Italian media began a strike to protest Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's bill to limit news coverage of criminal probes that involve police wiretaps.
Print reporters won't show up to work today, meaning no papers will be on sale July 9, while news agencies along with television, radio and Internet staff will abstain tomorrow for a "day of silence," journalists' union FNSI said yesterday.
Berlusconi argues that pervasive leaks of wiretaps in Italy, one of the most bugged countries in Europe, leads to people being tried in the press. Police, prosecutors, journalists, publishers and opposition parties say the law goes too far and would hinder investigations and the media's freedom to report on issues of public interest.
The draft legislation, dubbed the "gag law" by its critics, was passed in the Senate earlier this month and debate begins in the Chamber of Deputies on July 29. Berlusconi had hoped to turn the bill into law before parliament breaks up in August for the summer recess.
If passed, the law would make it harder for prosecutors to get wiretaps approved and limit them to 75 days from as much as 18 months currently. Journalists would risk jail time and publishers could be fined as much as 465,000 euros ($588,000) for reporting the content of wiretaps.
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