01. 10. 2005

ITALY TWO DAYS WITHOUT NEWSPAPERS

ROME, October 1, 2005 – Italian print journalists walked off their jobs this morning at the start of a two-day strike, idling news agency wires for two days and stopping most newspaper editions over the weekend. The National Union of Italian Journalists (FNSI) has called the journalists on strike to protest a stalemate in contract renewal talks with media publishers. In a letter to the Italian president Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, the journalists’ association noted how difficult this decision to go on strike was. The Italy’s newspaper publishers association (FIEG) expressed their concern over the walkout, not in the interest of the journalism as profession. The publishers, however, think the demands of the journalists’ union were unacceptable. Journalists of the national, private and local radio and television stations will stage a similar 48-hour strike starting October 7, FNSI said in a statement.