APRIL 29, 1960 | THE ESTABLISHMENT OF ALBANIAN RADIO AND TELEVISION!

RTSH – Albanian Radio and Television! The origin of Albanian Television is at the end of the 50s, when through a letter written by the director of Radio Tirana at that time, Petro Kito, in which the directorate of Albanian Broadcasting decided to address more developed friendly countries, such as the Union Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, RD Gjeramane, to help us build a small experiential TV center in Tirana on the occasion of the 15th anniversary of the Liberation of Albania, which will be celebrated on November 29, 1959. Through this center, it was thought to organize simple programs and film screenings 2-3 times a week. This would help to prepare the framework related to the perspective of establishing the definitive center of Albanian Television and its development". (S. Kellici – File no. 4, RTVSS Fund, State Archive) galleries" ids="466" display="basic_thumbnail"] In the early 1960s, according to documents stored in the State Archives, the directorate of Albanian Radio, in cooperation with the directorate of Kinostudio "Shqiperia e Re", presented to the government a relation, where, among other things, it was said: "Based on the order of Agitprpopri in the joint meeting of the directorate of the Radio Broadcasting and Kinostudio "Shqiperia e Re", the issue of the organization of the experimental center of Television was also studied…" Below , it was emphasized that this center could be set up using the Kinostudio's equipment during the time when they were not in use. From another report dated March 15, 1960 entitled "On the creation of the Experimental Television Center" it is said: "The equipment of the Center Experimental TV that will be set up in Tirana, has been donated by the Soviet Union, the Czechoslovak Republic, the German Democratic Republic according to the requests of our Broadcasting Directorate. Until now, we have received all the German Soviet equipment needed for the operation of the Center…These days, additional equipment for the studios, donated by the German RD TV, is also arriving by plane. Czechoslovak television will give us a television studio with a mobile station that will be used for broadcasts from theaters and stadiums. All donated by the three friendly countries, it has a value of 2 million lek." (S. Kellici – File 3, RTVSH Fund, State Archives). Always according to this relationship, it was foreseen that our program in the first period would broadcast programs with an experimental character, in addition to this, it was thought to create a newsroom composed of 6 people (editors, technicians). At this moment, the events took rapid development. Precisely on 18.4.1960, the Secretariat of the Central Committee of the PPS, after examining the proposal of the Directorate of Agitprop, took the decision to establish the Experimental Center of Television, with the above-mentioned apparatuses a few days and the government decided that in the organization of this institution there should be a fourth technical editor and three specialists from the German Democratic Republic should come to this television center In a one-story villa near one of the two buildings of Radio Tirana, three German specialists arrive. They began to work passionately with our new techniques, where Jani Melo (1930-1988) stood out. Meanwhile, engineer Emil Plllumbi was sent to the German Democratic Republic for specialization and then to other cadres in the Soviet Union and Hungary. April 29, 1960! The start of broadcasts marks not only the birth of Albanian Public Television, TVSH, but also the beginnings of the Albanian television market. 5 decades ago, for the viewers of the capital, the first greeting came through the screen, and it was precisely that greeting that marked the beginning of the history that bears the name of Albanian Television. This name learned step by step to be a fellow traveler of all of us. On the day the broadcast started, the first cornerstone was a children's film, then a documentary, a concert and then a film, so from the first day this magical screen had a gift for all generations. The big television, the companion of the big ones, has constantly walked alongside the small television, or the good friend of the "little ones". Generations of toddlers grew up with the VAT screen. It all started in a simple apartment, from where the first screen image, Stoli Beli, greeted. Part of the great beginning were Beqir Derhemi, Ilia Capo, Jani Mele, Stoli Beli, Vezir Hoxha, Riza Prosek and next to them Emil Plumbi, Liri Celi, Sali Mensori, Petrit Qylafku, etc. The program was initially simple, coupled with the inability to register. In 1963 the first news edition was broadcast, while in 1965 TVSh's only camera was moved to the stadium to broadcast a football match. The decision of the government of the time for the transition of Television from the experimental phase to regular daily programs, resulted in a rapid increase in the number of employees: boys and girls from the university or the High Institute of Arts, without experience in journalism and television directing, invested passion, ambition and desire to create, thirst to learn from experiences abroad and dedication. In 1966, the Experimental Television Center broadcasts the first part of the "Partizani – Dinamo" football match. The new television building created opportunities for other standards. The possibilities for indoor and outdoor filming were added, which also increased the broadcasting hours, every day of the week – from 18:00 to 22:30. The 70s brought another generation to the VAT environment, another to the many generations of VAT-ists who for five consecutive decades amicably received and escorted each other. We cannot name all of them, there are many and each of them has their place on this television. In 1971, the programs of the new TVSh Center began to be broadcast throughout the country. In 1972, Albanian Television broadcasts for the first time a football match taken by RAI 1. Four million meters of film are in the archive of Albanian television, from chronicles to documentaries, from concerts to feature films! The crystallization of television genders brought with it the crystallization of individualities. Different times certainly offered different challenges: from the works of light and the waves of class war, from the sensational broadcast of the Apollo 12 spaceship's flight to the moon in 1972, to the exaltation of imagined liberalization violently extinguished. with the 11th festival. In 1972, as a first test, it came to the size of a spectacle "The winner of the winners", a test which did not pass without problems. It was the time when the power gave one of the next blows to show the people its strength. The 11th festival was the starting point of the sacrifices that would follow in the name of the fight against liberalism in literature, culture and art. The way this major event was dealt with shriveled and stifled the creative spirit in Television. The technical environments consisted of sound studio equipment, telecinema, the film laboratory and the broadcast station on Dajti Mountain. Three studios were built: one for concerts, the second for talks, the one for news, as well as a moving studio. The lack of Chinese experience in this technology was reflected in numerous defects in the transmission. In those years, an American-made ampex recording apparatus was obtained, which was purchased indirectly, which then had to cost the Television specialists heavily. In 1975, 4 portable Ampex VPR tape recorders and one stationary Ampex VR tape recorder remained in Albania. After the 1980s, new equipment began to be purchased to upgrade to color broadcasting. First, the news studio was prepared, cameras were obtained for field shooting, as well as equipment for editing rooms. Other times brought other challenges. The challenge of survival was followed by the challenge of courage, the fixation of the drama of the embassies and above all the recording of the fall of the former dictator's statue proves high professional responsibility towards historical truth and a positive balance in the challenge of courage. The new time required new standards, new mindsets, new spaces. Editorial, but also geographical. The overthrow of the communist system paved the way for the reflection of the national issue. On November 27, 1993, a new studio started working in Television, with the support of the Kosovo government in exile, where the priority was to inform the people of Kosovo. Since 1993, VATS has been broadcasting its radio and television programs also via satellite. In its maturity, VATS took sure quality steps. The best, most ambitious ones aim for show cycles that require more time and audience impact. Sensitivity to historical, artistic, social, but also economic programs is greater. At that time, a series of programs such as "A chronicle-a topic", "Documenti e historia", "Enigmat", artistic programs "Bashke me ju", "Evenings of popular music", cycles "Pedagogy for all", "Producers-buyers", for youth, popular culture, etc. After the shaking of the first years of the transition, the television film recovered itself after the 2000s, bringing to the screen the social theme and the problems faced by the Albanian society, trying to maintain the standards despite the difficulties dictated by the market economy. In 2006, Albanian television aired the song in the big light music events at Eurosong. It is another promotion of artistic values, which is returning to tradition. Through art, cultures come closer and integrate their values, while peoples feel spiritually close to each other. TODAY On mountain ridges, these metal towers that reach up to 70 meters are located on Dajti Mountain, Qafe Shtamba, Tarabosh in Shkodra, Mide in Puka, Qafe Prushi in Kukës, Glavë, Sopot, Mile, Zvërnec, Llogora, etc., and from where they transmit the television broadcast throughout the country, as well as outside the political borders, in the Plain of Dukagjin, in the west of Macedonia, in the east of Montenegro, and in Corfu and Igoumenitsa in Greece. __________ Albanian cinematography in activity since 2013 Previously published on Facebook in June 2015 and revised in the following years. Source of information: On line. Skifter Kellici – History of Albanian Television (2005) and Wikipedia.

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