ROME (MF-Dow Jones)--An Italian court Friday overturned a ruling
to ban political talk shows on TV and radio in the month before
regional elections on the weekend of March 27.
The chief administrative court in Rome accepted an appeal by Sky
Italia, a unit of News Corp. (NWS), and Telecom Italia Media SpA
(TME.MI), which had contested the decision of Italy's
Communications Authority to ban political talk shows in the month
prior to the vote.
Italy's media laws include "par condicio," or equal access
media, regulations because the leader of the largest political
party, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, also controls Mediaset SpA
(MS.MI), the main television broadcaster alongside state-owned
RAI.
The court decision puts pressure on RAI, which also decided to
suspend political talk shows, said Paolo Gentiloni, the spokesman
on communications policy for the opposition Democratic Party.
Procedural errors in registering candidacies mean Berlusconi's
party may not appear on some ballots, a matter the central
government is addressing with ad hoc legislation.
News Corp. owns Dow Jones & Co., publisher of Dow Jones
Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
-By Carlo Renda, MF-Dow Jones; +39-06-6976-6921;
DJItaly@dowjones.com