Enrico Mentana Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids Enrico Mentana
Mentana in 2016
Born	(1955-01-15) 15 January 1955 (age 70) Milan, Italy
Spouse(s)	Michela Rocco di Torrepadula (2002–2013)
Children	4

Enrico Mentana (born on January 15, 1955) is a famous Italian journalist and TV presenter. He is known for creating and leading important news programs in Italy. He started the news show TG5 and was its director for many years. Later, he created and hosted the talk show Matrix. Since 2010, he has been the director of TG La7, another popular news program. He also started an online newspaper called Open in 2018.

Enrico Mentana's Early Life
Mentana's Journalism Career
Awards and Recognitions
Personal Life
Images for kids
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Enrico Mentana's Early Life

Enrico Mentana was born in Milan, Italy, on January 15, 1955. His father, Franco Mentana, was a well-known reporter for a sports newspaper. His mother, Lella, had Jewish family roots. Enrico was raised Catholic but always felt a strong connection to the Jewish people.

He grew up in the Giambellino area of Milan. When he was young, he joined a small group called Movimento Socialista Libertario. Later, he joined the Italian Socialist Party. He also worked for and became the director of a magazine called Giovane Sinistra. This magazine was for young socialists. He studied Political Sciences at the University of Milan but did not finish his degree.

Enrico always wanted to be a journalist, just like his father. He started working at La Gazzetta dello Sport newspaper in 1973, when he was 18. He became a professional journalist in 1982.

Mentana's Journalism Career

Starting at RAI

In 1980, Enrico Mentana began working for RAI. This is Italy's public TV and radio company. He joined the foreign news team for TG1, which is the main news program on Rai 1. His first time on TV was in 1981. He reported from London about the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana.

One of his first big interviews was with the mother of Mehmet Ali Ağca. This was after Ağca tried to harm Pope John Paul II. Enrico quickly became successful at RAI. He became a news anchor for TG1 and then the editor-in-chief of Speciale TG1. This was a weekly TV show that looked deeply into news topics.

In 1987, a political leader asked him to be the main speaker for a TV advertisement. Enrico refused this request. This caused some problems between him and the people in charge at RAI. After 1988, he was given smaller jobs. In 1989, he became a deputy editor for TG2, another news program. But he was removed from this role a year later. In 1991, he left RAI.

Creating TG5

In late 1991, Mentana started working for Fininvest, a large Italian company. On January 13, 1992, he launched a new news program called TG5. This show was on Canale 5, a private TV channel. He started TG5 with other famous journalists. Enrico was only 37 years old when he became its director.

When TG5 first aired, Enrico said it would be a fast and well-made news program. He promised it would compete with other news shows without feeling less important. TG5 quickly became very popular. It often had more than seven million viewers. Sometimes, it even had more viewers than TG1. This made Enrico Mentana one of the most famous TV hosts in Italy.

Some important moments for TG5 included reporting the news about the murder of judge Giovanni Falcone. Enrico also interviewed a 7-year-old boy named Farouk Kassam, who had been kidnapped. He also moderated important debates between political leaders before the Italian general elections in 1994 and 1996.

In 1994, Enrico spoke out when a famous journalist, Indro Montanelli, was removed from his newspaper. Enrico reported this news and interviewed Montanelli live on TG5. Some people asked for Enrico to resign, but the company's owner, Silvio Berlusconi, kept him in his job.

In 2001, Enrico hosted a show called Rotocalco. This show was like a TV magazine with video reports. In the same year, he launched TGcom, which was Mediaset's first news website. He also started Terra!, a show that looked deeper into news stories.

On November 11, 2004, Enrico announced live on TG5 that he was leaving his role as director. He had led the news program for almost thirteen years. He said it was the company's right to make this change, but he felt sad about it. He also said that Mediaset had always given him what he wanted. He felt that if something went wrong, it was his fault, not because of the company interfering. A few days later, he became the editorial director of Mediaset.

Starting Matrix

Mentana in 2004

In late 2004, Enrico hosted a special TV show about the terrible tsunami in the Indian Ocean. In 2005, after a writer named Oriana Fallaci passed away, Enrico suggested creating a foundation to keep all her writings. He also proposed a TV report about her.

On September 5, 2005, Enrico started a new TV show called Matrix on Canale 5. This was ten months after he left TG5. He created and hosted Matrix three times a week, late at night. It competed directly with another popular talk show. Enrico said that even though he was sad to leave TG5, he understood it was the company's decision. He had a talk with the company president and understood his role as an employee.

From 2006 to 2007, Enrico taught a Master's degree program in journalism at the University of Milan. For the 2008 Italian general election, he interviewed the main candidates for prime minister on a special prime-time episode of Matrix.

Leading TG La7

Mentana in 2011

After his time at TG5 and Matrix, Enrico Mentana moved to TG La7. This is the news program on the private TV channel La7. He became its director in July 2010.

Awards and Recognitions

In 1995, Enrico Mentana received the Ischia International Journalism Award. This is a special prize for journalists.
An asteroid, a small rocky body in space, was named after him! It is called 48720 Enricomentana. The official announcement for this name was made in 2018.