Press Control and Censorship:
1. The Fascist regime used propaganda and control to ensure the population received the messages that it wanted them to.
2. They used methods from the mass activities of the OND to mass media and culture, and organisations set up by the state.
3. The longer they remained in power, the more sophisticated the Fascist propaganda apparatus became.
4. Alongside propaganda, newspaper and radio stations came under increasing pressure to report only favourable events or opinions.
5. Mussolini’s aims were;
6. Aims for the press: to eliminate any criticism of the Fascist State
7. Aims for propaganda: to create a ‘Cult of Ducismo’ through his ministry of popular culture (Miniculpop)
Press Censorship and Control:
1. As an editor of ‘Il Popolo d’Italia’, Mussolini knew the need to control the press.
2. Until 1925, there had been some freedom of the press. Although, clear criticism of the Fascists was extremely rare. Satirical magazines were still published at that point, and authorities tried to buy up critical newspapers and appoint Fascists as editors.
3. After 1925, independent newspapers were closed and their editors were arrested (such as editor of Corriere della Sera, Luigi Albertini, being dismissed in 1925).
4. Repressive press laws were implemented and enforced, but some critical newspapers such as ‘La Critica’ survived.
5. The Press Law of 1925 stipulated that only registered journalists could write for the newspapers, and the Fascists controlled the register.
6. Newspapers were monitored by the Fascist Party, Mussolini avidly read them, and journalists knew that opposition messages would lead to severe consequences.
7. This meant that political groups and parties that opposed Fascism could not communicate with potential anti-Fascist supporters.
8. Censorship was controlled by Mussolini’s press office. In 1935, this expanded to the Ministry of Press and Propaganda. It was renamed the Ministry of Popular Culture (Miniculpop) in 1937.
9. The Miniculpop introduced strict censorship of newspapers, radio, film, theatre, and foreign publications.
10. Newspapers were banned from publishing anti-Fascist opinions and negative stories like public disasters that might make Fascist Italy seem like a less glorious and successful state.
11. Newspapers instead focused on superficial matters such as ceremonies, the movements of Mussolini and the royal family, and the regime’s policies.
12. The Italian Press was not fully coordinated by the government. The Catholic newspaper ‘Osservatore Romano’ had a large readership and did not always publish articles that were conducive to Fascist principles. However it did avoid direct criticism.
13. Most censorship was carried out by editors themselves and Fascist intervention was hardly ever needed.
Cinema:
1. Cinema was the most popular form of entertainment in the 1930s. Fascist Italy was one of the first states to recognise the potential value of mass media as a tool for political control. The regime took film seriously.
2. An experimental school of cinematography was built in Rome in 1935. It trained 100 students a year. It was not used for entirely Fascist purposes until the Second World War, but Hollywood and light Italian movies continued to be played as light entertainment or a distraction.
3. The regime needed the support of cultural industries and so did not want to make life too difficult for them.
4. In 1934, the regime created a General Directorate for Cinema (GDC) which was under the administrative control of the Ministry of Press and Propaganda (later Miniculpop). The agency was responsible for regulating cinema and bringing it in line with the Fascist ideology and aesthetic.
5. In 1938, the regime took over the ‘Cinecittá’ (Italian Hollywood) and the centre for the Italian film industry. Several Fascist films were made after this point such as ‘Siege of the Alcazar’ in 1940.
6. Most films were escapist glamour rather than straightforward propaganda. But, they were preceded by newsreels or documentaries produced by the regime’s film agency, L’Unione Cinematografica Educativa (LUCE). These portrayed current events as the Fascists wished, glorifying the regime and its success. Sporting successes feature frequently, Italian successes in the 1932 Olympics and 1934 and 1938 football World Cups were glorified in newsreels.
7. Anyone who went to the cinema had no choice but to sit through newsreels, although that did not guarantee that they would listen to or absorb the messages being promoted.
Radio:
1. Radio was an important form of mass media for rural areas and towns. It did not require literacy and could be received in remote areas if the government tried to install it. Like cinema, radio was relatively new.
2. Between 1924-1925, the first radio stations were set up. But popularity grew rapidly.
3. By 1932, there were over 300,000 registered radio sets. By 1939, there were more than 1 million.
4. In 1933, a special rural radio agency was set up (the ERR) and was led by the PNF secretary.
5. During WW2, Mussolini expanded Italian radio. More than 2 million sets were installed in market places, schools, factories and military facilities. This meant that radio reached huge audiences, not just individual radio sets in homes.
6. Radio broadcasting was state controlled, so news broadcasts, as in cinema, gave excellent opportunities for propaganda.
7. One example wass Roberto Davanzati’s ‘Chronicles of the Regime’ programme. He was a member of the Grand Council of Fascism and a senator. His programme included interviews with well known members of the PNF and government.
8. Most programming consisted of music. But there were two hours every day of official broadcasts. This increased more in the 1930s. Mussolini’s major speeches were broadcasted live and were played via loudspeaker in public squares and buildings.
9. Police reports in 1940 showed the importance of radio. They showed that people were increasingly listening to Radio London to obtain information about the fight against the Fascists.