1962

Panorama: facts, opinions

“We come from the Moon to see what happens on Earth, especially in Italy”, Lamberto Sechi repeated to his staff. And that simple rule created a restrained journalistic style, scrupulous and full of information that helped Panorama in taking off and making it the most important and most read Italian periodical.

Panaroma was born in October 1962 thanks to an agreement with Time Life Group under the direction of Nantas Salvalaggio. The formula of the periodical was of the "great and modern monthly, full of information, ideas, illustrations and perfectly printed." It was not well received by the public despite repeated adjustments.

The Americans also tried their hand with their director, Leo Lionni (May 1964), who put a monographic imprinting on Panorama; but in July 1965 they withdrew definitely from the project, which they considered a failure.

Nevertheless, Arnoldo Mondadori went ahead and passed the direction of the periodical to Lamberto Sechi, who would give a more journalistic imprint to the imported material and offer a wide range of topics and articles. Panorama was transforming itself into a current events magazine ahead of the big jump to becoming a weekly, which would happen on May 18, 1967. It embraced the news magazine formula inaugurated by Time and Newsweek.

Beginning on May 15, 1969 on the editorial column there was the claim that “facts are separated from opinions”. This aimed to validate the magazine’s direction and soon led to the solidifying of the newsdesk’s resolve to denounce Italian anomalies through campaigns directed against scandals and the closure of the political system and for the full recognition of civil rights.

Modelled on the German Der Spiegel and the French L'Express, the rigorous reconstruction of the events was combined now with a more direct participation in civil society views.