Report director Corsini: “I choose the hosts. If Daniele Piervincenzi stays? Absolutely yes”

Paolo Corsini has given himself 24 hours to consider the future of Rai3’s investigative program Report after its newsroom defended the show’s independence and rejected the possibility of delaying its return. The program is intended to go on air on Nov. 8.

The internal dispute intensified less than a day after Giulia Presutti told Corsini by email that she would no longer host the program. Presutti had been one of two journalists selected by Rai to replace Sigfrido Ranucci. Asked whether the other, Daniele Piervincenzi, would stay, Corsini replied: “Absolutely yes.”

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Absolutely yes.

Corsini said the company’s intention was still to broadcast Report on Nov. 8. “I choose the hosts, I am paid for this,” he told reporters at the presentation of Salvo Sottile’s program “Ore 14.” He described Presutti’s withdrawal as “a personal choice,” while calling her “a resource and an excellent professional.”

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I choose the hosts, I am paid for this.

The director met the newsroom’s committee and staff after an assembly involving reporters, production staff and journalists working inside and outside the program. The two designated hosts were excluded from that meeting. Piervincenzi said he had not yet had a discussion with the newsroom before declining further comment.

The reporters’ earlier threat to resign collectively if the two new hosts were appointed appeared to soften after talks with management. “We have opened a channel of communication with the company, which is positive,” Danilo Procaccianti said. He added that the goal was to return on Nov. 8 with Report’s customary autonomy and independence, and that the meeting had not discussed names or procedures. Meanwhile, Rai delivered documents to Ranucci’s lawyers in response to a request for detailed reasons for his removal from the program.

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We have opened a channel of communication with the company, which is positive.