After 35 years, Andrea Vianello bids farewell to Rai, announcing it with a post on X on the day of Liberation and his 64th birthday. “After 35 years of life, news, live broadcasts, programs, emotions, and incredible experiences, I have decided to leave ‘my Rai’,” writes the journalist, emphasizing that it is a “consensual agreement.” And he adds, “I thank friends and colleagues, it has been an honor and a magnificent ride. I will always carry with me the sense of public service wherever I go,” suggesting that his television or radio adventure is not over yet.
But at the moment La7 and Discovery, where many of the protagonists of the past Rai season have chosen to move, deny that there are ongoing negotiations. And so do Mediaset and Sky, but of course, the appointment is for the upcoming schedules and there is time to reach a conclusion. In any case, Andrea Vianello’s departure is not a retirement due to reaching a certain age limit but a divorce, even though it was reached through a completely consensual agreement. It comes after over a year of waiting in the wings for the journalist who had resigned from the position of director of San Marino Rtv in March 2024. Recently, there had been talk of his appointment as the director of Rai Radio 3, which had not yet materialized.
That is why today, Rai board member Roberto Natale emphasizes that “Although the result of a ‘consensual agreement,’ Andrea Vianello’s early departure is bitter news for anyone who cares about public service. In Rai journalism – of which he became a part by winning the same selection for interns as Ilaria Alpi – Vianello has been an important reference for many years, and certainly could have continued to contribute even now if he had been offered a suitable new position, as the company has shown it can do in similar cases in recent months.” For Natale, “letting go of figures that have helped to give credibility to public service is a self-destructive choice.”
The Tg3 editorial committee also comments on the farewell with regret and concern for the editorial staff and network that has lost prominent figures, including Fazio, Orfeo, and Annunziata. “He is another colleague of great caliber – writes the union representation of the Rai editorial staff – who is being sidelined by the company for reasons that we cannot help but define as political, in a progressive emptying of identity and professionalism.” Born in Rome on April 25, 1961, Andrea Vianello joined Rai in 1990 through a competition after several years of collaborations with newspapers and magazines. He started as a reporter on Gr1 with Livio Zanetti, then on Giornale Radio Unificato, covering many news events, from the Capaci and Via D’Amelio massacres to the kidnapping of Faruk Kassam.
From 1998 to 2002, under the direction of Paolo Ruffini, he curated and hosted Radio anch’io, then moved to television with Tele anch’io on Rai2. On Rai3, from 2001 to 2003, he was the author and host of Enigma, and from 2004 to 2010, he hosted Mi manda Rai3. Andrea Vianello became the director of Rai3 in 2012 directly from hosting Agorà, the network’s morning news program, which he joined in September 2010 after the experience of Mi manda Rai3.
In January 2020, he published the book “Ogni parola che sapevo,” recounting the health incident that occurred on February 2, 2019, when he suffered a cerebral ischemia that temporarily took away his language ability, which he recovered after long rehabilitation therapies. In July 2020, he was appointed director of Rai News 24, and the following year, he became the director of Rai Radio 1, Rai Radio 1 Sport, Giornale Radio Rai, and Rai Gr Parlamento. In 2023, he was appointed as the general director of San Marino RTV but resigned just ten months after the appointment. He was currently awaiting placement, and there had been talk of his possible appointment as the director of Radio Tre. But now, his next challenge will be elsewhere.
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