«A small Republic doesn’t necessarily need a small television.» Roberto Sergio relaunches the ambitions of San Marino RTV, the broadcaster he continues to lead following the conclusion of his long tenure at the top of RAI.
The director general discusses this in an interview with Federica Zar, national councillor of FERPI (the Italian Federation of Public Relations) with responsibility for Communication, for the column Le voci della professione (“Voices of the Profession”). At the centre of the discussion: the future of information, new technologies and the role of public service broadcasting.
For Sergio, San Marino RTV must focus on the quality of its content, on innovation and on its own identity, without being constrained by the size of the Republic.
«Innovation serves to make public service broadcasting accessible and relevant in everyday life,» the executive observes, emphasising the importance of the skills and passion of those who work at the broadcaster.
Considerable attention is also given to artificial intelligence and the risks of disinformation. According to Sergio, new technologies can assist journalistic work — from research to translation to content analysis — but they cannot replace fact-checking and editorial responsibility.
«Plausibility does not guarantee truth, and circulation does not certify authority,» he warns, identifying public trust as one of the main challenges for the future of information.
In the interview, Sergio also looks back on his own career, from his experience at Sogei to joining Lottomatica in 1998, and then to his arrival at RAI in 2004, where he held positions of increasing responsibility, becoming chief executive officer in 2023 and subsequently Corporate director general.
It is a journey that has shaped a firm conviction: leading a company means knowing how to make decisions, but also how to listen, value people and build relationships of trust.
To young people wanting to work in communication, he advises reading widely, writing well, understanding institutions and economics, and learning to use new technologies without giving up critical thinking.
Sergio, a FERPI member since 2001, closes by underlining the value of continuous training and dialogue between generations — elements he considers essential for building credibility and professionalism in the communication sector.
