Paulo Petrecca, the head of the sports division at Italian state broadcaster RAI, has resigned amid significant criticism following his performance during the Olympics opening ceremony. Petrecca committed a series of gaffes during the live broadcast, which included confusing various celebrities and misidentifying important figures. These mistakes were broadcast to an audience of over nine million viewers, prompting immediate backlash from both the public and RAI's staff.

The discontent from RAI journalists had been brewing for a while due to Petrecca's close ties with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, leading to concerns about political influence over news coverage. This relationship had already caused accusations against Meloni’s administration suggesting that news channels were becoming overly biased, earning the moniker “TeleMeloni.” As a result of the controversies surrounding Petrecca and the perception of politically motivated media, many journalists at RAI started to protest by withholding their bylines in solidarity against the leadership’s decisions.

Petrecca's exit follows nearly two weeks of unrest among RAI employees, who felt that the incident diminished the integrity of their coverage. This situation not only brings attention to individual accountability within state media but also raises broader questions regarding political influence in news reporting and the expectations of professionalism in journalism, especially during events of significant international prominence like the Olympics.