Roberto Saviano’s “Gomorra” and the power of his publication

By now, I have read a lot about the impacts articles or posts on different platforms have on people and their lives. What has been little discussed so far is the power of books as a medium for the spread of information. Let me fill this gap.

In his book “Gomorra” (first published in 2006), Saviano revealed the inner structures of the Neapolitan Mafia “Camorra”. This kind of news, the disclosure of secret information, is of the utmost importance for the whole Italian population and public life. The Camorra has become a very powerful institution, being involved in most of the pubic affairs going on in Naples and not hesitating to eliminate people standing in their way by threatening their business. That is why people are usually trying to avoid any kind of connection to the Mafia.

The revealment of secrets by Saviano had huge impacts. Not only on the fight against and prosecution of the members of the Mafia, but also on Saviano’s personal life. The news spread rapidly and he received several death threats. He is living under police protection ever since, being constantly guarded. He is not safe in any place and changes his habitation every few days.

This kind of news was not meant for the public audience, still it is very important that these information have been revealed, not in the last place because it helped to arrest some of the criminals. It is usually something nobody actually talks about though everybody knows of its existence.

In this case by the chosen form of publication being a book, the information are given a different character, being first-hand information directly given to the audience, not through a host in a TV show or a journalist’s reporting.

This shows that media, in this case a book, do not necessarily have to be manipulating or a bad thing, which tends to be the general attitude and tone in the discussions going on. It can be a very powerful and effective way of spreading information.