Why did De Benedetti scrap Feltri and appoint Fittipaldi as director of the daily Domani?
Tomorrow newspaper: Carlo De Benedetti has torpedoed Stefano Feltri and appointed director Emiliano Fittipaldi. Facts, names, numbers and rumors (also on Damilano)
"It's not my custom to make arguments or comments about the places I've worked, so don't ask me." So Stefano Feltri wrote on his blog immediately after being ousted from the direction of the newspaper Domani by the publisher Carlo De Benedetti, deus ex machina of Romed, the company that controls the Editoriale Domani company. A phrase that implies an end to the relationship that is not too serene and friendly.
”The board of Editoriale Domani spa has decided to change the direction of the newspaper by appointing director Emiliano Fittipaldi, former deputy director of Domani . The Publisher and the board of directors thank Stefano Feltri for the commitment and work carried out over the years", reads a note from the company, on whose board De Benedetti does not sit, but to the Engineer – as to other publishers – just whisper to command.
At times a passage from the press release of the Debenedettian company is hilarious – "The Editor has decided to support the newspaper with new important investments in the digital field" – given that in the founding nucleus of the newspaper it is known as, at the beginning of the adventure, Stefano Feltri focused heavily on the web version but De Benedetti made every effort to have a robust presence on paper, at the cost of huge expenses for printing and distribution, right from the first issue released on 15 September 2020.
And the accounts have obviously been affected by the Debenedettian approach, if one scrolls through the 2021 budget at a loss, the last filed by the publishing company of the Domani newspaper: the costs were 7.2 million euros, compared to a total production value of 4.5 million euros.
An understandable budget deficit, also considering the collateral editorial products produced on various topics: geopolitics, food, comics, etc. Too many? Maybe.
There was no shortage of corporate tensions during Feltri's management, given the Arcuri-Volo case, as told by Start Magazine .
Just as in recent times readers and insiders had perceived a certain disenchantment in Feltri, who was increasingly busy presenting his latest book.
But if differences on the political line between publisher and director are to be excluded given the "gasps" – as Libero defined them – by De Benedetti against Meloni during the party tomorrow and the rough pieces of the newspaper on the Meloni government and the Melonians, what were the reasons for divorce?
Insiders debate on a fundamental issue.
The specialized monthly Prima Comunicazione wrote in the first days of 2020: "After this first phase, Carlo De Benedetti intends to launch a Foundation as an entity to which the management of the masthead will be attributed in order to guarantee the greatest possible distance between newspaper and publisher"
But of the foundation – and of the greatest possible distance between the newspaper and the publisher – nothing more has been heard.
While the name of a perfect Debenettian and Zandian director is being whispered in the editorial office of the newspaper…
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/mondo/perche-de-benedetti-ha-rottamato-feltri-e-nominato-fittipaldi-alla-direzione-di-domani-quotidiano/ on Thu, 06 Apr 2023 11:09:34 +0000.