Rai suspends journalist Sigfrido Ranucci for 10 days as court weighs Report reinstatement

Disciplinary action against Ranucci

Italian public service broadcaster Rai ordered a 10-day suspension against investigative journalist Sigfrido Ranucci on 5 October 2026. The sanction followed an internal assessment by Rai's Ethics Code Commission (Commissione per il Codice Etico della Rai). Network executives communicated the penalty while withholding specific operational details, including the precise calendar dates when the 10-day sanction takes effect. Broadcaster management also declined to disclose the specific evidential grounds that prompted the ethics committee inquiry. The disciplinary measure arrived as the state broadcaster confronts legal challenges over its earlier decision to remove Ranucci from presenting the investigative television program Report on Rai3.

Management remarks at Milan presentation

Paolo Corsini, the director of Rai In-Depth programming, addressed the dispute publicly on 5 October 2026 during a press conference in Milan. Corsini appeared at the media presentation for the program 2 di picche, hosted by journalist Tommaso Cerno, where reporters questioned him regarding the pending court ruling. Corsini rejected the suggestion that judicial authorities might reinstate Ranucci to his former editorial role, describing that scenario as historical fiction.

Ranucci reinstated? We hope it does not happen, we do not think it can happen, it is uchronia.

Corsini maintained that the network hierarchy had adhered strictly to internal administrative procedures when stripping Ranucci of his editorial duties. Citing biblical phrasing from the Gospel of Matthew, Corsini asserted that network management had completed all required administrative steps and remained confident in its legal positioning.

What I had to do, I did. We are working calmly, we think we are in the right and have done everything correctly.

Labor court review and judicial protections

The suspension coincided with urgent litigation in the Rome Labor Court, where Ranucci challenged his late August removal related to the Lavitola affair. Judge Donatella Casari presided over the hearing regarding the journalist's urgent petition against the broadcaster. Casari concluded the preliminary phase by determining that the evidentiary record was complete, setting 30 September 2026 as the formal deadline for both parties to submit their concluding legal briefs. The court declined to schedule further investigative hearings before drafting its ruling. Separately, judicial members of the High Council of the Judiciary (CSM) requested protective proceedings regarding the case assignment to safeguard judicial independence.

Succession plans and season premiere

Rai management has prepared an alternate presentation format for Report ahead of its scheduled return to Rai3 on 8 November 2026. The network selected journalists Claudia Di Pasquale and Daniele Piervincenzi to take over hosting duties for the investigative broadcast. In accordance with corporate directives, Ranucci vacated his personal office at Rai headquarters by the mandatory deadline of 27 September 2026 while awaiting the judicial outcome. When submitting his emergency appeal, Ranucci affirmed his willingness to accept the court's final determination regarding his standing at the network.

Whatever happens, I am ready. I adopt the saying of my old director: do what you must, let happen what may.