Cinematic imagery and the weekly press in post-war Italy : production sites, processes and people, 1950-1965

This thesis explores the ways in which the Italian illustrated press created and disseminated a visual cinematic knowledge in the period between 1950 and 1965. Through explorations of production sites and processes, and related editorial practices, it offers an in-depth analysis of the role played by major publishers like Arnoldo Mondadori and Angelo Rizzoli. The study focusses mainly on three weeklies that serve as case studies of the modern news magazine in the post-war period: L'Europeo, Oggi and Epoca (in the first years of its existence, 1950-1951). Rizzoli will also be considered in relation to its impact on film production. After addressing the broad context of the international press (chapter 1), the thesis examines the creation and function of new editorial environments within the expanding publishing industry of the 1950s-1960s. Analysis of photographic prints and illustrated pages of magazines reveals the various forms of storytelling related to cinema that ran through the different spaces of illustrated magazine and which shaped editorial work (chapter 3 and 5). The study is complemented by examinations of specialised units within publishing houses, such as documentation centres and marketing offices (chapter 4 and 5), which had a decisive impact on the circulation of filmic imagery. Drawing on the publishers' documentation centres, among other sources, this thesis delves into the complex institutional and inter-personal relationships that shaped the formation and perpetuation of a cinematic imaginary in the Italian press. Combining tradition and innovation, the magazines used cinema to extend the range of visual content that their readers were familiar with. By examining strategies for promoting directorial 'brands' that were considered to be consistent with journalistic values, the study highlights the fluid relations that obtained between journalism, advertising and visual documentation.