Turin Journalists Strike Over La Stampa Sale Amid Uncertainty

Journalists at Turin's historic daily La Stampa walked off the job on February 26 and demonstrated Saturday morning, demanding transparency as owner John Elkann negotiates the newspaper's sale to publisher Sae. The sale threatens one of Italy's oldest newspapers — 150 years in print — at a moment when the country's traditional media sector is hemorrhaging circulation, revenue, and reader trust.

The Immediate Concerns:

An exclusive due diligence process is underway with the Sae publishing group led by Alberto Leonardis, but no credible industrial plan or long-term financial guarantees have been disclosed to staff. The Exor holding company, controlled by Elkann, has mandated the disposal of GEDI assets, including La Stampa. Union officials and journalists say they have received no details about the proposed transaction structure, employment levels, or editorial autonomy protections.

Journalist strikes halted print and digital publication on February 26, and staff have vowed to escalate protests until they receive answers about jobs, editorial independence, and investment commitments. The collapse of Italy's print newspaper market — down 80.6% in sales since 2000 — has left editors scrambling, newsrooms shrinking, and more than 4,900 Italian municipalities without a single newsstand.

Ownership in Flux, Workforce in Revolt:

La Stampa's editorial board and union representatives staged a demonstration outside Turin's municipal building this Saturday morning, carrying banners that read "Elkann, our values are not for sale" and "La Stampa belongs to everyone." Giovanna Favro, a member of the newsroom committee, told the crowd: "We have been a cornerstone of this region for 150 years — long before Elkann existed. Newspapers are pillars of democracy and cannot be abandoned to market logic."

The Exor-controlled GEDI publishing conglomerate has been negotiating exclusively with Sae (Sapere Aude Editori), a Rome-based group that has quietly assembled a portfolio of former GEDI regional titles since 2020, including Il Tirreno, La Nuova Sardegna, and La Provincia Pavese. The acquisition of La Stampa would transform Sae from a regional operator into a national-scale publisher.

Yet journalists and union officials have raised concerns about the lack of transparency. Silvia Garbarino, secretary of the Subalpine Press Association and a La Stampa reporter, explained: "There is a due diligence process in motion with an editor, Sae's Leonardis, who at this moment gives us no confidence. There is no industrial plan, no economic sustainability, no growth strategy. We are in a moment of profound uncertainty and great fear about what tomorrow will bring."

Financial Pressures and Competing Bids:

Alberto Leonardis has described his strategy for La Stampa as involving institutional investors from Piedmont — including the Fondazione CRT and Compagnia di San Paolo, two powerful Turin-based banking foundations. For editorial direction, Leonardis is reportedly working with Antonio Di Rosa, a veteran consultant in the Italian press sector.

GEDI has publicly defended the choice of Sae, stating that Leonardis presented a "convincing industrial plan" designed to create "critical mass" by bundling La Stampa with the group's existing regional titles. The editorial staff say they have seen none of the details.

A separate bid by Italian-Canadian entrepreneur Andrea Iervolino — reportedly offering for La Stampa in January as part of a broader proposal for GEDI's entire portfolio — was rejected outright. Exor opted to pursue piecemeal sales instead.

What This Means for Turin and Italy:

For readers in Piedmont and across northern Italy, the outcome of this sale will determine whether La Stampa survives as a credible, independent voice or becomes a cost-cut casualty of a fragmented regional publisher. The newspaper has long served as a watchdog on local government, industry, and cultural life in Turin — a city still grappling with the post-industrial transition of its manufacturing base.

If the sale collapses or Sae proves unable to stabilize the operation, the most likely outcome is further staff reductions, weakened editorial coverage, and eventual closure or absorption into a shared newsroom. That would leave Turin, a metro area of roughly 900,000 people, with significantly diminished local journalism capacity.

For Italy as a whole, the La Stampa saga reflects a national crisis. Between 2000 and 2025, newspaper sales in Italy plummeted 80.6% — from 2.19 million copies daily to just 423,000. Digital subscriptions have grown, but revenue from online advertising and paywalls is not yet sufficient to offset the collapse of print income. GEDI, which also owns La Repubblica and several radio stations, posted a €45.1 million net loss in 2024. The company's headcount has shrunk by more than 200 positions year-over-year.

Structural Collapse of Print Infrastructure:

The crisis at La Stampa unfolds against a broader structural implosion in Italy's news distribution network. The number of newsstands has fallen 42.8% in two decades — from 35,000 to 20,000 — and nearly two-thirds of Italian municipalities no longer have a single newsstand. That leaves millions of Italians, many of them elderly, with no convenient access to printed news.

Newsstand revenue has dropped 75% since 2005. The Italian government allocated €17 million in 2025 to support the edicola network, but the sum is widely regarded as insufficient. A new national press law is under discussion, intended to replace outdated regulations from the 1980s, but progress has been slow.

Between 2024 and 2029, editorial revenue from print editions is forecast to decline 13.5%, while print advertising revenue is expected to fall 17.9%. Digital ad revenue is projected to grow, but remains too small to bridge the gap.

What Comes Next:

La Stampa's editorial staff have declared that they will not accept a sale on blind faith. "Our independence is not negotiable," the newsroom committee stated. "Ownership changes, but credibility endures — and when you lose it, it's gone forever. We are not trying to survive a few more years. We are trying to remain relevant."

Union leaders have pledged to escalate actions — including additional walkouts, public demonstrations, and appeals to regulators — if Elkann, Sae, and GEDI do not provide concrete answers on employment levels, editorial autonomy, salary protection, and investment commitments.

Stefano Tallia, president of the Piedmont Journalists' Order, framed the issue in civic terms at the Turin rally: "The sale of a newspaper is not the sale of just any company. It is a piece of democracy that must be protected, and protecting it requires a collective commitment." Tallia also warned that a nationwide strike may be called if progress stalls on labor negotiations and the future of mastheads.

The Turin deputy mayor and city council members joined the protest, with Mayor Stefano Lo Russo agreeing to receive a delegation. Lo Russo has previously described the La Stampa situation as a matter of concern not only for Turin but for all of Italy, given the paper's historic role in shaping public discourse.

For now, the fate of one of Italy's most storied newspapers remains unresolved, caught between a seller eager to exit, a buyer whose capacity is in question, and a workforce determined to defend a 150-year legacy.