I’m a journalist and author. I write novels. Four have been published in Italian – Lupe, Come antiche astronavi, Lacrima and Suona, Nora Blume – by Casagrande in Bellinzona. And I won the Swiss prize for literature in 2015. My last two books have been translated into German, French and Spanish. As a journalist, I work for RSI’s online culture show Cult+ (RSI Cultplus). I mainly do video portraits of young, creative people. I used to work for other programmes, including a gym programme on the radio.
My passion. Doing interviews enables me to connect with people very directly. I like working with audio and video a lot, striking the right balance between the two and teaming up with other colleagues with different skills. I like that my writing is a solitary activity and a way of confronting things, people and myself.
My career path. It’s been about working and accepting advice (not always with a smile, I’ll admit), and watching how others work while also finding my own style. And improvising as well. Self-motivation is very important. I have three children, so I used to work part time, with the practical and financial support of my family, and the support of my superiors as well. And in my writing, I’ve received constructive criticism and also some more severe remarks from my editors ; I’ve been awarded prizes and received other support ; and I’ve met authors, translators and had critical feedback from my readers. All of this has really helped me a lot. But you have to work to gain trust !
A downside or obstacle ? In the news world today, you have to work even more, even quicker and take on more and more tasks. At 53 years of age, I’m not sure I can multitask as much as the job requires. This excessive multiplication of roles brings out a certain reserve in me. But maybe I’m just afraid of not being up to the task. We’ll see. People who work part time find it hard to get a job with more responsibility or to become a manager. And women with a family often work part time. At RSI, there are a lot of women, and the number of women managers also seems to be rising.
I’m happy that I was able to develop projects and do things that were important to me, including having children. And my contributions ? In the 1980s and 1990s, I think I contributed to the social debate through the issues I covered on the radio. And in terms of culture, I hope, through my TV work, I have given my audience some stimulating encounters and discoveries, and above all promoted the work of young artists. And through my writing, I have offered encounters with people who are not heroes or heroines but who are heroic on a daily basis. I write about everyday issues but not in a mundane way, I hope. I offer encouragement, and a moment of happiness.
