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Il giornalista sa dello scandalo, ma non ne parla.

Il giornalista sa dello scandalo, ma non ne parla.
The journalist knows about the scandal, but he does not talk about it.
From Lesson 172:Topic pronoun (ne)·Italian

Questions & Answers about Il giornalista sa dello scandalo, ma non ne parla.

Why do we use ne here instead of lo or la?
The pronoun ne is used to replace a phrase that starts with the preposition di. The verb parlare (to talk) uses di to mean 'about.' Since the journalist is not talking about the scandal (dello scandalo), we replace that entire phrase with ne (about it).
Why does the sentence use dello scandalo instead of just lo scandalo?
In Italian, the verb sapere is often followed by the preposition di to mean 'to know about' or 'to be aware of.' Because the noun scandalo requires the article lo, the preposition di combines with lo to form dello.
Is it wrong to say non parla di esso instead of non ne parla?
It is not strictly wrong grammatically, but it sounds very clunky. Italians rarely use di esso for inanimate objects or abstract concepts like a scandal. The short pronoun ne is the natural, everyday way to express 'about it.'
Why is giornalista paired with the masculine article il when it ends in -a?
Nouns ending in -ista (which are usually professions) are unique because their singular form always ends in -a for both men and women. You must look at the article to know who is being discussed. Il giornalista is a male journalist, while la giornalista is a female journalist.

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