London 10.30 a.m., in an hotel room, thankfully with air conditioning, because even in the City today, the heat is really shaping up to an historic high.

Surfing from one site to another, looking for someone to talk about, maybe someone involved in programmes which are not afraid to tell it like it is, one of our headhunters concentrated on a programme fished from the web. There is a lady who announces and points out something, quietly and in an elegant, expressive and decisive way; she speaks Italian, makes gestures as if she were a performer, looking straight into the eyes of the viewer, with a Celtic appearance and with a face which smash the screen, the whole figure enhanced by a dark minimal background, with two huge screens that serve as wings. And a logo: 'Report' materializes in the left screen and then another, doubling to the right of the video.

Meanwhile Damian, one of the members of our Community, glued to the screen of his Ipad, demands the attention of  everyone present, before asking: 'Who is she? She's terrific !!'' ‘She is Milena Gabanelli, a true icon", explains one of the Italian freelancers involved in Tablet2.0. "She is sure to be denouncing one of the many misdeeds of bad politicians or bad practices; that is what the format was created for. If you are in Italy it is not possible to denounce such things freely; not openly and brazenly at least, not without anything happening to you.

But you can describe them and 'Report' is one of the programmes most followed by millions of Italians who are nailed to the screen every Sunday , indignant, disgusted and horrified, maybe pissed off, too. The next day, however, for some reason, everything proceeds exactly as before." In one of his last trips to the Beautiful Country, in an overcrowded bar in Bologna, our colleague says that he overheard a few comments about one of many strange cases regarding the situation of the steel industry in different countries that get almost everything from the EU and about the ILVA case, which exploded into the  international media but which, however, seems to have become the sacrificial lamb of a European masterplan in which many hidden interests, beginning with foreign competitors, will, with the death of ILVA, finally get their hands on a super profitable market.

Try a little to imagine how many other steel producers remain in the marketplace. Do you understand now?". Some of the companions of this person at the bar were challenging the veracity of this news, until the distinguished patron answered with the magic words: 'No, no, seriously, my wife and I, we saw it on Report last night.’

And so it was that Milena Gabanelli with her very polite and professional way of speaking and, above all, her devotion to presenting information in a 'public service' format that is not too common on the national channels in the United Kingdom, has become the focus of  our entire attention.

From that day we spent around a year, to read up, to inform ourselves and to follow as much as we could the different themes that have been well covered by  'Report' since its first appearance in 1993 on RAI 3.

This is  one of the three most popular national TV channels in Italy which has taken on the challenge of making the public as aware as possible of many anomalies, of raising their consciousness and of ensuring that they are properly informed. The many millions of Italian citizens who write today to the editors of 'Report’ with suggestions of other deeds and misdeeds to investigate and other possible news stories that provide evidence of real citizenship consider Milena’s format, as one of the few tools of complaint available to them and as evidence that Italy is still clean, honest and reactive against a whole series of long  established  injustices and abuse. It 's amazing, in fact, how the honesty and transparency, intellectual and stylistic, of an information program, although it is sometimes bitter and hard to swallow, is, nevertheless, able to educate and set trends through each investigation for many young people and citizens who want a change, at all or almost at all costs.

Such costs have been faced on quite a few occasions by this brilliant and consistent Mistress of Investigation where 'Report' risked a final blackout after collecting several complaints, lawsuits and threats, always aimed at the same goal: to plug the mouth as always happens to anyone who tries to do this job as it should really be done. Today, after almost an year since the day we were locked in that London hotel room, Tablet Community wonders why, even in a democratic and liberal country, such as the United Kingdom, there is no similar program on the national channels. And certainly not because, across the rest of the EU countries and on other national Channels, there are not significant and scandalous things to talk about and to bring to the attention of the public. It is just the opposite, in fact.

The long lived and much followed program 'Report', has even brought  Milena Gabanelli to the verge of a candidature for President of the Italian Republic, on the back of the domestic majority vote of the 5 Stars Movement; with great serenity her final decision was to decline, publicly thanking the party and her potential electorate. With so many supporters , she could even have made it.

We wanted to ask Milena Gabanelli directly, what is the cost today of being an investigative journalist and why does she risk her career and perhaps much more by pushing her investigations almost further than anyone might believe.

1) Ms. Gabanelli, Tablet Community thanks you for being one of our most welcome guests. Reading your biography from the moment of your debut as a journalist and war correspondent you dealt, with a camera in your hand, with very risky situations: Cambodia, Mozambique, South Africa, the former Yugoslavia, Chechnya and many other very hot areas. Plus, a face to face encounter with the Japanese Yakuza, considered one of the bloodiest and ruthless organized mafias in the world. Is this your natural vocation for extreme journalism or did you really have no choice except to work in this field?

M.G. In that time, I had no other choices. I was not (and I am not) an employee of the Public TV, but a freelance and I needed to work in low cost way. Because I collaborated with an information magazine, I identified in the video journalism a possibility where, however, the form was underrated (I was alone doing everything with an a HI8). It must therefore be compensated for by the quality of the content. In that way I began to research stories that no one else was telling and for which the circumstances justified "dirty" images.

2) If the US has had a producer of peanuts as a President and a famous B movies actor, why could not Italy, in 2013, aspire to have a female President, one who represented the highest benchmark of investigative journalism? Many millions of Italians would have voted for you. What scared you off exactly from becoming a candidate?

M.G. Nothing scared me, I just do not feel that I have the expertise required for the highest office of State. I do not think that everyone can always do everything, but people should, on the contrary, be put in the best position to give the best in their field of knowledge. However, the vote belonged not millions of Italians, but to the Parliament, which had no intention (apart from the movement that proposed me) to vote for me. So, accepting would be a useless pose of vanity which would have been more likely to penalize the credibility of my work.

3) Would you like to play a little bit with Tablet? You graduated at the DAMS in 'History of Cinema'. We are directors and producers of an Italian political-fantasy film entitled: I Am The President, in which you, without any alternative choice, have become the unexpected, new President of the Italian Republic. Because all Italians wanted you. In this film you are required to name at least ten people, including national and international (and not necessarily among actors of B movies, producers or manufacturers of hotels or golf clubs only) names that you would allocate to certain Ministries, for their specific abilities and inspirations. Could you imagine who and why, very briefly? If I have to take this game seriously, I would spend twenty days, dedicated exclusively to this and tell you after. We can’t improvise a Government by pouring out some names on the spot that you like... even if it often happens just like that, maybe in the middle of a dinner and, in fact, we see the harmful results.

4) How significant in your professional career was your work as a correspondent for Special Mixer with the journalist Giovanni Minoli, another figure much discussed and compared with others in those years. At that time, in your imagination, did you see appear the first future visions of the ‘Report' format?

M.G. It was very significant because it gave me confidence at a time, when I had a lot of will but no c.v. and it gave me the time to develop without any constraints related to the topics or their treatment. The vision of Report was the natural evolution of that path.

5) If to some extent, in almost all of Europe, the reliability and truthfulness of the news, in the collective imagination, has transferred towards the news from a brand such as 'Al Jazeera', for millions of Italians some credibility based on public effectiveness in one or more cases, definitely attaches to 'Report'. In several of its broadcasts, ‘Report’ has compared the best practices in other areas with bad practices exercised in Italy. And yet, unclear and convoluted situations, perpetrated against many taxpayers and abuse of all kinds also occur in other countries. Why do you talk only of the worst things instead of talking about the best of what happens in several nations, including Italy?  Report is an investigative programme that targets mainly the country in which is transmitted, and I think the complaints are more constructive if accompanied (where that is possible) with a possible solution. In 20 years of broadcasting we have also reported on the distortions of other countries, and we have also showed cases in which our system is better in comparison with foreign situations that maybe we aspire to, as in the case of the public school system or health.

6) Following many of your investigations into the unfair and unethical activities of different institutions and multinational companies, both Italian and foreign, it seem that people have lost all hope and confidence in the credibility of many of these subjects. However, they continue to believe in the transparency, usefulness, honesty and in the efficiency of information sources that are intended as a public service, as 'Report' has always proved to be, since the day of its first appearance. Is it possible, however, that a television programme may heavily influence public opinion, exponentially fuelling distrust and, possibly, a certain collective hatred toward a system of ideals and concepts that are now considered unrecoverable? In short, could a format like yours cause damage and foment a possible socio - cultural revolution? The writer Erri De Luca, was investigated for an ‘Opinion Crime’ (a new category in the Italian Criminal Code) for incitement to commit a crime, because he said : " The government have failed in negotiations about TAV (proposals for a high speed train through the Piedmont Region, which is vigorously opposed by local people)  sabotage is the only alternative " (source: Il Fatto Quotidiano, February 24, 2014). What prevents the Italian Government also to accuse Milena Gabanelli and her programme as a means of counter-information to the detriment of those sane principles of a Republic?

M.G. Report helps people to "remember" since our ruling class is recycling continuously. We have never fomented a social revolt or any violent act, but we believe that with objective and verified information it is possible to make better choices. Actually I often urge citizens to be more active and present in their choices and I've never hidden my thoughts: if today Italy is drifting the responsibility lies also in the lack of interest of its citizens who are very skilled  in making a collective lament but are rarely available to dedicate time to the public interest or, when is appropriate, to put their hand to the wheel.

7) in the episode report of sunday,may 8th,you reflected about the closure of borders (many of them call them controls) by countries such as austria,germany,france,the former yugoslavia,and others,pledged to prevent migration flows,leaving definitively italy even more isolated to deal with a so epochal emergency. because italy has no borders. in the worst of emergencies,though,the naval blockades could help and not a little,don’t you think so? in that report,however,you spoke about this situation as a possible transformation from drama into a macro business plan. What did you mean, exactly? 

M.G. People fleeing war have the right to international protection and, therefore, can not be rejected. And What can you do with a naval blockade? Do you ram the boats? If everyone closed their borders we would have no choice. I think pragmatically is necessary to set up a different welcoming system than the one we have today, where on the migrants are exploited without restraint. I think we need to think of a system of management that is totally public, with European supervision, where all migrants are identified, trained and educated to the rules of European democracy. Then each country takes its share. In this Europe the member states must fund and be forced to fulfil their commitments. For us, this would mean: replace all the barracks and turn them into places of welcome and training, hiring teachers, doctors and psychologists; jump-start the construction, and finally to have the situation under control. This plan also includes appointing 40 judges dedicated only to the massive litigation which concerns the definition of the status of those who declare themselves asylum seekers, but who in fact are economic migrants. Today we take two years, while it may take only a few months. Those who are not entitled to asylum are to be repatriated. But on this point the story is more complicated because its necessary to make bilateral agreements with countries of origin, and this is not something we can do alone.. An organization of this kind would be an advantage for us and for the countries of Northern Europe. The project, submitted to the European Commissioner, has been evaluated very positively. We'll see if our government thinks so as well.

8) The tag 'Austherity' confirmed by many opinion leaders such as Varoufakis, for example, and Lorenzo Marsili of 'European Alternatives', is nothing but an excuse to mask he avoidance of responsibility. What is your perspective on this?

M.G. At the end of the 90s  to build the single currency union, countries joined that had not met all the requirements. Everyone knew this and as long as the economy grew it was possible to mask the problem, until the debt crisis exploded with all the fragility of a Union which didn’t really exist. The constraints of austerity are convenient only to Germany and they prevent the most indebted countries from recovering. In this context there are also the responsibilities of individual governments who have neither a program nor a vision of development. Left to itself, Austerity will die, but even with a political class devoid of ideas it will not go too far.

9) Despite the current difficulties, Italy has however proposed a possible immigrant reintegration program, rejected of course, as have most of the others presented already. But, on the immigration front, why is it only Italy and Greece who are penalized and not those who, despite having signed the same agreements, arbitrarily decide to violate the same guidelines? Do you believe that there is in place a macroscopic anti-Italy sabotage? In the end, the proposal for reinstatement announced by the Merkel government of hiring immigrants, some of them highly qualified at the modest salary of € 1/2 per hour, should not be assessed in the EU as exploitation or even slavery, speculating on the other ones’ despair?

M.G. I think the story is more complicated than that. Meanwhile, the mistake lies in the Dublin agreements, signed by all countries including Italy, which states that the first country that identifies you is also the one in which to apply for asylum. An absurdity that needs to be reviewed. Then there is the huge flow of economic migrants, who have every right to seek a better life, but when the numbers become so impressive each country faces a domestic stability problem. We are rightly outraged by the Merkel proposal, but remember that Germany provides a welfare subsidy; in Italy there is illegal hiring. Basically we are facing a period in which we must find practical and workable solutions, without promoting fears in one hand, or impracticable do-goodery  on the other. With millions of people at the gates (because this will be the situation in the years coming) it is necessary to be very rational and to stop wasting time talking... knowing that governments must avoid conflicts, not to create them.

 10) In all these years, 'Report' has faced several scandals at every level, not only in Italy but also in other countries. Has it ever crossed your mind to send your team to investigate the various 'incompetent practices’ which the European Commission is trying to imposefor some time? Just one: the introduction of not really healthy ingredients and chemicals that would substantially modify the quality, identity and hallmarks of typical products, if improperly placed in the various production processes?

M.G. In several of our programs we have addressed the issue of the European directives on food labelling, and last year we dedicated an episode to the TTIP, a treaty of which very little is known.

11) How important for you, is  he support and respect of the audience of 'Report' ? And how important is your team of reporters who truly have chosen to take a risk with you?

 M.G. From a personal point of view, the support of the viewers gives me strength, and when I am not able to have time for anything else, they provide me with company. My fear is sometimes to not live up to the expectations. The team, instead, has become my family; without them there would be no Report. No need to say more.

12) If one day 'Report' were to be irredeemably finished off, would you think of creating a similar format in a country like United Kingdom or others?

 M.G. And why should it be finished off? We go on the air on public television and provide a public service! For Rai is important to have a program like ours, whatever the current government: we do not cost a lot, we have a high yield; in the courts, until now, we always fared well... And as for the Anglo-Saxon countries... I do not think I have anything to teach them.

13) Is Europe still a very viable dream, according to you, since the real Europe, was never even structured, except exclusively for obvious economic interests?

M.G.  We have no alternative, but to build it seriously. To undo it would be a defeat and a loss of international credibility with truly disastrous consequences. The fact that the United Kingdom decides to stand on its own would weaken it a bit, but basically it's really never been a full partner

 14) From one or more schools of journalism, several young talents ask to gain experience with you. In any condition, just to be with you. What requirements essentially do you seek in their c.v., those without false illusions or dreams and with no fancy ideas about the job?

 M.G. The organization of the program is very different from the traditional newsrooms, where practitioners are around and slowly grow new professionals. We are a group of freelancers and work from home, every author coordinated by myself and a small group of assistants who provide  support. Those who knock at our door usually have investigative journalism experience with other newspapers. However, students often write to me to ask for experience from us, but their cv is never the indicator of talent; that emerges only from the work done. What I seek at the beginning is the ability to maintain the momentum, which, simply, manifests itself in "knowing how to insist. ".  The ones who possess this feature are usually very determined, and therefore should be the ones to have an opportunity. When it is possible we offer to him mentoring from an author. He must do the groundwork but also follow the investigation from the beginning to the end. In thisway, I have to say that over a long time we have revealed some talent, which eventually entered fully into the operational team.