Berlusconi Spars With Murdoch Over Pay TV

PARIS — One is a media mogul with an interest in politics. The other is a politician with media interests. So when Rupert Murdoch and Silvio Berlusconi clashed, it probably was inevitable that the dispute would play out over multiple platforms. That is what is happening in Italy, where Mr. Berlusconi, the prime minister, used an interview on one of his own television channels to accuse Mr. Murdoch of mounting a personal attack on him via a newspaper owned by News Corp., which Mr. Murdoch controls. The articles and editorials in question, in The Times of London, have examined the nature of the relationship between Mr. Berlusconi and an 18-year-old model, Noemi Letizia. Mr. Murdoch, appearing on a television channel owned by News Corp., has called the allegations by Mr. Berlusconi “nonsense,” noting that other newspapers, not owned by his company, have been even more critical of the prime minister. On that level, the dispute may seem as farcical as the antics on an Italian variety show. But on another level, the rivalry between the men is serious business, and it is heating up. Mr. Berlusconi is “fearing what Murdoch could do in Italy,” said Fabrizio Perretti, a professor at Bocconi University in Milan who studied the Italian media industry. “And that’s why he accused Murdoch, even if he isn’t really to blame.”

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http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/15/technology/15iht-paytv.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=berlusconi&st=cse