Rai suspends summer reruns of investigative show Report amid probe into host attack, sparking outrage

Suspension decision

On 10 July 2026 Rai announced through a statement that it had suspended the summer reruns of the investigative television program Report. The broadcaster's in-depth news division said the move was taken "as a precaution, pending full clarity on the delicate and complex situation involving host Sigfrido Ranucci." The statement added that the measure aimed "to protect an editorial asset of great value for the public service." It confirmed that the new season of Report would return as planned in November 2026.

Ranucci's reaction

Ranucci responded sharply, accusing the broadcaster of using a pretext to delegitimize him and his team. In a statement released through his lawyer Roberto De Vita, he said:

I learn with dismay and concern for the whole world of information that Rai has chosen to use the pretext of shameful, absurd conjectures, circulated in recent hours by certain political statements and press reconstructions, to suspend the summer reruns of already broadcast investigative episodes of Report.

He added that the suspension amounted not to protection but to "the delegitimization not only of my person but also of the entire work of the individual journalists who, independently and autonomously, have produced important investigations that are the true patrimony of information and democracy."

Board members dissent

Three Rai board members, Alessandro di Majo, Davide Di Pietro and Roberto Natale, publicly opposed the decision. In a joint statement they said they could not understand how the suspension served the declared need for clarity unless the episodes were directly linked to the ongoing investigation. They argued:

The measure appears only as a punishment designed to satisfy the loudly voiced demands of a political faction.

The board members added that watching Report did not "seriously harm health" and described the program as a flagship of Rai in-depth journalism, appreciated by the public for its investigative work and contribution to citizens' right to be informed. They demanded "clarity, not vendettas or censorship."

Union condemnation

The national press federation FNSI also attacked the decision. President Vittorio Di Trapani called the suspension "a very serious act" and questioned what the precaution was protecting against. He said:

An employee and Rai host is the victim of an attack and what does Rai do? It suspends the program. We have now reached a reversal of facts: for Rai executives, the victim of an attack becomes the suspect.

Di Trapani further suggested that those who had spread insinuations in recent days may have aimed precisely for this outcome: "The bomb that exploded did not strike Ranucci, but it has already caused damage."

Background of the attack

The controversy traces back to an attack on 16 October 2025, when a bomb was detonated outside Ranucci's villa in Pomezia, near Rome. Investigators have since identified entrepreneur Valter Lavitola as the alleged mastermind of the dynamite attack. In a recent development, prosecutors analyzing material seized from Lavitola in early July acquired seven handwritten notes, three mobile phones and two pen drives belonging to the businessman.