augusto Minzolini.

Among other things, Gerevini underlines:

“The San Raffaele Foundation (8 million in assets and a loss of 1.2 million in 2020) does not publish its financial statements, it is a non-profit organization, manages some healthcare activities and 100% controls the Free Editorial which leases the masthead « New Opinions-Libero Quotidiano ». The foundation scheme + publication beneficiary of contributions gives access to funds for publishing (about a hundred publications benefit from it). For 2021 Libero, which closed the financial statements with 15 million in revenues and a small profit, obtained 5.4 million (one of the top budgets).

However, the statute of the Foundation says that the institution, "apolitical and non-partisan", has the purpose of contributing to the "exploration of new avenues in research … in the treatment of all forms of disability … to make donations for the purpose of assistance and/or research " etc. And he is categorical in affirming that «the Foundation will not be able to carry out any other activity other than those envisaged by the statute». In which there is not a single word that even remotely refers to publishing or shares in publishing companies. Yet on November 9, 2020, the Foundation bought a further 40% of Editoriale Libero, of which it already owned 60%, from the Tosinvest finance company for 7.8 million (in installments until 2025). Today Libero represents a preponderant portion of the Foundation's assets”.

FREE RAISES AND ATTACKS CAIRO

On this issue today the director of Libero , Alessandro Sallusti, does not correct or deny, but relaunches by attacking the main shareholder of Corriere della Sera, Urbano Cairo, president and CEO of RCS:

“The publishing fund that Libero has access to is not the only public funding for newspapers and publishers. It would be right to inform Italian taxpayers, and therefore also Corriere readers, that part of their taxes end up directly in Urbano Cairo's pockets through various streams. For example, Corriere della Sera , like everyone else, collects five (soon ten) euro cents from the state for each copy sold. Not to mention the non-marginal contribution that the State grants him to buy paper. And what about the early retirement paid with INPS money, ie public money, for the many journalists that the Corriere sent home, to lighten their staff and therefore their accounts, after only 25 years of work? And again: the twenty million that public bodies make available to Cairo to organize the Giro d'Italia every year are also included in the calculation, which in addition to being a cycling race is the business with which RCS arranges its budget. It is not enough? Other public millions arrive to Corriere in the form of very, very, generous advertising towards them by state companies such as Leonardo, Tirrenia, Cassa depositi e prestiti, Eni, Enel ".

This is how state contributions to newspapers gush out. Data Media Hub reports

Dolomiten, Famiglia Cristiana, Avvenire, Libero and more: these are the newspapers that receive the most public contributions

+++

EXTRACT FROM AN ARTICLE BY MARIO GEREVINI FROM THE CORRIERE DELLA SERA DIRECTED BY LUCIANO FONTANA:

Antonio Angelucci wants to buy Il Giornale from the Berlusconi family. The negotiation seems to be in the pipeline. The Milanese newspaper, founded in 1974 by Indro Montanelli, would work alongside two other national newspapers of the Roman entrepreneur, king of clinics: «Il Tempo», a historic newspaper in the capital controlled by the financial company Tosinvest; and «Libero» by the big names Vittorio Feltri (editorial director) and Alessandro Sallusti (managing director) which belongs to a family foundation.

The minutes of the board of directors of the San Raffaele Foundation, the sale of 40% of Libero and the Luxembourg cards help us to enter the heart of the Angelucci empire, 200 million in revenues from healthcare, real estate, facility management and publishing. In publishing and in political commitment, in particular, Antonio Angelucci, 78, emerges as a skilled businessman and relationship man. Two elements demonstrate this. The first: despite having assets of 343 million (of which 41 million in works of art) kept in Luxembourg and regularly accounted for thanks to an old tax shield, and despite being Angelucci one of the richest MPs with 3.75 million income taxable in 2021 (4 in 2020, 5 in 2019), over the years the family has obtained tens of millions of public contributions for «Libero» (in the double sense that taxpayers pay and that they are in the light of the sun).

The second: the honorable Angelucci has been in Parliament for 14 years, first with Forza Italia and now with the League, but for 14 years he has hardly ever been seen in the Chamber; it has the lowest attendance record for voting: between 0.41% and 3.2% in the years of greatest commitment.

The three children have no shares, not even Giampaolo is the only one to play important roles in the group. Antonio, according to anti-money laundering declarations, owns 100% of the Luxembourg holding company Three, 343 million in assets, including 41 million in works of art conferred in 2017. Three controls the San Raffaele healthcare group (157 million in revenues, 9 in profit , 3,000 beds in 22 healthcare facilities) and the Tosinvest finance company (67 million in turnover, 6.6 in loss) which owns, among others, Palazzo Botteghe Oscure, Villino Foschi and Palazzo Aracoeli in Rome.

Then there is the hybrid, the San Raffaele Foundation. Formally not part of the group but unquestionably family. The "atypical" governance envisages that the assembly of the founders, ie Angelucci father and three sons, appoints the three members of the board of directors for three years. Except that every year a manager systematically resigns for "personal reasons" and triggers the simul stabunt simul cadent clause which resets the board of directors. So every year the founders appoint the directors for a three-year term. It is a weapon of legitimate power but which takes away the autonomy and independence of the directors, who are aware of the mechanism.

The San Raffaele Foundation (8 million in assets and a loss of 1.2 million in 2020) does not publish its financial statements, is a non-profit organization, manages some health activities and controls 100% of the Free Editorial which leases the masthead « New Opinions-Libero Quotidiano». The foundation scheme + publication beneficiary of contributions gives access to funds for publishing (about a hundred publications benefit from it). For 2021 Libero, which closed the financial statements with 15 million in revenues and a small profit, obtained 5.4 million (one of the top budgets).

It remains to be seen who owns the masthead «Opinioni Nuove-Libero Quotidiano» which Editoriale Libero, recipient of public contributions, rents. You don't go far: it is the Tosinvest finance company that charges 500 thousand euros a year.

+++

EXTRACT FROM AN ARTICLE BY ALESSANDRO SALLUSTI, EDITOR OF LIBERO DAILY :

“Says the Corriere: attention, Libero “together with a hundred other newspapers” receives public contributions. True news, but partial. The correct news would be: Libero, like Corriere della Sera, receives public money. Yes, because the publishing fund to which Libero has access is not the only public funding for newspapers and publishers. It would be right to inform Italian taxpayers, and therefore also Corriere readers, that part of their taxes end up directly in Urbano Cairo's pockets through various streams. For example, Corriere della Sera, like everyone else, collects five (soon ten) euro cents from the state for each copy sold. Not to mention the non-marginal contribution that the State grants him to buy paper. And what about the early retirement paid with INPS money, ie public money, for the many journalists that the Corriere sent home, to lighten their staff and therefore their accounts, after only 25 years of work? And again: the twenty million that public bodies make available to Cairo to organize the Giro d'Italia every year are also included in the calculation, which in addition to being a cycling race is the business with which RCS arranges its budget. It is not enough? Other public millions arrive to Corriere in the form of very, very, generous advertising towards them by state companies such as Leonardo, Tirrenia, Cassa depositi e prestiti, Eni, Enel ".

+++

This is how state contributions to newspapers gush out. Data Media Hub reports

Dolomiten, Famiglia Cristiana, Avvenire, Libero and more: these are the newspapers that receive the most public contributions

This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/economia/guerra-di-carta-fra-cairo-e-angelucci-su-libero-e-corriere-della-sera/ on Wed, 18 Jan 2023 10:34:09 +0000.