Serial killer interview sparks row at RAI

A prime time interview with a serial killer on Italy's most popular family programme has sparked all-out war at RAI state broadcaster and fuelled calls for a cleanup of Italian television.

The one-hour interview with Donato Bilancia, who is serving 13 life sentences for killing 17 people, was broadcast on Sunday evening as part of a RAI variety show.

The interview with Bilancia from prison by the show's presenter has led to a fierce public row between RAI president Lucia Annunziata and director general Flavio Cattaneo.

Bilancia recounted in the interview how he used to head out to find his next victim: "I left the house and decided to go out and kill, the same way I could have decided to go to a restaurant."

He has confessed to murdering his victims, who included a newly wed couple, a petrol pump attendant and four prostitutes, during a six-month period between 1997 and 1998.

"It's terrifying to watch the televised confessions of a serial killer on the state's flagship network, on a show watched every Sunday afternoon by millions of families," Ms Annunziata said on Sunday, demanding to know who approved its going on air.

The fight escalated yesterday when Ms Annunziata said in an open letter that Mr Cattaneo had responded to her with a threatening phone call in which he allegedly said: "You're going to pay for this" and "I'm going to kick you up the ass".

Ms Annunziata stormed out of RAI headquarters after Mr Cattaneo denied making threats and said he was just responding to "continual provocation".

The interview was widely condemned, though for many the programme was just the latest example of the lengths networks will go to to improve ratings in a country where chat shows featuring politics, soccer and scantily-clad dancers and "reality" shows hog the airwaves.

Recently, one of the three channels owned by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, launched a show called "Scalpel! Nobody's perfect", which featured graphic images of people undergoing cosmetic surgery, including a three-hour breast enlargement.