What the hell are you wearing? Journalist insulted sues and obtains apology

Massimo Zennaro, of the state broadcaster tv RAI 3, was targeted on social media by a businessman who mocked him for his clothes during the early stages of the pandemic

OSSIGENO March 26^th 2022 – A businessman  posted on Facebook insults and taunts against a RAI journalist, sent to Marghera, Venice during the April 2020 lockdown. The reporter sued him and the story ended  with an apology from the offender. The journalist is Massimo Zennaro, editor of news programme Tg3 of the Veneto Region, who during that period of restrictions was following the daily press conferences of the president of the Region, Luca Zaia, in the civil defence offices in Marghera.

THE EVENT – Gherardo Mainago, a local businessman, follows the broadcaster RAI’s live coverage, photographs the TV screen and shares his comments on Facebook. He defines the journalist as “scuzzy” and taunts him for several days in a row, insisting that Massimo Zennaro always wears the same jacket, or rather the one provided by RAI to its correspondents. A series of insults and comments aimed at disentitling  the journalist which does not stop even when Massimo Zennaro writes directly to the businessman  asking him to desist.

THE CONTEXT – We need to go back to April 2020, when Italy was experiencing the first period of severe lockdown when at that stage the fear of the virus was great and certainties were few. Fearing to become a vehicle of contagion for loved ones, Massimo Zennaro always chose to wear the uniform provided by RAI which he washed every evening, avoiding bringing it home. A very simple protective measure in the middle of a pandemic emergency. Following  the lawsuit and the simplified legal procedure for minor offences conducted on  February 15^th, 2022, the entrepreneur however apologized to Massimo Zennaro, who for this reason decided to withdraw the lawsuit.

SOLIDARITY – Ossigeno per l’informazione expresses solidarity with Massimo Zennaro and recalls the importance of demanding an apology in the face of insults and attempts at disentitling  that affect both the individual professional and the entire category. GB

READ HERE When the host of a press conference insults a journalist what can we do