… In Italy, everyone over the age of eighteen is Dottore. Or Professore.
Even their sports journalists insist on it. A Canadian writer talks about European sports reporters:
The Italian press corps is … the most cliquish. The rest of the press is simply ignored. Like the German press gang, the media passes worn by the Italians often make for interesting reading. About half of them appear to be called “Professor” while the Germans are big on being “Doctor.” I’ve always assumed this has to do with the official title a person with a BA or MA is entitled to receive in Italy or Germany. Me, I’ve got some university education, but I wouldn’t even mention that unless there was a point, and I’d be mortified if anybody called me “Professor.” I just writes for the paper.
Professor, Doctor… They love their titles over there, earned and unearned. And they bring this ethos with them wherever they go, as Australia has discovered:
Controversial builder Luigi Casagrande has resigned as director of the Government-owned Queensland Motorways board amid allegations he faked his credentials.
Mr Casagrande, a 2009 Order of Australia recipient, had repeatedly claimed in company annual reports he had a Dott Ing, an advanced engineering degree, from the University of Padua.
The Courier-Mail reported on Monday that the university had no record of the degree and Mr Casagrande declined to clarify the issue.
Despite being on its board since 1995, Mr Casagrande’s credentials were never checked by Queensland Motorways bosses.
… The action also puts Mr Casagrande’s Order of Australia at risk if the honours panel considers his actions dishonest and disreputable.
Almost 20 recipients have lost their awards since 1975. [Twenty? Isn’t that rather a high number? What did they do?]
The Queensland Government entrusted Mr Casagrande with its most important roads projects, including the Gateway Bridge Upgrade. He chaired the committee that oversaw the $2.1 billion project.
… Mr Casagrande’s other credentials as president of the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Brisbane also are being amended…
———- The Courier-Mail broke the story. ———-
June 10th, 2010 at 12:12PM
Many German newspapermen are called “doctor” because they have a doctorate. Germans seem to go on the bizarre assumption that having a Ph.D. in history, literature, sociology, economics or political science is good preparation for becoming a journalist. Whereas we Americans believe that journalists should have degrees in “communications” or “journalism,” in which they learn to write short, catchy headlines for USA Today or to blink their eyes meaningfully, while reading TV news headlines from a Teleprompter. And that’s why we have such excellent journalists in the USA!
June 10th, 2010 at 12:29PM
All true, Itp; but I’d add that many German newspapermen are called “doctor” because they insist on being called “doctor.”
June 10th, 2010 at 7:37PM
The Australian Governor-General ‘s website records that a conviction for a crime or offence under Commonwealth, State, Territory or foreign law will lose you your appointment or award. That or, more nebulously, behaviour that in the opinion of the G.G. has brought disrepute on the order.
The list of reasons why folks have been stripped of their A.O is unsurprisingly grim. Some business fraud, a falsified record of SAS service, drug trafficking, drink-driving occasioning death. One of the business fraud (ok, outright and colossal theft) crooks is exquisitely memorable. Alan Bond, whose lavish private university boasts without a molecule of irony about the strength of its law faculty.
July 2nd, 2010 at 9:53AM
I was told that not long ago, the recruitment process in Italian universities would demand that candidates listing publications in their applications would have to get copies of these publications certified by the university library, so that they do not make publications out of thin air.
And, yes, I was also told that having a B.A., B.S. or equivalent made you a “dottore”.