US embassy cable - 04ROME1274

UNCLAS  ROME 001274 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
FOR IIP, EUR/PPD, EUR/WE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KPAO, OIIP, IT 
SUBJECT: INFLUENCE ANALYSIS: ITALY 
 
REF: STATE 33359 
 
INTRODUCTION: INFORMATION ENVIRONMENT 
 
1. Italy has the kind of wide-open media environment 
characteristic of most modern democracies.  As in other 
countries, most Italians get their news and information 
from television news programs.  There are seven main 
broadcast evening news programs, with two prime-time 
newscasts - one public (RAI) and one private (Channel 5 
of Mediaset) enjoying the highest viewership (around 8 
million and 7.4 million respectively).  While there has 
been much criticism that Prime Minister Berlusconi 
potentially could control, directly or indirectly, six of 
seven broadcast channels (the Berlusconi family owns the 
three Mediaset channels and the GOI controls the board of 
the three public RAI stations), there is a lively debate 
of the issues on television and in other media, and 
certainly no lack of criticism of the Berlusconi 
government.  The number of satellite TV consumers has 
grown greatly of late (reaching nearly one-quarter of 
Italian households), although the use of cable TV is 
nowhere near as prevalent as it is in the U.S. 
 
2. A 2003 study shows that the Internet is increasingly 
becoming an important medium of information for Italians, 
but usage is still considerably less prevalent than in 
most Western European countries.  The number of Italian 
families with personal computers is now over half (a 14% 
percent increase over 2002), and over one-third has 
Internet connections (a 19% increase from 2002).   Young 
people between the ages of 14 and 30 in particular rely 
on the Internet, with nearly forty per cent indicating 
that they are "regular users."   Recognizing the growing 
importance of e-mail and the web in communicating with 
our audience, the mission has put significantly greater 
resources into electronic outreach, creating a weekly "e- 
newsletter" and greatly expanding the number of Italian- 
language texts on our website, given the relatively low 
number of Italians with a good knowledge of English. 
 
3. Newspapers have an influence on the political debate 
in this country that goes far beyond what is reflected in 
raw circulation figures (the two leading dailies, 
"Corriere della Sera," and "La Repubblica" have daily 
circulations of around 650,000).  Politicians use the 
newspapers (and certain public affairs TV programs) to 
promote their points of view, float new initiatives, and 
in general try to affect the nation's political agenda. 
With only two or three that could be termed "centrist," 
national newspapers tend to reflect the full spectrum of 
political orientations reflected in parliament, and are 
closely followed by opinion-makers.  Regional newspapers 
in Italy's many medium-sized cities also play a 
significant role in shaping public opinion.  In spite of 
newspapers' very active and persuasive reach, many 
observers believe that Italian readers tend to judge much 
reporting as less than completely reliable.  This is 
because with only a few exceptions ("Corriere della 
Sera," "La Stampa," and "Il Sole-24 Ore"), Italy's 
national (and many regional) newspapers line up according 
to according to political affiliation and other 
interests.  Many have also noted that journalistic 
reporting standards, particularly at the regional level, 
do not always reach highest professional levels. 
 
4. If we want our voice to be heard on issues of 
importance to us, such as Iraq and the war against 
terrorism, we need to get our message across on the 
newspapers' op-ed and foreign news pages.  Fortunately, 
newspaper editors have been generally very open to 
publishing articles by both Ambassador Sembler (in 2003, 
he had over twenty op-eds published in national 
newspapers), other USG officials and private experts 
facilitated by Public Affairs (dozens in various national 
and regional papers.) 
 
5. Other prominent participants in the public debate on 
social and political issues include the Catholic Church, 
labor unions, and anti-globalization activists.  Pope 
John Paul II's pronouncements against military action in 
Iraq played a key role in shaping the debate on the 
Italian role in the conflict, and the Vatican's stand on 
certain social issues frequently influences domestic 
policy considerations.   Labor union and anti- 
globalization movements frequently use the streets in 
their attempts to shape policy, and their demonstrations 
are closely covered and commented on by the media. 
 
MPP THEMES/AUDIENCE TARGETS 
 
THEME ONE: COUNTERTERRORISM 
 
6. Bilateral cooperative efforts in this area have been 
outstanding.  Italy has been an active participant in the 
reconstruction of Iraq and Afghanistan, and U.S. and 
Italian law enforcement agencies have worked together to 
freeze terrorist assets and disrupt terrorist cells. 
Although officially a member of the "coalition of the 
willing," Italian public support for military action in 
Iraq was weak.  In addition, polls show that a 
significant minority would support a withdrawal from 
Iraq.  We focused our PD efforts in this area on 
maintaining Italian resolve for a robust response to 
terrorism, and support for staying the course in Iraq. 
To reach center-left skeptics, we have placed over a 
dozen Ambassadorial op-eds and many USG byliners in 
centrist and center-left newspapers ("Corriere della 
Sera," "La Stampa," "La Repubblica," "Il Messaggero," "Il 
Riformista," "Secolo XIX," and "Il Gazzettino").  We have 
arranged DVCs and speaker programs with important think 
tanks and academic institutions throughout the country. 
We have used the IV and Vol Vis programs to send numerous 
journalists, jurists, law enforcement and other public 
officials to the U.S. to learn more about our efforts to 
fight terrorism. 
 
THEME TWO: HOMELAND SECURITY 
 
7. Working with Consular, we have revamped our Visa pages 
to communicate new regulations to visa applicants.  We 
have also arranged briefings for the media to allow them 
to publicize new Congressional requirements for machine- 
readable passports and biometrics.  PA Milan has worked 
with the Consular Section there to set up programs in 
universities to explain new visa requirements and 
encourage students to apply early.  We have placed a high 
priority on getting accurate information on the new 
Container Security Initiative, and have issued Customs 
press releases and arranged media opportunities for 
Ambassador Sembler in participating Italian ports. We 
have organized DVCs and Voluntary Visitor programs to 
provide detailed information to Italian contacts about 
new visa regulations, including machine-readable 
passports and biometrics. 
 
THEME THREE: REGIONAL STABILITY 
 
8. We use targeted exchange programs for journalists, 
such as IV and NATO tours, to improve understanding of 
the role of American forces in Italy and maintain a high 
level of public support for Italian military missions 
abroad, such as in the Balkans and Afghanistan.  We take 
advantage of frequent visits by senior military and 
Pentagon officials to arrange press conferences and 
backgrounders, allowing them to explain U.S. security and 
defense policy. We have brought more than two dozen U.S. 
Speakers to Italy to participate in seminars, round- 
tables, and conferences on U.S. security and defense 
policies throughout the country. 
 
THEME FOUR: ECONOMIC PROSPERITY AND SECURITY 
 
9. Our biggest challenge in this area has been 
biotechnology, due to opposition from the public and 
politicians.  We have focused many of our resources to 
get the word out about the safeguards and science of 
GMOs.  To reach the public, we placed op-eds by senior 
officials and arranged media opportunities for USDA and 
State Department officials.  We've used the IV program to 
send journalists to get a first-hand look at the system 
of safeguards in the United States.  To help get the 
message directly to Italian farmers, Milan took a U.S. 
soybean farmer all over northern Italy to meet with 
hundreds of Italian farmers and numerous agricultural 
associations. We have organized seminars, round-tables, 
conferences on DVCs on such issues as biotechnology and 
intellectual property rights and have brought ten U.S. 
speakers to Italy to discuss economic prosperity and 
security issues with Italian audiences. 
 
THEME FIVE: INTERNATIONAL CRIME AND DRUGS 
 
10. U.S. and Italian law enforcement work closely 
together to combat the full range of international 
criminal activities.  We put together a number of 
targeted exchange programs for Italian magistrates and 
other public officials who are involved in these issues 
and others such as trafficking in human beings and 
victims rights.  In Naples, we organized a day-long 
seminar involving Embassy and Italian 
counterterrorism/organized crime authorities.  Another is 
 
being planned.  Our law enforcement colleagues tell us 
that these exchanges have greatly increased cooperation 
and information sharing. We have organized DVCs and 
Voluntary Visitor programs on drug issues and the issue 
of trafficking in human beings. 
SEMBLER 
 
 
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	2004ROME01274 - Classification: UNCLASSIFIED