MOSCOW (Sputnik), Svetlana Alexandrova — A new poll conducted by ICM Research exclusively for Sputnik and published Tuesday revealed that some 75 percent of Italians believe that mainstream media in their country is influenced by politicians and multinational corporations.
"I agree with 75 percent of Italians who believe that media is not totally free and independent in Italy. We have most of our media controlled by some businesses or politicians who have their own political ideas and ambitions. They are paying to journalists and expect them to write accordingly," D'Amico said.
The poll suggested that only 25 percent of Italians either trust mainstream media or do not have an opinion on the issue.
"Not all journalists agree with this policy, there are still some that are free and independent but they are a minority. The political and economic control is very strong especially on state TV stations," D'Amico added.
ICM Research surveyed over 8,200 people in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, Italy and the United States on May 1-4, 2015.
On average, 56 percent of European and US residents said they doubted the objectivity of mainstream media in their countries.
