The Sironi Method

pone were enemies and lived in blinders, slaves of some master. A bit as if we were still on the barricades of ‘68, but without the same ideal drive. From a generational point of view, journalism is lived and used as an activism which, if on the one hand it indicates the need and expression of an ideal, on the other it does not emerge from the bipolar trap which generates ideological clash rather than confrontation, despite the continuous and rhetorical appeal to dialogue and inclusiveness.

Who were your teachers, if any?

My professional career has also been a training course, as I have learned not only by working in the field, but also thanks to meeting colleagues who have been masters. In particular, the first, Enzo Manes, twenty years older than me, left a mark. I was 25 and in addition to guiding me in the discovery of good writing (in particular how to choose the attack, i.e. the beginning of an article), he introduced me to ethics in the choice of news. Over time I then met many colleagues who have been masters in some aspects of my work such as Francesco Facchini who opened my eyes to mobile journalism and Fabio Ranfi, my age, who invited me to participate in the AllNews Milan adventure. The Italian journalist who for me is an undisputed master and a great inspiration above all for his free approach to information, even if unfortunately I have never had the good fortune to work with him, is Toni Capuozzo.

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What is the difference between print, radio and television journalism?

At the base there is always writing and therefore a text which, being a fabric of words, constitutes the plot on which to build the information which in its expression follows the rules of the communication channel that conveys it. The substantial differences are made by the editorial choices of the individual media.

Are newspapers still useful in the age of the internet?

I don’t know how to answer this question. I wish I could say yes, however I believe that a question like this can be answered by the people who hold publishing globally. Paper newspapers in Italy still seem to be useful in providing local information.

Can today’s journalism be defined as free journalism?

Was journalism ever really free? I mean from ideologies and cognitive biases that easily make the news take the drift of the preconception. Today, prejudice is often replaced by the perceived. If, on the other hand, we mean freedom from masters, today there are certainly more than in the past; in addition to advertisers and political pressure, today there are also the algorithm and people who have been transformed from public into user-consumers.

Is being a journalist still a profession, a passion in Italy?