Radio Televizioni Shqiptar
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| Type | Public Service TV and Radio |
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| Country |  Albania |
| Availability | National - in analogue and digital International - on satellite via Eutelsat W2. |
| Slogan | Radio Televizioni Publik Shqiptar |
| Launch date | November 28, 1938 (radio) April 29, 1960 (television) |
| Former names | Radiodifuzioni Shqiptar |
| Website http://www.rtsh.al |
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Radio Televizioni Shqiptar (RTSH) translated in English as Albanian Public Radio and Television - ART is the public broadcaster in Albania, founded in 1938 and operated from Tirana.
RTSH runs a national television station TVSH, standing for Televizioni Publik Shqiptar, and two national radio stations, using the name Radio Tirana. An international service broadcasts radio programmes in Albanian and seven other languages via medium wave (AM) and short wave (SW).[1] The international service has used the theme from the song "Keputa një gjethe dafine" as its signature tune.
Since 1993, RTSH has also run an international television service via satellite, aimed at Albanian language communities in Kosovo, Serbia, Macedonia, Montenegro and northern Greece, plus the Albanian diaspora in the rest of Europe. Since 1999, RTSH has been a member of the European Broadcasting Union.
RTSH is funded by a combination of commercial advertising, a licence fee of US$0.50[2] a year and grant-in-aid from the Albanian government.
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[edit] History
The beginning of RTSH dates to the installation of a 10W mediumwave transmitter and studio apparatus on the building of the Municipality of Tirana. On November 28, 1938 the transmitter was put into operation at Lapraka (Tirana) mainly for communication purposes, but also for the transmission of 3-hour daily broadcast programmes, thus marking the first transmission of Radio Tirana, and the start of RTSH's journey.
As years passed the quality of broadcasting improved. In 1940, a 1 kW mediumwave transmitter and some studio equipments were installed on the Rruga e Kavajës, old building of Radio Tirana.
After the Second World War, noticeable improvements were observed in Albania's coverage with signal. For example, in March 1952, a 10kW mediumwave transmitter was inaugurated in Kashar (Tirana). Improvements were also noted in the external service, as the radio center of Shijak (Durrës) was opened in November 1961, equipped with 3 transmitters, 2 in shortwave intended for the external service.
In December 1965, a new building of Radio Tirana was inaugurated equipped with 8 transmitting studios, 5 recording and montage studios, and a central large music studio.
During the upcoming years, a combined total of 18 medium and short wave transmitters were installed, part of which carried Radio Tirana's external service programmes for many years. In 1987, 66 hours of programmes were broadcast in 20 foreign languages every day.[3]
[edit] RTSH in the People's Socialist Republic of Albania
Despite the country's tiny size and isolationist policies, Radio Tirana was a fairly major international broadcaster during the Cold War.
During Albania's alliance with China in the 1960s and 1970s, Radio Tirana had to walk a fine line between being anti-West whilst also being anti-East. As such, Radio Tirana kept close to the official policy of the People's Republic of China, which was also both anti-West and anti-East whilst still being socialist in tone. Following the break with China, programming still remained Marxist-Leninist in nature.
During the 1970s, the station broadcast to Europe on 1214 kHz, causing interference problems for the British BBC Radio One on the same frequency. During the 1980s and early 1990s the international service was broadcast on 1395 kHz (along with various short wave frequencies) and was received throughout Europe during the evening and through the night. Radio Tirana also upset many amateur radio operators in Europe by operating transmitters in the 7 MHz (40 metre) amateur band.
Political programming predominated during this period. Features included Marxism-Leninism - an ever young and scientific doctrine and Socialism and the youth. The feature Leafing through the Marxist-Leninist press restricted itself to the journals of foreign communist parties allied to the Albanian Party of Labour.
However, during the last months of the socialist era, overtly political programming was drastically scaled down, and the long-established practice of playing "The Internationale" at the end of each broadcast was abandoned.
[edit] Post Communism
RTSH has remained one of the leaders in the broadcasting field from the beginning of its operation to the mid 1990s, a period when the first privately owned radio and TV stations started to occupy the vast empty frequencies. As a result, numerous experienced journalists and employees left RTSH for the new media outlets. For illustration purposes, Albania's current popular political talk shows such as Opinion by Blendi Fevziu (formerly called E Diela Debat) or Fokus by Robert Papa can track their beginnings at RTSH. Despite this brain-drain, the institution has held a robust position in the production of programmes in fields pertaining to entertainment, civics, education and science.
One of the programmes who has left a lasting impression in the post-communist TV entertainment field was that of talented show-man Adi Krasta, entitled Rreth Fatit për 12-Javë. The show was embedded in a national lottery, something unseen before in Albania, ran on primetime state TV for about 6 hours non-stop, and offered tunes of famous American song ballads, such as (I've Had) The Time Of My Life by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes, and famous hit song Auberge by British Blues icon Chris Rea. In addition, American actor of Albanian descent James Belushi offered his salutations to the Albanian people from the USA in an exclusive interview.
Another brilliant production is the End-Year Festive Concert, a yearly TV programme styled as a celebration of the new year, where a variety of humorous sketches are conducted by talented comedy troops from across Albania.
In the civic field, a vast number of documentaries are produced on different national heritage topics, including past and present cultural personalities who gave and continue to give contributions to the enrichment of the Albanian arts, an example being those for the Albanian National Theatre.
In 1997, in Albania, educational institutions were temporarily shut down due to civil unrest. As a result, RTSH broadcast instructional programmes for the barricated youth, that made for a substitute to regular instruction. RTSH is known also for the vast number of shows for children and adolescents produced each year. Figures such as Pavlina Mani and other anchors are some of the personalities fixed in the minds of many youngsters.
The journalistic field was and is partly represented by experienced iconic figures such as news anchors Tefta Radi, Roland Roshi, Arben Kamberi, Reiz Çiço and many others, but also by the numerous employees behind the stage. In 1998, journalists of RTK were obliged to flee Pristina as the situation in Kosovo was escalating. They took temporal refuge in RTSH by anchoring specific news bulletins on their region's situation.
In 1999, RTSH became part of the family of the European Broadcasting Union, and today is one of its active members. Additionally, RTSH holds the copyright of home games of Albania's national football team, the Eurovision Song Contest, the Olympics etc.
In 2007, RTSH launched its official webpage with daily news briefs and a variety of information on its services.
Allegations by critics have remained through out the long story of RTSH. According to those, the institution leans towards the government's agenda and conclude that it unsuccessfully tried to reinvent itself as an independent public broadcaster.
[edit] TV and radio
TVSH (Televizioni Publik Shqiptar) is the name of Albania's public television channel, part of RTSH founded by the communist government in 1975, but experimental broadcasts were initiated in 1960 by former director of Radio Tirana, Mr. Petro Kita. The international version of the TV channel called TVSH Satelit and domestic Radio Tirana 1 broadcast to Europe free to air via satellite. The TV domestic program is carried on digital cable and satellite via DigitAlb.
With the arrival of the new millenium, RTSH underwent some significant changes in its technology. In 2003, an attractive news studio was created, and the TV (TVSH) signal on VHF band in Tirana was strengthened. TVSH became available also on UHF.
Experimental broadcasts of the second TV channel TVSH 2 were initiated, and the domestic FM channel at 99,5 MHz Radio Tirana 1 was put on Stereo.
In the same year, a second radio channel started to operate 24 hours a day, Radio Tirana 2, which focused enterily on the youth.
Screen graphics were revamped reflecting the red color, that of the national flag, but also of the time's ruling party. The same can be said for 2006, as red was substituted for blue, although it is not one of the national colors.
RTSH continues to improve technically but also in content. In 2007, Gjergj Leka, an Albanian artist who has lived in Italy, hosted on TVSH Kthehem të Dielën, a variety show where content mattered, and it was of a high quality. T'kam Zemër is the title of the show hosted by Rudina Magjistari that seems to have been received warmly by the public. Socio-political debates have also increased in number such as Përballë, Sfida dhe Strategji, and others. Despite these improvements, allegations of bias in news reporting and other structural problems still remain.
[edit] Special programmes
- RTSH is known for the production of the annual National Song Competition, Festivali i Këngës. The winner of the competition goes on to represent Albania in the Eurovision Song Contest, which for 2008 is organized in Belgrade.
- Miss Albania and Miss Europe were some of the fashion competitions organized by RTSH in the 90s.
- RTSH also covers daily and special proceedings of the Parliament of Albania.
[edit] TV programmes
[edit] Nationally created shows currently broadcast by TVSH (as of May 2008)
| Original name | Format | Origin |
|---|---|---|
| Jo Vetëm Kafe | morning show | |
| Hapësirë e Blertë | agricultural affairs | |
| 7 X 7 | talk show | |
| Përballë | current affairs | |
| Turizmi, Arsimi, Arti | talk show | |
| Netët e Klipit | awards gala | |
| T'kam Zemër | entertainment | |
| Troç | youth affairs | |
| Skaner | investigative magazine | |
| Gjuha Italiane | instructional | |
[edit] Internationally created shows currently broadcast by TVSH (as of May 2008)
| Original name | Albanian translation | Origin |
|---|---|---|
| Ditari | Lajme nga Zëri i Amerikës |  |
| Kurtuluş | Çlirimi |  |
| Eurovision Song Contest 2008 | Eurovizioni 2008 |  |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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