Gabanelli and Ranucci, and the difference between armchair journalism and variety show nonsense passed off as a scoop

With Sigfrido and his little friends, Totò would have created an unforgettable farce and variety show. In the absence of the great comedian, he himself creates a professional, human and autobiographical farce, coating himself in ridicule even as his own sidekick – Totò and Peppino together, a quintessential Camillo Mastrocinque – a perfect title: "La banda degli onesti" (The Gang of Honest People). Once at "Il Foglio", when I was still editor-in-chief – many years ago, then – Milena Gabanelli came to see me. A native of Piacenza, she was a stern yet fascinating woman, a prime example – first at Rai and then at "Corriere" – of rather rigorous and well-researched investigative journalism. She wanted to reassure me about her working methods, but she did so with great dignity and without asking for anything at all (we’d probably already picked her programme, "Report", to pieces). Her disinterested coolness and professional rigour made a good impression on me – even though I’m not the sort to be swayed by the sight of a schoolmistress – and I considered, without prejudice, the points she wished to convey to me through that visit. I’m not some sensationalist hack – that’s the crux of it – I do honest, meticulous and watertight work, based on the ample time I give my videojournalist colleagues to follow up on investigations after we’ve defined their scope together; they’re generally freelancers, in many cases improvised reporters being put to the test in the field – young journalists are growing up – and everything passes through the careful and sober professional filter that news demands, to investigations or reports on the wrongdoings that come to light in my country and the surrounding areas. A perfect self-portrait, in its own way, and who cares about the imperfections – they’re everywhere, even here and here personally, let alone elsewhere.

Behind Gabanelli’s work lay a story, a collective commitment, and international experiences such as the launch of New York One, a television channel that made use of video journalism – topics discussed by Roberto Quagliano, Milena’s long-time collaborator and mentor, in a balanced and interesting interview in "Il Riformista".

Then Gabanelli became the ‘Divine Know-It-All’ of anti-establishment reporting, a true star who was a thorn in the side of governments and Confindustria, the great enemy of all those with something to hide – and so, more or less, of everyone – without too many compromises, friendly circles or relationships that were a bit of a mixed bag. Governments and businesses feared her, and after nearly twenty years – indeed, even longer, spanning her time on "Professione Reporter" and "Report" – in 2016, which was also my second year as a founder awaiting a well-deserved retirement, she left Rai for "Corriere" and La7. He handed the programme over to Ranucci; I’m not quite sure why or under what circumstances, except that he advised him to lose weight – something the Successor attempted to do with the famous fish diet at Lavitola’s Bistrò Cefalù, the delightful alleged mastermind behind the attack that first elevated and then brought down the legendary Sigfrido, Valter, with his recent silence and his angelic face (the demon of activism always has an angelic face – make a note of that).

All this to say that I get the impression there are two types of Report, a view which Gabanelli delicately guards, as a judgement, within her austerity and reserve, particularly following the explosion into mystery and laughter of the grotesque farce that began with the alleged ‘friendly bomb’ and its trail of gossip, insinuations and half-truths. I say this as someone who has always regarded the sanctity of the news as utter nonsense, someone who considers news and opinions indistinguishable, and who draws a dividing line solely in my favour for the latter, which are always freer than facts – those shrivelled simulacra of surreality. The woman in the handsome Sigfrido’s autobiography plays a significant role, as demonstrated by the talented Maria Rosaria Boccia and the TikTok star of destiny, Rita De Crescenzo. One day we shall know – there’s no great rush – just how much and in what sense the Woman, that is to say Milena, mattered: the guiding light now in the shadows, and the shadow of a guiding light that set the tone for the second series of "Report" to become what it is today.