AS THE MORNING SUN BREAKS over Cagli’s Piazza Matteoti, Edicola Santini is already in full swing. Cagliese young and old shuffle in and out of the narrow newspaper shop, buying packets of cigarettes and their daily newspaper of choice. Spread out in a long line in front of the counter lie dozens of Italian dailies: la Repubblica, Corriere della Sera, il Manifesto, il Messagaro, il Resto di Carlino. For an American used to a choice between two papers from a vending machine, the breadth and variety of Italian daily newspapers is astounding.

Italian national dailies run the gamut and cover most areas of the political spectrum. There are national dailies for neoconservatives, for communists, for businesspeople, for sports fans. There are papers for Catholics, for socialists, for neoliberals. This is in stark contrast to the American version of daily newspapers, which in most parts of the country is monopolized by a local or regional paper that supports the status quo. There is no choice between papers or point of view, and quality national dailies are more or less nonexistent (the only national newspaper in the United States is the fluff-filled USA Today, often derided as a ‘McPaper’; the New York Times, while a de facto national, is at heart a local paper of limited import to the rest of the country). In the same way that the United States clings to its political system of two establishment parties with very minor differences, so too does it remain a two-newspaper country in most cities, with, once again, very minor political differences and viewpoints rooted very firmly in the status quo. Compare that with Italy, and its dozens of political parties, alliances, and breakaway groups: so too does its national press reflect this plurality of opinion.

However, while it may appear that access to such a diversity of views in the national press would lead to a more informed citizenry and a wider diffusion of differing voices, is this really the case? Do Italians appreciate the range of ideas open to them, or is the choice deceiving? Would Americans be better served by an Italian system, with papers catering to different social and political divisions?

In the small town of Cagli, newspaper readers have a choice of some thirty daily papers- most national, a few regional. But while Italy’s most popular newspapers are the center-right Corriere della Sera and the mildly leftist Repubblica, it’s the regionally-focused sensationalist tabloid Resto di Carlino that sells the best.

“People like local news- to read about what happened in their area,” explained Eros Santini, who, along with his father, owns the eponymous newsstand. “But it’s not quality writing- pure sensationalism. The headlines are about foreigners coming to Italy illegally and Albanians committing robberies. The real, committed journalists write for Repubblica, or Corriere della Sera.”

A Repubblica reader, Giuditta Leoni, agreed. “It’s a better paper,” the twenty-two year old University of Bologna student said. “I prefer their way of writing. They talk about culture, cinema, literature.”

What about its slightly left-of-center politics? “Well, I’m moderate,” Leoni explained, “But I read La Repubblica. I know it’s a socialist paper, but you can’t always tell- the point of view is usually weak. The problem is that there’s no paper for moderates in Italy- they’re either left or right. So I read la Repubblica. In Bologna, everybody’s ‘red’- you know, Communist- so we read Repubblica there.”

Why not il Manifesto, or l’Unita, I asked her- Communist and socialist papers, respectively. “No, they’re too radical,” Leoni told me. “You can’t get past the point of view in those papers.”

But could it be said that one can tell what sort of a person is politically by seeing what newspaper they read? “Absolutely,” Eros Santini maintained. “If you buy il Giornale, or Libero, you like [extreme right Italian prime minister] Berlusconi or Allienza Nationale [1]”. Il Giornale is, in fact, owned by the Berlusconi family, and presents a conservative neoliberal viewpoint in line with the prime minister’s views. Other right-wing newspapers include il Messaggero, most popular in Rome and socially conservative, Il Folgio, a neoconservative daily in line with Berlusconi and the Bush administration, or Il Sole 24 Ore, an industry-run financial daily with a neoliberal outlook. On the left, outside of the mainstream La Repubblica, are il Manifesto, l’Unita, and a few others, linked to various strains of socialism and eurocommunism. “We also have four daily papers only about sports,” Santini added with a smile.

However, despite the range of political stances, there seems to be a feeling in Italy that this choice serves for little, and that the newspapers suffer from the same corporate control, political spin, and monetary influence as American newspapers. “It’s all a question of money,” Santini confided as a customer left his shop, newspaper under her arm. “Most of these papers are just there to serve a political party, or because some rich person wanted to spread their viewpoint. The party papers survive because they get state subsidies, and the rest are just owned by big companies. The only truly independent paper we have in Italy is maybe il manifesto.”

But il manifesto lies on the margins of the Italian newspaper spectrum. Corriere della Sera, obstinately the most widely-read, is owned by multinational corporation RCS Media Group, and controlled in part by a number of large industrial groups. La Repubblica, which also disputes the title of most widely-read (each has a circulation of about 600,000) is owned by a corporation with its fingers in other slices of the media pie- radio stations, magazines, and a host of local papers. La Stampa, another high-circulation daily, is owned by multinational Fiat. And Cagli’s most popular paper, il Resto di Carlino, is owned by the Bologna-based Monrif Group, which also runs a chain of luxury hotels and various dailies tailored to the regional market up and down Italy.

This is more or less analogous to the situation in the United States, where papers are more often than not run by large corporations such as Gannett, McClatchy, or Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation. Even when in private hands, the papers are beholden to their wealthy owners or advertisers, as is the case in Italy as well. The key difference in Italy seems to be that its comparatively small size makes national dailies (indeed, multiple national dailies) possible, and the fact that party-linked papers receive support in the way of government subsidies and a readership boost from party loyalists or sympthasizers. These facts explain why, despite alarming levels of media concentration in both countries, it would appear that the Italian press is still able to offer a wider viewpoint than its American homologue.

Yet, even if that is so, it seems that relatively few Italians take advantage of that availability. Giudetta Leoni buys a newspaper three times a week, which would certainly be an anomaly for an American 22-year-old, who would likely find precious little of importance or relevance in U.S. papers, especially the traditionally insipid local dailies. “Most university students in Italy buy papers,” Leoni said. “It’s normal, especially in Bologna.”

But in Cagli, and perhaps Italy at large, it’s a different story. “Maybe ten percent of people here buy a newspaper,” Eros Santini said with a sigh. The shop keeps itself afloat with sales of cigarettes, phone cards, and the like. “Most Italians prefer TV,” he added, shaking his head.

The situation for broadcast media is even more dire than print media in Italy, with over-the-air television controlled by either the state or held privately by the head of state, Silvio Berlusconi. The result is a stifling lack of diversity. Leoni agreed and offered a voice of dissent: “I won’t watch TV news,” she told me. “It’s all controlled- by Berlusconi, especially. Newspapers are better because there’s more choice, it’s more in depth, and you can think about things more. You don’t get that on TV.”

“In America, they have freedom of information. We don’t,” Santini said. Despite press freedom laws passed in Italy in 1947, Santiti maintained that Italy lagged far behind. Advocacy group Reporters Sans Frontieres offered a similar analysis: in 2008, they ranked Italy fortieth in worldwide press freedom- well behind Germany (6th), France (11th), and the United States (17th)—far behind even such places as Ecuador, South Africa, Bulgaria, and Chile. Even if we accept that this ranking may be due in large part to Berlusconi’s influence in broadcast media, there still remains a general sense of resignation among Italians that newspapers as well are bogged down by corporate control and party policy. A widespread lack of confidence in government, political parties, and the political system in general, combined with the ever-increasing slide towards corporatization, makes it difficult for Italians to have any great joy about the newspapers on offer.

Nevertheless, there is a begrudging admission that despite this current feeling of malaise, the variety of papers do offer something that American print journalism is unable to match. “It is true that you do get different points of view,” Santini conceded. “There is always a choice. And maybe it’s better to have a choice.”

He thought for a minute and stared at the line of papers displayed in front of him, dozens of different daily newspapers spread out. “But I’m not sure we need quite so many,” he grinned. “Maybe five would do.”