RAI 1 chief says releases signed before not after (2)

Rome, April 13 - RAI Channel 1 Director Andrea Fabiano said Wednesday the public broadcaster must obtain signed release forms from its subjects and interviewees before and not after the interview takes place. "The rule has been in place since April 6," Fabiano told the parliamentary RAI oversight commission. RAI's flagship Channel 1 came under scrutiny after it emerged that the son of renowned mobster Totò Riina signed the release form only after personally reviewing his taped interview with journalist Bruno Vespa for his Porta a Porta talk show, which aired exactly a week ago. Critics of the controversial interview said it tacitly justified the mafia instead of condemning it. Also on Wednesday, Fabiano told the commission he approved Vespa's plan to interview Riina Jr. as a way to delve into the reality of the Mafia way of life for the purposes of providing information to the public as per the public broadcaster's mandate. "This was the sole intention," he told lawmakers. "Other motivations would be genetically incompatible with RAI (which in its entirety) stands on the side of the anti-mafia (struggle) - a duty, a value and a responsibility we are fully aware of". Former national anti-mafia prosecutor and Senate Speaker Pietro Grasso harshly denounced last Wednesday's interview and said that he had always had to sign a release form prior to being interviewed. Grasso said maybe Salvo Riina was allowed to sign after the interview to give him a chance to cover up any incriminating revelations he may have made inadvertently. The interview also sparked numerous street protests.