Archives, Sources And Memories For A History Of Early Italian TV Audiences

This chapter reflects the historical research on early Italian television, with a specific focus on the audience’s point of view.With the term ‘early’ we refer here to the first decade following the beginning of regular programming, in January 1954. This chapter stems from extensive research on early Italian audiences carried out independently by the two authors, who afterward detected many intersections and common aspects. The issue of archives and audiences’ memories will be approached from two different perspectives: on the one hand, the social and historical trajectories of early TV domestication; on the other hand, the political configuration of the first viewers, especially in the working and middle classes. Two main methodologies were used by the authors to investigate early Italian audiences and represent the framework of this chapter. Firstly, oral history and ethnography are crucial tools for collecting the private memories of the first TV viewers. Secondly, the analysis of printed sources: both private accounts of viewers’ experiences during that first stage (outlined in diaries and letters), and representations of spectatorship in the popular press and advertisements. With this methodology, the chapter discusses images and practices of the early TV audience in Italy in the mid-1950s.