In 1900, he was sent as war correspondent to Qing Dynasty China, where he witnessed and reported about the Boxer Rebellion, distinguishing himself for his ability to get first hand information.

In 1932 he became director of the Il Mattino,[2] but in 1933 lost his position when Mussolini mistakenly thought him to be the author of a critical article appeared in the French press.

After the nomination as senator, he continued to work as a correspondent for the Fascist newspaper Il Popolo d'Italia, covering the Spanish Civil War and the Russian Invasion.

[2] He continued to collaborate with Mussolini in the Italian Social Republic, where he directed the official press agency Agenzia Stefani.

His son Ettore, after joining the communist Patriotic Action Groups, was arrested in 1943 and deported to a concentration camp in Germany where he died in 1945, despite his father's efforts to save his life.