By Kim Se-jeong
Staff Reporter
The head of the Italian Journalist Association visited The Korea Times, Friday, as part of a trip to Korea, discussing the impact of the global economic crisis on the media.
Lorenzo Del Boca’s journey was part of preparations for a group visit of Italian journalists that he will lead to Korea in July. Del Boca said that in his homeland, the print media is hit hardest by the economic downturn.
“In Italy, broadcast media lost 20 to 25 percent of sponsorship, and the print media lost almost 60 percent.”
He stressed the role of the media as a fair and unbiased voice in a diverse Italian society and the role of the association in not only training individual journalists as independent voices, but also in assisting them in every possible way to maintain their independence.
The Italian Journalist Association is an entity with nearly 10,000 active members. From his own career in journalism, Del Boca has climbed the ranks to become its president.
He has heads the Italian National Press Federation and the Italian Journalists Guild. Currently, he is with the La Stampa, one of the Italy’s oldest and leading daily newspapers, serving as deputy editor.
He has also written books, including “Grande Guerra Piccoli Generali,” a true story of the First World War (1915-1918).