Naples: a team from Non è l’Arena attacked

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Daniele Bonistalli and the cameraman wanted to interview the singer-songwriter Tony Colombo and his wife, during a concert

Jostling, insults and kicks. That was the treatment suffered by the correspondent of Non è l’Arena (La7), the journalist Daniele Bonistalli, and the cameraman who was with him on November 13^th 2019 in Naples for trying to meet the singer-songwriter Tony Colombo, and his wife Tina Rispoli, a widow of Camorra. The two ended up in the limelight following a Fanpage investigation, entitled Camorra Entertainment, which examined the relationship between the Camorra and neomelodic music. The La7 programme is also working on these links.

The troupe of Non è l’Arena  went to the centre of Naples, after learning that Tony Colombo was performing at a private party. The event was near a small square. Bonistalli told Ossigeno that he had waited, together with the cameraman, for the end of the performance and that he had then approached the singer and his wife to ask questions. But at that point, he and the video operator were attacked by some people present at the event. The cameraman got the worst of it who was pushed, fell to the ground and was kicked. The Carabinieri from the central police station arrived at the scene. The team has not yet made a formal complaint, but has issued a statement on the incident to the police.

The video of the attack was scheduled to be broadcast on Sunday 17^th November during the programme.

It is not yet clear whether the concert was authorized or not. The previous week, Daniele Bonistalli and his cameraman, had gone to Naples to check, following a report, if Tony Colombo was performing in concert in the historic centre. The team did not find the singer, who shortly afterwards had made a live Instagram explaining to fans that the event had been cancelled for lack of permission and that he was not aware of it. On that occasion, Daniele Bonistalli and his cameraman were surrounded by some local people, who had ordered him to leave and stop shooting. The episode was filmed. “Here, someone is going to get hurt,” is heard on the video.

The Sugc (the united journalists union of Campania) intervened regarding the attack, expressing solidarity with the team and explaining that “Tony Colombo is under investigation by the public prosecutor for an unauthorized concert, held on 25^th March 2019 in Piazza Plebiscito, as part of his wedding celebrations” (read here). From a recent review of Fanpage, the union adds: “A really unacceptable hunt of a journalist, by the entourage of a public figure who has the duty to give answers, not only to the prosecutor’s office, also to the public”.

RDM