Mario Orfeo leaves la Repubblica to become Editorial Director of QN Media, Agnese Pini stays on as Direttrice Responsabile

The move

Mario Orfeo, 60, leaves the direction of la Repubblica, a post he had held since October 2024, to become Editorial Director of QN Media. The group, recently acquired by Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio, controls the dailies Il Resto del Carlino, La Nazione, Il Giorno and QN. In his new role, Orfeo will support the publisher and the CEO, guiding editorial strategy and new development projects.

Dal prossimo 9 settembre, Mario Orfeo sarà il Direttore Editoriale di QN Media. Nel nuovo ruolo affiancherà l'editore, Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio, e l'amministratore delegato, nel percorso di crescita del gruppo, con una funzione di indirizzo e di coordinamento della strategia editoriale e dei nuovi progetti di sviluppo.

The QN relaunch

Del Vecchio's project aims to reposition the entire group, starting with a new QN set to arrive in autumn. The newspaper will evolve into a high-end opinion title, authoritative and capable of speaking to a young audience with a contemporary language. The redesign includes a graphic layout inspired by major European dailies, a focus on readability, and a digital platform rebuilt from scratch alongside the print product.

Agnese Pini is confirmed as Direttrice Responsabile of the group's newspapers and will contribute to the relaunch. The local titles (Il Resto del Carlino, La Nazione, Il Giorno) will retain their regional identities while becoming part of a unified digital ecosystem designed to attract new audiences and revenue.

Orfeo's career and departure

Orfeo is the only journalist in Rai history to have directed all three main state TV news programmes (Tg1, Tg2, Tg3) and served as CEO of the public broadcaster in 2017–2018. Before that, he directed Il Mattino and Il Messaggero. His exit from Repubblica, according to Il Foglio, follows misunderstandings with the new publisher.

Wider editorial shake-up

Investigative journalist Lirio Abbate, a former director of L'Espresso, also leaves Repubblica for Il Giornale, joining Tommaso Cerno. The succession at Repubblica is now open: internal candidate Stefano Cappellini (currently vicedirettore) and Emiliano Fittipaldi, director of Domani, are among the names circulating. The new publisher of Gedi, Theodore Kyriakou, is expected in Rome on 14 July. K Group, the Kyriakou family vehicle, completed the acquisition of 100% of Gedi from Exor on 23 March.