Telejato

Telejato
CountryItaly
Broadcast areaPalermo, Sicily
HeadquartersPartinico
Ownership
OwnerPino Maniaci
History
Launched1989
Links
WebsiteTelejato.it

Telejato is an independent television station based in the town of Partinico, in Sicily, Italy, and managed by Pino Maniaci, broadcasting since 1989. It became widely known for its anti-Mafia reporting.

History

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The station was founded in 1989 by Alberto Lo Iacono[1] and subsequently sold to the Italian Communist Refoundation Party (Partito della Rifondazione Comunista or PRC) which, in turn, sold it, in 1999, to Giuseppe "Pino" Maniaci, a Sicilian building-contractor and entrepreneur.[2]

At the time of its purchase by Maniaci, the station was ostensibly in a state of "impending financial collapse", due to the debts incurred by its previous management.[3] Moreover, its classification as "community television" carried an advertising limit of three minutes per hour. Maniaci's stated intention was to turn his mostly family-run Telejato into a "miniature, amateur CNN", as he called it, and, therefore, "the world’s longest TV news programme"[3] was born, with a total of two hours of service, from 2:30 pm until 4:30pm.

Gradually, Telejato turned to investigative reportage, first turning its attention to local polluters.[3] The station has been sued "more than 200 times" from Distilleria Bertolino alone, on account of the many reportages carried out by Telejato into alleged pollution by the distillery factory.[3]

The Sicilian Mafia eventually became the station's main subject of reporting.

Audience

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Telejato's signal covered the provinces of Palermo and Trapani, with an approximate target viewership of 150,000 people.[3]

On 28 April 2021, Pino Maniaci announces that the Telejato's signal covers all provinces of Sicily.[4]

Intimidation

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Pino Maniaci filming an event in memory of Giuseppe Impastato, in Cinisi, Sicily, May 2010

Telejato's owner and most of the people working there have reported receiving anonymous threats against their lives and their families' well-being, all of which, they claim, come from local Mafia bosses who are upset with the publicity caused by the station's anti-Mafia activity.

In 2007, Telejato's reporting on the unauthorised use of an extended land area by cattle barns that allegedly belonged to local, Mafia-affiliated families and had been operating there for more than twenty years, led to renewed threats. Pino's daughter, Letizia, hung placards outside the stables, reading "Stables of shame."[5] The next day, Pino Maniaci was allegedly beaten by two unknown teenagers in the street and taken to hospital. After receiving first aid assistance, Maniaci left the hospital and, with bruises and cuts visible on his face, went on the air to denounce from Telejato, once more, the ostensibly Maffia-run cattle business.[5] Soon after, the Italian carabinieri, in a combined anti-Mafia operation, closed down the illegal barns in the area.[5]

In July 2008, Pino Maniaci's car, parked outside his home, was "doused with gasoline" and set on fire.[6] This episode is part of what Maniaci says is a constant process of threats, manifesting in "countless attacks", such as slashed tyres or severed brake cables in the cars he uses and even windscreens shattered by gunshots.[7] Maniaci was subsequently granted police protection.[3]

The website of Telejato has often been blocked or rendered inaccessible to web search engines, allegedly as a result of Mafia-ordered hacking.[1]

In September 2011, many abusive and threatening graffiti messages appeared on the walls of the town of Partinico, such as "You've ruined this country!" and "The ruling has been issued", ostensibly directed against Maniaci.[8] The federation of Italian journalists and the Sicilian federation of journalists expressed their solidarity with Telejato.[8]

In December 2014, Maniaci found the two dogs he kept at home hung from a post near the station's studio.[9] Maniaci linked the incident to Telejato's coverage of drug use in the area. "The city is awash with cocaine, and we have been going very hard on that," he stated to the press. "Cosa Nostra is always behind things like that."[9]

Accolades

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Letizia Maniaci, Pino's daughter and Telejato's main reporter[7] (Maniaci's son Giovanni also works at the station),[3] has been awarded the Maria Grazia Cutuli journalism award for her work. Letizia Maniaci has written a book about her life, working in Telejato, which was published in Italy by Rizzoli, in March 2009.[10]

Adversities

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Journalism without a license

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In 2009, Pino Maniaci was indicted by Palermo public prosecutor Paoletta Caltabellotta for exercising the journalistic profession "without the necessary state license."[11] The indictment did not reach the courts, as Maniaci was given honoris causa a journalistic license by the Italian federation of journalists.[11]

Libel suit

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On 21 April 2016, an article signed by Salvo Vitale on Telejato's Voce della Sicilia webpage alleged that the president of the Court of Auditors Luciana Savagnone got her sports journalist son-in-law hired by the radio station TRM through personal connections. Savagnone sued for libel and in September 2018, Maniaci, Vitale, and Telejato manager Riccardo Orioles were found guilty and sentenced to a fine of a total of 15,000 Euros.[12]

Extortion indictment

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In April 2016, Salvo Lo Biundo and Gioacchino De Luca, the mayors of Partinico and Borgetto respectively, submitted a complaint against Maniaci, accusing him of demanding bribes so that Telejato "would go easy on them." Maniaci denied the charges, stating that the mayors were among those Telejato was almost daily reporting for incompetence. An investigation was opened by the office of the Palermo public prosecutor Nino Di Matteo.[13]

In May 2016, Palermo Deputy Prosecutor Vittorio Teresi detailed the accusations against Maniaci in a news conference where he attacked the journalist's status as "a champion of anti-corruption," stating: "The fight against the Mafia is done without personal interests. We do not need the anti-Mafia services of Mr. Pino Maniaci." Chief Prosecutor Francesco Lo Voi also appeared before the media, claiming Maniaci "has repeatedly shown a total disregard for established authority, the police and the judiciary." The Palermo authorities banned Maniaci away from Partinico, arguing he was "using his television show for leverage."[14]

On 4 April 2017, Maniaci announced with an online message that Telejato would close down, using the phrase, "Chi ci ama ci scusi. È stato bello." ("Those who love us, please forgive us. It's been nice.") Maniaci stated that it had become impossible to carry on because the "mud machine operated by the Carabinieri and the Palermo prosecutor's office had caused devastating damages, much more serious than the damage done to the station by the mafiosi who intimidate local businesses away from advertising on Telejato."[15]

The next day, Maniaci announced that he wanted to keep the station going.[16]

On 28 March 2018, the station's chief editor, Francesco Buzzotta, was killed in a head-on collision of his car with a truck on the provincial road between Partinico and Grisì.[17]

Trial

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The trial date was set for 19 July 2017, the anniversary of the 1992 Via D'Amelio bombing in which anti-Mafia magistrate Paolo Borsellino and five members of his police escort were assassinated.[18] Eleven defendants were named, variously charged with mafia association, extortion and real estate fraud, including Maniaci who was charged with extortion.[18]

On the opening day of the trial, the judge Benedetto Giaimo declared that no sound- or image-recording devices would be allowed in the court room, because, as he stated, "the trial holds no social interest," and postponed the trial to the 20th of September. [19] On that date, the judge reversed his decision and allowed cameras in the court room.[20] On 20 November 2017, the trial began, but judge Mauro Terranova, on account of some defendants not having been properly summoned, postponed commencement for 8 January 2018,[21] then for 25 January, and again for 5 March.[22]

On 8 April 2021, Palermo judge Mauro Terranova acquitted Maniaci of the charge for extortion. He sentenced Maniaci to 1 year and 5 months of prison time for defamation of journalist Michele Giuliano, painter Gaetano Porcasi, Nunzio Quatrosi, and Elisabetta Liparoto. Maniaci's lawyer stated they will appeal the guilty verdict for defamation.[23]

Documentaries about Telejato

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In 2015, in "The Mafia Hunter" episode of Channel 4's Unreported World, Krishnan Guru-Murthy and director Paul Kittel traveled to Sicily to meet Maniaci and the group of volunteers who run Telejato.[24] In 2021, Netflix released a documentary series about the station, titled Vendetta: Truth, Lies and the Mafia.[25]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Bloccato il sito di Telejato" Archived 2012-01-05 at the Wayback Machine ("Telejato's website blocked") Gli Italiani, 27 October 2010 (in Italian)
  2. ^ "Telecamere contro la Piovra" ("TV cameras against the Octopus") by Pietro Scaglione, Famiglia Cristiana magazine, 3 August 2008 (in Italian)
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Bergamini, Mattia (18 November 2008). "Telejato: family-run, mini-CNN in Partinico, Sicily". cafébabel. (cached page)
  4. ^ "Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2021-04-29.
  5. ^ a b c "Familie Maniaci gegen die Mafia" ("The Maniaci family against the Mafia") by Georg Cadeggianini, Brigitte magazine, 18 March 2009 (in German)
  6. ^ "In fiamme auto di giornalista - Ancora una minaccia della mafia" ("Journalist's car in flames - Another threat by the mafia"), La Repubblica, 18 July 2008 (in Italian)
  7. ^ a b "Sicily's tiny anti-Mafia TV channel" BBC News, 6 October 2011
  8. ^ a b "Scritte contro giornalista tv nel palermitano" ("Written messages against Palermitan journalist"), ANSA, 3 September 2011 (in Italian)
  9. ^ a b "Journalist known for investigating mafia finds dogs hung from post" by John Hooper, The Guardian, 4 December 2014
  10. ^ Maniaci, Letizia Mai chiudere gli occhi ("Never close your eyes"), Rizzoli, Italy 2009, ISBN 978-88-17-03077-9
  11. ^ a b "A giudizio perché abusivo il direttore antimafia di Telejato" ("The anti-Mafia Telejato director taken to court for abuse"), Corriere della Sera, 30 March 2009 (in Italian)
  12. ^ "Condannati per danno all'immagine Maniaci, Vitale e Orioles di Telejato" [Maniaci, Vitale, and Orioles of Telejato condemned to damages for libel]. AntiMafiaDuemila (in Italian). ANSA. 11 September 2018. Retrieved 6 December 2018.
  13. ^ "Pino Maniaci indagato: “Chiede soldi ai sindaci promettendo di non attaccarli”. Lui: “E’ falso, basta ascoltare i miei tg”" ("Pino Maniaci investigated: 'He asks money from the mayors, promising not to attack them.' Maniaci: 'It's fake, just listen to my newscast'") by Giuseppe Pipitone, Il Fatto Quotidiano, 22 April 2016 (in Italian)
  14. ^ "He goes after the mob; now he's the target" by Joel Labi, CNN report, 27 December 2016
  15. ^ "Telejato, chiude l’emittente di Pino Maniaci: 'Rovinati dalle querele'" ("Telejato, closed Pino Maniaci broadcasts: 'Ruined by the quarrels'") by F.Q., Il Fatto Quotidiano, 4 April 2017 (in Italian)
  16. ^ "Pino Maniaci chiede e ottiene rinvio a giudizio. Intanto Telejato prova a reagire, con enormi difficoltà" [Pino Maniaci gets indicted. Meanwhile, Telejato tries to react, with enormous difficulties]. Telejato (in Italian). 5 April 2017. Retrieved 21 November 2018.
  17. ^ Campolo, Riccardo (28 March 2018). "Incidente a Partinico, morto il collaboratore di Telejato Francesco Buzzotta" [Accident at Partinico, Telejato collaborator Francesco Buzzotta dead]. Palermo Today (in Italian). Retrieved 17 July 2018.
  18. ^ a b "Palermo, a giudizio per estorsione il giornalista antimafia Pino Maniaci" ("Palermo charges with extortion the antimafia journalist Pino Maniaci") by F.Q., Il Fatto Quotidiano, 5 April 2017 (in Italian)
  19. ^ "Processo a Pino Maniaci: niente riprese audio e niente video! Ed è subito polemica" ("Pino Maniaci trial: No audio and no video allowed! And it is immediately controversial"), Il Nuovi Vespri, 20 July 2017(in Italian)
  20. ^ "Processo a Pino Maniaci: tribunale ammette telecamere" ("Pino Maniaci trial: court admits cameras"), Sicialian News, 20 September 2017 (in Italian)
  21. ^ "Processo a Pino Maniaci di Telejato per estorsione e diffamazione rinviato a gennaio" ("Trial of Telejato's Pino Maniaci for extortion and defamation postponed to January"), Il Sito di Sicilia, 20 November 2017 (in Italian)
  22. ^ "Nuova udienza del processo Lo Voi-Vitale" ("New hearing of the Lo Voi, Vitale trial"), Telejato, 25 January 2018 (in Italian)
  23. ^ Mannino, Giorgio (9 April 2021). "Assolto Pino Maniaci, primo successo da avvocato per Ingroia: 'Linciato per aver denunciato il sistema Saguto'" [Pino Maniaci acquitted, Ingroia's first success as a lawyer: 'Lynched for having denounced the Saguto system']. Il Riformista (in Italian). Retrieved 1 September 2021.
  24. ^ "The Mafia Hunter". EditStore. 2021. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
  25. ^ Heritage, Stuart (27 September 2021). "Vendetta: Netflix's chilling mafia show is The Sopranos meets Tiger King". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
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