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Italian television critic and media historian Aldo Grasso returns to bookstores with Cara televisione. Una storia d’amore e altri sentimenti, a personal and analytical reflection on the medium that has shaped generations of Italians and continues to evolve in the streaming and digital era.

Published by Raffaello Cortina Editore in the “Temi” collection, the 256-page volume offers readers an intimate yet rigorous journey through the transformations of Italian television, exploring not only the evolution of broadcasting but also the cultural and social changes that television has mirrored over the decades.
Widely considered the most authoritative television critic in Italy, Grasso combines autobiography, media analysis and social commentary in a book that revisits his long career as a television observer. In the volume, the author reflects on the often ambiguous role of the TV critic, describing himself as “a professional viewer” who has frequently been mistaken for a snob, while actually embracing popular culture in all its forms — from high-quality productions to the most extreme examples of trash TV.

“I have always defined myself as a professional spectator,” writes Grasso, “a sincere democrat whose investigative curiosity is equally stimulated by a successful programme as by the most shameless approximation.”

The book represents one of the first occasions in which Grasso openly reflects on his own profession and on the complicated relationship between critics, audiences and the television industry itself. He portrays the television critic as “an outcast, an intruder not recognised by other critics and not loved by those directly involved,” highlighting the paradoxical position occupied by media commentators in the entertainment ecosystem.

At the core of Cara televisione lies the idea that television remains one of the most faithful mirrors of Italian society. Through memories, anecdotes and sharp observations, Grasso revisits the television of the past and the present, analysing how the medium has reflected the virtues, contradictions, passions and disillusions of an entire country.

The publication arrives at a moment when the audiovisual industry is once again questioning the role of traditional television in an increasingly fragmented media landscape dominated by streaming platforms, social media and algorithm-driven consumption. Yet Grasso argues that television — despite its transformations — continues to maintain a unique emotional and collective dimension capable of shaping public discourse and national identity.

A professor of History of Radio and Television at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore and editorialist for Corriere della Sera, Grasso has devoted his entire career to studying the evolution of television language and culture. Over the years, he has published numerous books dedicated to television history and media criticism, becoming a key reference point for academics, journalists and industry professionals alike.