L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, JANUARY 11, 2024 www.italoamericano.org 18 L'Italo-Americano T his year marks a significant mile- stone in the his- t o r y o f I t a l i a n radio and televi- sion: RAI (Radiotelevisione Italiana), the nation's pre- m i e r p u b l i c b r o a d c a s t i n g company, celebrates 100 y e a r s o f r a d i o a n d 7 0 y e a r s o f t e l e v i s i o n b r o a d c a s t i n g . S i n c e i t s i n c e p t i o n i n 1 9 2 4 , R A I played a crucial role in shap- ing Italy's cultural landscape and has been instrumental in promoting the Italian lan- guage, unifying the country's varied regions, and reflecting the societal changes over the decades. The establishment of RAI was a result of the Italian State's exclusive rights to cir- cular radio broadcasts, as decreed in 1923, which led to the founding of pioneering b r o a d c a s t i n g c o m p a n i e s , including the Unione Radio- fonica Italiana (URI), Soci- età Italiana Radio Audizioni Circolari (SIRAC), and Soci- età Anonima Radiofono. The formation of URI, the pre- cursor to RAI, came through a collaboration encouraged by then Minister of Commu- nications Costanzo Ciano, that merged Radiofono and SIRAC into URI. In 1927, URI was transformed into the Ente Italiano per le Audizioni Radiofoniche (EIAR), which later became RAI. This transformation indicated the government's interest in controlling broad- cast media, as evidenced by the government appointing members to EIAR's board and requiring ministerial approval for statute changes. T h e 1 9 3 0 s s a w E I A R ' s expansion under the Fascist regime's initiatives, aiming to make radio accessible to every Italian household; this period also witnessed the b e g i n n i n g s o f t e l e v i s i o n broadcasting experiments. World War II brought significant challenges and changes to Italian broadcast- i n g a n d , a f t e r I t a l y ' s armistice in 1943, local EIAR stations operated indepen- dently. In the Italian Social Republic, EIAR remained under the regime's control, while stations in Allied-occu- pied areas were managed by the Psychological Warfare Branch. Post-war, the radio system was reunified under RAI, with surviving stations organized into two networks and to the establishment of a national network of trans- mitters. This era marked a s i g n i f i c a n t s h i f t i n R A I ' s function, from a tool for gov- ernment propaganda during the war to a means of cultur- al and educational develop- ment in the post-war period. O n J a n u a r y 3 , 1 9 5 4 , RAI started its television b r o a d c a s t s f r o m a s i n g l e channel, which later evolved into Rai Uno. The first pro- g r a m , A r r i v i e P a r t e n z e , hosted by Armando Pizzo and Italian-American Mike Bongiorno, was broadcast from Milan's headquarters, with relay stations in Turin and Rome. The launch of R A I T V r e p r e s e n t e d t h e beginning of regular televi- sion programming in Italy and introduced a new era of entertainment and informa- tion dissemination to the Italian public: by the end of 1954, television had reached 58% of the Italian popula- tion, a figure that would rise t o 9 7 % b y 1 9 6 1 . I n d e e d , R A I ' s e a r l y y e a r s s a w a steady increase in subscrip- tions, from 24,000 in 1954 to over 6 million by 1965, t u r n i n g t e l e v i s i o n i n t o a c o m m u n a l e x p e r i e n c e i n homes and public spaces. In this context, it's impor- tant also to discuss RAI TV's impact on Italian culture and language, as both radio and television played a crucial role in unifying Italian cul- ture and linguistically inte- grating the country. Televi- s i o n c o n t r i b u t e d significantly to the creation of a national language, sur- passing even the school sys- tem in its impact: indeed, one of RAI's most notable contributions to Italian cul- ture was its role in teaching the Italian language and literacy. During the 1960s, RAI's educational television programs were instrumental i n p r o m o t i n g l a n g u a g e learning across the country and supporting the use of standardized Italian, playing a key role in the educational development of a country w i t h s i g n i f i c a n t r e g i o n a l dialects and varying levels of literacy. T h e i n t r o d u c t i o n o f advertising in 1957, with t h e i c o n i c p r o g r a m Carosello, marked a turn- ing point: it was the first "viral" show on our national TV. But while entertainment m a d e t e l e v i s i o n p o p u l a r , R A I ' s n e w s c o v e r a g e r e m a i n e d a c o r n e r s t o n e , with over 70% of viewers regularly watching its news broadcasts. Sports, especial- ly cycling and football, were c o n s i s t e n t l y c o v e r e d a n d enjoyed wide popularity. In 1962, RAI launched its second television channel and made its first satellite connection with America. This period also marked the beginning of color television broadcasting experiments, which officially started in the mid-1970s, and the inaugu- ration of the third RAI TV n e t w o r k , o f f e r i n g b o t h national and regional con- tent, in 1979. I n 1 9 9 6 , R A I o f f i c i a l l y entered the digital age by e s t a b l i s h i n g i t s w e b s i t e , www.rai.it, and by the end of 1997, it had launched its first three digital thematic chan- nels via satellite, following initial experiments in the early 1990s. The last decade of the 20th century also wit- n e s s e d t h e b i r t h o f R A I International, now known as Rai Italia, launched on January 1, 1992. Rai Italia, which many of you probably watch regularly, operates g l o b a l l y , b r o a d c a s t i n g t o I t a l i a n e x p a t s a n d t h o s e interested in Italian culture and language. The channel's content includes a mix of news, discussion-based pro- grams, dramas, documen- taries, and sports coverage. R a i I t a l i a ' s m i s s i o n i s t o d e v e l o p p u b l i c s e r v i c e broadcasting internationally and to cater to the informa- tion and service demands of Italian communities abroad; it broadcasts in different localized schedules in 174 countries across five conti- nents and also offers several localized feeds, including Rai Italia America, Rai Italia Asia, Rai Italia Australia, and Rai Italia Africa. These channels promote a variety of programs, with 83% of the annual output consisting of productions from the three main RAI channels, and the remaining 17% comprising original productions. One quick, but important, note on RAI Internation- al Radio, another arm of RAI's international broad- casting. Established in 1931 as a shortwave radio station, its original purpose was to broadcast news and cultural programs to Italian emi- grants living around the world. During World War II, RAI International Radio was essential in maintaining morale among the Italian diaspora, providing news, entertainment, and cultural programs that helped to con- nect Italians abroad with their homeland. L o o k i n g b a c k a t R A I ' s c e n t u r y - l o n g j o u r n e y i n radio and seven decades in television, it's easy to realize how much of a key player the company has been in the cul- tural and linguistic unifica- tion of Italy, and how it real- ly helped mold a national identity in such a regionally diverse country. That's why it's perhaps important, this y e a r m o r e t h a n e v e r , t o acknowledge how RAI isn't just an international broad- casting giant, but a vital part of Italy's cultural heritage. RAI, the Italian national tv and radio provider, celebrates two important birthdays in 2024 (Photo: Michele Ursi/Dreamstime) Happy birthday, RAI! GIULIA FRANCESHINI NEWS & FEATURES TOP STORIES PEOPLE EVENTS

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