Striscia la notizia is an Italian television program on the Mediaset-controlled Canale 5. Its name in Italian translates as "the news slithers", a probable parody of the slighting Italian journalist, submitted to politicians and overwhelmed with shame. The polysemic term Striscia, in English strip, can recall both the cocaine strip (something exciting) and the comic strip (something amazing related to the Cartoons world). But Striscia is also the slithing snake: this show worm in the hidden holes to unmask the television cheats. Founded in 1988, it is meant to be a parody of the daily news, which airs right before the program, but Striscia also satirizes government corruption and exposes scams with the help of local reporters who are also comedians. The program is directed and produced by Antonio Ricci and is hosted by two major comedians. Usually Ezio Greggio (who co-founded the show with Gianfranco D'Angelo) is assisted by another comedian (such as Enzo Iacchetti or Michelle Hunziker) for the winter season, after which there is a change of guard.
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The Gabibbo, an Italian cultural icon acts as the mascot and is the soul of the show. Gabibbo is a caricature of an Italian layman, a low-income worker who lives near the docks of Genoa. Always loud, braggart but pungent in his naive but straightforward ways, he butts in everywhere he sees new friends to chat to with a childlike enthusiasm always running after the veline, the show's two dancing showgirls. He is, in some ways, like the Cockney type often seen in British comedies.
The term velina is a term in Italian journalism which indicates a news item released by a press agency. This term, originating in the 1920s during Fascism, parodies the official information system, which was submitted to the regime.
The veline are two young women in their early twenties (one blonde, the other brunette), who recall the dancing stars of the variety show, whose role underlines that Striscia la notizia is a satirical show, not bombastic daily news. Initially, they came onstage to hand the news to the hosts; today they perform short dance breaks or stacchetti, always finishing up on the news anchors’ desk. The veline probably evolved from the scantily clad waitresses who served at the tables in Drive-In, the show that made Greggio and D'Angelo widely known in the late 1980s. The veline have become the most popular female icons on Italian TV. The names of the veline are announced after a long beauty pageant during the summer. The program is called Veline. A similar program, "Velone" (which means "big veline"), is a contest for women in their 60s (although some are nearly 100). As in "Veline," the women dance and perform in brief sketches. The word velina is become a synonym for television presenters’s assistant. In 2012 enter in Zingarelli dictionary also velinismo (to become famous for his passiveness and inconclusiveness).
| Names | Years |
|---|---|
| Cristina Prevosti, Stefania Dall'Olio, Eliette Mariangelo, Micaela Verdiani | 1988 |
| Jordy Gordon, Indra Smith, Simonetta Pravettoni, Terry Sessa, Annalisa Gambi (not all the season) |
1989/1990 |
| Laura Paternoster, Monica Spreafico, Simonetta Pravettoni, Terry Sessa, Sonia Grey, Angela Cavagna (the nurse) |
1990/1991 |
| Ana Laura Ribas, Terry Sessa, Simonetta Pravettoni | 1991/1992 |
| Cecilia Belli, Fanny Cadeo | 1992/1993 |
| Cecilia Belli, Laura Valci, Fanny Cadeo | 1993/1994 |
| Miriana Trevisan, Laura Freddi | 1994/1995 |
| Alessia Merz, Cristina Quaranta | 1995/1996 |
| Roberta Lanfranchi, Marina Graziani | 1996/1997 |
| Alessia Mancini, Marina Graziani | 1997/1998 |
| Roberta Lanfranchi, Marina Graziani | 1998/1999 |
| Maddalena Corvaglia, Elisabetta Canalis | 1999/2002 |
| Giorgia Palmas, Elena Barolo | 2002/2004 |
| Lucia Galeone, Vera Atyushkina | 2004/2005 |
| Melissa Satta, Thais Souza Wiggers | 2005/2007 |
| Melissa Satta, Veridiana Mallman | 2008 |
| Federica Nargi, Costanza Caracciolo | 2008/- |
The Tapiro d'Oro (Golden Tapir), a small golden statue, is a special "prize" delivered to big celebrities or politicians who have been humiliated or defeated. Although many personalities take it in front of the cameras in the hope of getting attention for themselves, others run away and Valerio Staffelli, a special correspondent for the show, has to run after them until they finally take it. Some even react aggressively. At one time, Rai Uno Director Fabrizio Del Noce, cornered by Staffelli banged his microphone on the reporter's face breaking his nose.