Agenzia Stefani
was the leading
press agency
in Italy from the mid-19th century until the end of
World War II
. It was founded by
Guglielmo Stefani
on 26 January 1853 in
Turin
, and was closed on 29 April 1945 in
Milan
.
History
[
edit
]
Early years
[
edit
]
Telegrafia privata ? Agenzia Stefani
(Private Telegraph ? Stefani Agency)
[1]
was created on January 26, 1853, in
Turin
by
Guglielmo Stefani
, who was of Venetian origin and was the director of the newspaper
Gazzetta Piemontese
, with support from
Camillo Cavour
.
Under the Cavour government, the agency gained huge advantages through the granting of secret funds while the
Statuto Albertino
banned privileges and private monopolies.
[2]
The radical press, meanwhile, suffered from restrictions on freedom of information.
[3]
As well, Agenzia Stefani, being in a monopoly situation, became a government tool for media control of the
Kingdom of Sardinia
.
[4]
After the death of Guglielmo Stefani, in 1861, the agency resurrected its collaboration with British agency
Reuters
and French agency Agence France-Presse (
Havas
). It was this, the world's first news agency, that acquired 50% of Agenzia Stefani in 1865.
As an unofficial government agency, the "Stefani" followed different transfers of Italian capital cities, from Turin to
Florence
in 1865, then to
Rome
in 1871
[5]
Under the direction of Friedlander
[
edit
]
In 1881,
Hector Friedlander
took control and kept it for 37 years. Under his direction, the agency remained close to the government, contributing strongly to blunting the opinions of the press towards the controversial events of the era, such as
Battle of Adwa
(1896),
Bava-Beccaris massacre
(1898), the assassination of
Umberto I of Italy
(1900),
Italo-Turkish War
(1911-1912) and the casual changes in international alliances preceding the
First World War
.
In 1888, Agenzia Stefani was key to Italy's diplomatic strategies; the Triple Alliance
potenziamento
, coordinated by Prime Minister
Francesco Crispi
, tried to separate Agenzia Stefani from French influence (by then it was 50%-owned by the French news agency
Havas
) in favour of an alliance with
Prussian
and
Austro-Hungarian
agencies. London, Berlin, and Vienna were involved in negotiations. Crispi wrote, "Stefani is entirely in our hands and benefits morally and materially from the government".
[6]
During the course of the 1890s,
Francesco Crispi
was a promoter of a break with
Havas
, accused of publishing false and biased news, to encourage the foreign policy of France. A mutual exchange agreement was signed with the German
Continentalen
, with the Austrian
Correspondenz-Office
and
Reuters
, to allow governments to control and censor, if necessary, the news from, and for, abroad.
Throughout the
First World War
, Agenzia Stefani received exclusive access to the diffusion of the dispatches of army staff, and 1920, an agreement was reached with the Giolitti government, which assigned the task of disseminating government information to the press prefects and government offices. Pursuant to the agreement, the appointment of the director and the major foreign correspondents were subject to government approval. The following year a new agreement with Havas granted it access to information from the
United States
and
Latin America
, thanks to cable connections created between
New York City
and
Paris
.
Management under Morgagni
[
edit
]
After the rise of
fascism
,
Benito Mussolini
grasped the potential usefulness of such a tool and on April 8, 1924, he placed Agenzia Stefani under the control of the
sansepolcriste
,
Manlio Morgagni
who, in a short time, transformed the voice of the government within Italy as well as abroad.
The first thing that I read in the morning are the Stefani reports. I also see Morgagni often and willingly.
In 1924, it had 14 bureaus in Italy, with 160 correspondents in Italy and 12 abroad, who succeeded daily at "working" an average of 165 incoming dispatches and 175 outgoing. Under Morgagni's direction, the agency underwent important development, to the extent that in 1939 there were 32 Italian bureaus and 16 others abroad, with 261 correspondents in Italy and 65 abroad, who every day processed an average of 1270 incoming dispatches and 1215 outgoing.
Following the arrest of Mussolini on July 26, 1943, Manlio Morgagni committed suicide.
RSI and ANSA
[
edit
]
With the creation of the
Italian Social Republic
, the state took ownership of Agenzia Stefani and its headquarters was moved to
Milan
, and placed under the direction of
Luigi Barzini senior
. Its last director,
Ernesto Daquanno
, was shot at
Dongo
with the dignitaries accompanying Mussolini.
Dissolved on April 29, 1945, the technical structure and its organization were transferred to the new
ANSA
.
See also
[
edit
]
Bibliography
[
edit
]
- Smith, Denis Mack.
Mazzini
(Yale U. Press, 1996)
excerpt
- (in Italian)
Manlio Morgagni "L'agenzia Stefani nella vita nazionale" (1931) ed. Alfieri e Lacroix, Milan
- (in Italian)
Sergio Lepri "Informazione e potere in un secolo di storia italiana. L'Agenzia Stefani da Cavour a Mussolini" (2001) ed. Le Monnier, Florence,
ISBN
88-00-85740-X
- (in Italian)
Romano Canosa "La voce del Duce. L'agenzia Stefani: l'arma segerta di Mussolini" (2002) ed. Mondadori, Milan
- (in Italian)
Gigi Di Fiore "Controstoria dell'unita d'Italia: fatti e misfatti del Risorgimento" (2007) ed. Rizzoli, Milan
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Lepri, Sergio (1999).
Informazione e potere in un secolo di storia italiana. L'Agenzia Stefani da Cavour a Mussolini
. p. 3.
- ^
Di Fiore, Gigi (2007).
Controstoria dell'unita d'Italia: fatti e misfatti del Risorgimento
. p. 63.
- ^
Smith, Denis Mack (1993).
Mazzini
. Milan: Rizzoli. p. 174.
- ^
Di Fiore, Gigi (2007).
Controstoria dell'unita d'Italia: fatti e misfatti del Risorgimento
. p. 62.
- ^
Lepri, Sergio (1999).
Informazione e potere in un secolo di storia italiana. L'Agenzia Stefani da Cavour a Mussolini
. p. 97.
- ^
Shrivastava, K.M. (2007).
News Agencies From Pigeon To Internet
. Sterling Publishers Pvt. Ltd. p. 9.
ISBN
9781932705676
.
- ^
Romano Canosa,
La voce del Duce. L'agenzia Stefani: l'arma segreta di Mussolini
,
Mondadori
, [Milano], 2002, p. 149.
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