| Non riceve alcun finanziamento pubblico ("It does not receive any public funding") | |
 | |
 Front page of the first issue of the newspaper on 23 September 2009 | |
| Type | Daily newspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | Compact |
| Owner | Editoriale Il Fatto S.p.A. |
| Editor | Marco Travaglio |
| Founded | 23 September 2009 |
| Political alignment | Left-wing populism Anti-establishment |
| Language | Italian |
| Headquarters | Rome, Italy |
| Circulation | 53,242 (September 2022)[1] |
| ISSN | 2037-089X |
| Website | ilfattoquotidiano |
il Fatto Quotidiano (English: "The Daily Fact") is an Italiandaily newspaper owned by Editoriale Il Fatto S.p.A. and published inRome. It was founded on 23 September 2009 and was edited byAntonio Padellaro [it] until 2015, whenMarco Travaglio became the editor.[2][3] The three deputy editors areMarco Lillo [it],Salvatore Cannavò [it] (a former MP for theCommunist Refoundation Party andCritical Left) and Maddalena Oliva.[4]
Born on the long wave ofMani pulite and subsequent corruption scandals, it was a point of reference for the most intransigent anti-Berlusconism. Described by the likes of philosopher and journalist Alberico Giostra as a party-newspaper created byPaolo Flores d'Arcais and Travaglio, it has combined bothleft-wing andright-wing positions,[5] but it is broadlyleft-wing populist[6][7] andanti-establishment.
The newspaper says it is independent and objective.[8][9][10] It has been accused by critics of holding both left-wing and right-wing biases.[11][12][13] It is widely held to be politically close to theFive Star Movement (M5S),[14][15][16] including byMichele Santoro, the paper's co-founder,[17][18] and former contributorLuca Telese [it].[19] It has sometimes published editorials critical of the M5S.[20][21][22]
In late 2008,Marco Travaglio was asked by fellow journalistMassimo Fini [it] to advertise Fini's newly founded magazine,La voce del ribelle ("The Rebel's Voice"), on his blogVoglioscendere.it, with the objective of gathering "a few hundred subscriptions". Thousands of people answered, allowing Fini's magazine to succeed.[23] Because of this success, Travaglio started considering the idea of using his blog to launch a new newspaper, independent of public funding.[23] Travaglio announced his intention on 1 June 2009.[24]
The titleil Fatto Quotidiano ("The Daily Fact") was chosen as a homage to journalistEnzo Biagi,[24] who at then Prime MinisterSilvio Berlusconi's request was removed fromRAI, the Italian state television, in what became known as theeditto bulgaro controversy; Biagi's daily ten-minute prime-time news commentary onRai 1 was titledIl Fatto [it]. RAI refused to permit the newspaper to be called simplyIl Fatto, asserting rights to that name. In June 2009,l'Antefatto,[25] a promotional website, was set up containing information about subscription and the development of the project.[24] Travaglio stated that the publisher would not use Italian state advertising and funding to run the newspaper but instead use only money from sales and market advertisements.[24]
The first issue, printed in 100,000 copies in addition to 32,000 subscriptions, was already sold out before 8:00 AM on 23 September; distribution was limited to the largest cities. As a consequence, the newspaper announced it would immediately double the number of copies and make the first issue available online free of charge.[26][27]
It is considered close to theFive Star Movement (M5S).[28] The pro-M5S line of the paper has caused internal clashes in the editorial staff and contributed to the resignation of several journalists, includingLuca Telese [it],[19]Michele Santoro,[17][18]Davide Vecchi [it],[29] andStefano Feltri [it].[30] Following the start of the2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, journalist and co-founderFurio Colombo said the paper had taken a pro-Russian stance, and resigned from the paper due to its hiring ofAlessandro Orsini. He was also critical of the theories of Fini, a fellow columnist, on the German occupation of Italy during World War II.[31][32] Its reporting on the war has been seen as so pro-Russia and pro-Vladimir Putin that theRussian embassy has praised and retweeted it.[33][34][35]
il Fatto Quotidiano is published by Editoriale Il FattoS.p.A., an Italian company; themanaging director isGiorgio Poidomani. The company regulation states that up to 70% of theshares can be owned by entrepreneurs but that no one of them can own more than 16% of theshare capital, estimated at €600,000.[8] The remaining 30% of the shares is owned by the newspaper columnists.[8] As a result, no important choice can be made without the consent of the columnists, as a 70% majority + 1 is needed to carry out decisions about the newspaper policy or editor election.[8]
il Fatto Quotidiano is printed in thecompact format and full colour. It is distributed in Italy by post and through over 25,000newsagents in the major Italian towns and regions.[36][37] A significant fraction of the readership, about one fifth,[38] is made out of subscriptions to thePDF version of the newspaper. As of 25 December 2009[update], circulation ofil Fatto Quotidiano was 113,000.[38] The paper had a circulation of 78,669 copies in 2010.[39]
