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Oriana Fallaci was a renowned Italian journalist and political interviewer known for her fearless and confrontational style. Born in Florence during a turbulent period in Italy’s history, she inherited her politics from her liberal father and joined the anti-fascist resistance at 14. Fallaci pursued journalism as a career, working for various newspapers and publishing books on social commentary and interviews. She had a unique writing style, describing her interview subjects and their environments in lyrical detail. Fallaci was criticized for her interview style, which bordered on questioning, and was feared by many of her subjects. In her later years, she spoke out against radical Islam and was tried for defamation but died before the case went to trial. Fallaci lived her ideals, committed to freedom, equal rights, and fearless reporting.
Oriana Fallaci (1929-2006) was a famous Italian journalist and political interviewer. She is perhaps best known in the United States for her interview with Henry Kissinger, who described her 1972 interaction with her as “the most disastrous conversation I ever had with any member of the press.” Oriana Fallaci is well remembered for her fearless and outspoken character, and was arguably one of the best journalists of the 20th century, as well as being one of the most publicized Italian writers.
Oriana Fallaci was born in Florence, Italy, in 1929, during a very turbulent period in the history of Italy. Benito Mussolini was rising to power and World War II was upon us in the near future. It is likely that this childhood gave Oriana Fallaci a strong determination to fight against inequality, totalitarian governments and tyranny. Oriana Fallaci was a radical liberal, at one point she was in a relationship with Alexandros Panagoulis, a hero of the Greek resistance movement, and she spoke out all her life for those she couldn’t. Someone could go so far as to define Oriana Fallaci as an anarchist, because she had many anarchist values.
Oriana Fallaci probably inherited her politics from her father, who was a liberal opposed to Mussolini’s rise to power. Her father was briefly imprisoned and tortured during the war, and as a result Oriana Fallaci joined the anti-fascist resistance at the age of 14. Shortly after the war, she decided to pursue journalism as a career because she sensed the potential to speak up for the unrepresented. She worked for a wide variety of Italian and international newspapers in her lifetime and quickly acquired a reputation for intense and sometimes confrontational political interviews.
To complement her many interviews, Fallaci has also published several books, some of which are collections of interviews. Others consisted of social commentary on issues ranging from the position of women in Western society to the American space program. In addition, she has published several novels.
Oriana Fallaci had a very unique writing style, describing her interview subjects and their settings in lyrical detail. This style of writing also appeared in full bloom in her novels. Oriana Fallaci reflected on the context in which her interviews took place, writing not only about the people she spoke to, but also about the environments in which they lived and worked. She was also an extremely insightful and sensitive author, revealing truths about her subjects that she probably would have preferred to hide.
Oriana Fallaci has often been criticized for her interview style, which according to many bordered on questioning. Some of her most famous interviews included one of her with Ayatollah Khomeini in which she tore off the chador she was forced to wear to meet him. As a journalist, she was feared by many of her subjects, because she was very skilled at extracting unfavorable information and she was not afraid to publish it. Her internationally published interviews have brought a new level of scrutiny to world leaders and governments.
In her later years, Oriana Fallaci spoke out fervently against radical Islam, arguing that the West lived in fear and compromised its values rather than face the threat from the Middle East. She has written several polemical books on the issue, for which she has been heavily criticized. She was tried in Italy for defamation of Islam, but she died before the case went to trial. Oriana Fallaci lived her ideals of hers. She was deeply committed to freedom, equal rights and a fearless reporting style that earned her grudging respect from all corners of the international community.
