VIDEO| The 46th ‘Casalegno’ award assigned to Gabanelli

The journalist: "Conditions have changed. Unless publishers get together to find another path, we can truly say goodbye to journalism"

ROME – The ceremony of the 46th edition of the ‘Carlo Casalegno National Journalism Award 2024’ took place this evening in Rome, at Palazzo Valentini. Milena Gabanelli was chosen by all the Rotarians and Rotaractors of Rotary District 2080 to receive the ‘Investigative journalist of the year – the search for the truth’ award, overcoming the competition of Giovanni Bianconi and Giovanni Minoli.

Present at the event were, among others, Gabriella Guasticchi and Maria Carla Ciccioriccio, respectively president and governor in the Rotarian year 2023-2024, Guido D’Ubaldo, president of the Order of Journalists of Lazio, the councilor for Culture of the Lazio Region, Simona Baldassarre. “I believe I do what I like – declared Gabanelli during the awards ceremony – and I am also lucky enough to be paid for this and nothing more. On this occasion I felt a little melancholy, because we are talking about a world to the past, conditions have changed and it is no longer the journalism we have seen. Unless publishers get together to find another way, we can truly say goodbye to journalism.”

The lifetime achievement award went to Francobaldo Chiocci, while those in memory were given to Oriana Fallaci and Andrea Purgatori. The first edition of the ‘Premio Casalegno Giovani’ was awarded to Giulia Torlone (Repubblica, La7). Established by the Rome North West Rotary Club in 1980, the year of its foundation, the award intends to renew the memory of the deputy director of the newspaper ‘La Stampa’ of Turin, Carlo Casalegno, who passed away in 1977: the first journalist killed by terrorists in the tragic season of the years of lead for his faith in democracy. Following his example, for 46 years the Rotary Club of Rome North West has wanted to pay homage to Italian journalists who have achieved exceptionally important results and contributed to the improvement of national culture.