Report team rallies behind Ranucci as Rai suspends summer reruns and Brothers of Italy demands inquiry into Lavitola ties

Rai suspends Report reruns

Rai has halted the planned summer reruns of the investigative programme Report, describing the move as a precautionary measure while investigations continue into the October 2025 bomb attack outside host Sigfrido Ranucci’s home. Company sources told ANSA that the decision should not be read as censorship, noting that the episodes remain available on RaiPlay and that the Report team is still working on upcoming investigations. The broadcaster said it will await developments in the judicial probe and will not launch a parallel internal inquiry, affirming that Ranucci is the injured party.

Ranucci rejects influence

Ranucci categorically denied that any Report investigation was influenced by Valter Lavitola, a convicted wheeler-dealer who is a friend of the host and is accused of orchestrating the bombing. Fratelli d’Italia is preparing to file a complaint with prosecutors asking them to clarify the relationship between Ranucci and Lavitola and the latter’s alleged business in renewable energy in the Lazio region.

There is no Report investigation on wind power conditioned by Lavitola. In general, there is no Report investigation conditioned by Lavitola.

He said all collaborators who worked on the investigations can confirm that, and called the party’s complaint based on completely erroneous premises. The party had insinuated that a Report episode attacked Lazio members of Fratelli d’Italia in retaliation for the region’s refusal to authorise Lavitola’s energy project, but the service in question aired in 2020 when the region was governed by the centre-left.

Newsroom mobilises

The Report editorial team rejected the suspension as an unprecedented act of censorship and launched a public campaign. In a statement, the journalists said they are a team heavily under attack and asked viewers to connect to RaiPlay at 21:15 on 12 July, the slot the rerun would have occupied, watch the scheduled investigation, and post a photo with the hashtag #giulemanidareport.

We are a team heavily under attack, first with a bombing, now with a suspension, but we won’t stop: we keep working with the same determination as always.

The staff described Report as a collective asset and a guarantee of press freedom, insisting that the memory of their investigations cannot be suspended by a corporate decree.

Political battle escalates

The suspension quickly became a partisan flashpoint. Fratelli d’Italia posted on Facebook that “Report goes on vacation” and said it hoped the team would use the summer break to clarify the friendship between Ranucci and Lavitola. The League welcomed the decision, saying it was right to protect the credibility of the public broadcaster. Simultaneously, the right revived criticism of Democratic Party secretary Elly Schlein, who after the October 2025 bombing gave a speech in Amsterdam at the Party of European Socialists congress warning that democracy and free speech were at risk with the far right in government. Senate president Ignazio La Russa shared the clip with the caption “How embarrassing,” and Fratelli d’Italia demanded Schlein apologise.

What comes next

Ranucci told a group of reporters from the programme, according to Corriere della Sera, that he was ready to step aside if anyone on the team had doubts about him. The editorial office, however, publicly insisted it was united and dismissed any speculation of a split. Judicial steps are pending: Fratelli d’Italia’s complaint is expected to be filed in the coming days, and Rai will wait for the outcome of the criminal investigation. Report is scheduled to return for its new season on Rai3 on 8 November, after PresaDiretta’s run concludes.