Albanian Radio Television (RTSH) is starting the new television season with a new visual identity and a series of innovations in its programming. The presentation took place this Wednesday at the RTSH premises, in a ceremony attended by representatives of institutions, journalists, artists and well-known television figures.
The Director General of RTSH, Ms. Eni Vasili, said that the new identity aims to combine the institution’s long experience with a more modern approach.
“It is a new graphic package, very beautiful, youthful, modern, just as we want RTSH to be. It is a concept that wants to transport all those things that we know exist in this very large institution, with its great experience, with people with a great professional background,” said Ms. Vasili.
Ms. Vasili stressed that the change does not aim to disconnect RTSH from the past, but to develop it in accordance with the times.
“We want to convey the past, not to forget it, but to evolve it and give it the rhythm of the times. From the tasks we had for the normalization of the institution, today the new task is to take it forward, to where our vision also is,” she said.
The new season brings new presenters and authors, as well as new formats on screen. According to Vasili, the selection was made with a focus on energy, professionalism and connection with the public.
“I want to talk about the new presenters and authors. They are innovations in the new season and the main criterion for their selection was energy, professionalism and love for the public, but also love for RTSH,” said Ms. Vasili.
The Director of RTSH said that the objective is to restore the public’s trust and attention towards public television.
“I would very much like us, together, to restore the love and trust that the Albanian public has had for RTSH. We will work for RTSH to regain trust, audience and the attention of the public,” she said.
Vasili also praised the support of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) in the process of reforming the institution, describing cooperation with it as important for the development of RTSH according to European standards.
“Today it is important to thank our partners, especially the EBU. When we began the first meetings with the EBU, one of the first things I asked was for them to give us all their expertise for the reform at RTSH. After 40 days, they were at RTSH.
They supported us and made possible a very important process of forming the entire structure that will certainly lead to legal changes and to the creation of the foundations that will make the public broadcaster trustworthy and genuine, like RTSH’s sister broadcasters throughout Europe.
Media throughout the world faces major challenges. Even at this moment, the need for public media is increasingly evident and important. We must give the public a space where they can be entertained and informed,” said Ms. Vasili.
With the new visual identity and the programming of the new season, RTSH aims to bring a more modern approach to the screen, while at the same time preserving the tradition and experience of the Albanian public broadcaster.
Full speech of RTSH Director General Ms. Vasili:
Good evening, everyone. How beautiful you all look from here. First of all, thank you all for coming. Thank you to the gentlemen who are members of the government cabinet, Mr. Gonxhe, Ms. Kumbaro, the other members of parliament here, the ambassadors, friends of RTSH, representatives of the media. Thank you very much for joining us on this special evening for us.
A special evening on a difficult day, in fact, because before the new visual identity of RTSH or the new projects for the new season begin for RTSH, I want to say something.
I want to say something as a citizen, I want to say something as a journalist, I want to say something as a media person. Of course, today I lead a public institution and I want to express my concern and sadness about the decision taken today in The Hague regarding the KLA fighters. Of course, this is a decision. All Albanians wherever they are today have said it, a decision which is unjust, and certainly the appeal of this act shows determination, shows integrity, and certainly history deserves to be rewritten with its truths, and I am convinced that this is what will happen.
Let us return to us. Let us return to RTSH, and we have gathered to officially open the new season of Albanian Television with new concepts and new ideas.
What is this new visual identity, apart from a very beautiful, very new, very fresh, youthful, modern graphic package, just as we want RTSH to be? We can say that it is a concept that wants to transport everything that we know in this very large institution, with so much experience in the media field. The only one that has this experience, the only one that has people who have such great experience and such a great professional background in television, to transport, to transport the past, to take it with us, not to forget it, not to leave it behind, but simply to evolve it, to give it the light of the times.
If I were to sum it up in one sentence, what I would say is that the normality that we gave the previous season and, since we are in a festive atmosphere, I do not want to talk about the major problems that we found, that the new management found at RTSH, from the financial situation or everything else, the problems in programming, I do not want to touch on them because we have said them.
But from the task we had of normalizing the institution, today we have a new task, to take it forward, to take it forward to where our vision also is. Of course, I want to thank here every RTSH employee who contributed to normalizing the situation within the institution and also contributed to the tireless work that this staff did during this year to implement the new programming, which we will begin shortly. We have also had resistance, of course we have also had sticks in the wheels, and this is understandable. The important thing is that today we are here to cut the ribbon on a new era for Albanian Radio Television.
I can only say this: my first year leading RTSH, we have now entered, let us say, the second year, was one of the most challenging years of my professional career. Not that being in the market of political programs is simple. Some of my media friends here know how difficult it is to survive in that kind of market, but the challenges and the responsibility I had to lead such an important national institution was something completely different, and certainly without the help of my close staff, but also of all the employees of RTSH, this would not have happened.
Therefore, I have a great thank-you and I would like to give you a round of applause for all the support you have given me.
So, let us talk about the new visual identity. We have new content. It is dressed in a new graphic package, new logos for every new program, fresh ones. We have preserved the identity, we have gone back a little in time to that old emblem and that old logo of RTSH, but we have enriched it. A red circle will unite us all. The color red certainly could not be abandoned. It can only unite us wherever we are. So the main elements, the national elements, will not be missing from the new visual identity. They are simply interpreted differently.
I want to talk about the new authors and presenters. The most beautiful innovation of this season is precisely them. They are the new faces who have newly come to RTSH and are joining the existing staff at RTSH, as well as the existing moderators. And certainly the main criterion in the selection of the presenters, I see Bruna here, Alba, Anjola, Kristin, Arvin are somewhere here, all of them. There was only one. It was energy, it was professionalism, love for the audience, for the public, and love for RTSH. This is an important thing.
I would very much like that together with our work, and only with our work, we restore the love and, above all, the trust of the Albanian public in Albanian Radio Television. Because we do not pretend that the elephant in the room is not there. We see the elephant there, and certainly we will work so that it is no longer there. We will work for RTSH to regain its audience. We will work for RTSH to regain the trust and attention of the public across the entire media market.
Of course, we have not been alone on this journey. It is very important today to thank our partners, especially the EBU and Ms. Ratka Becheva, who is here with us today, a representative of the EBU for the countries of the region.
And I want to tell just one thing. When we began the first meetings with the EBU in the European context, one of the first things I asked Ratka, after I spoke about the difficult situation at RTSH, was: please help us, can you come to RTSH and give us all your know-how, all your support, to begin the reform. After 40 days they were at RTSH, and this is solely the merit of Ms. Becheva, who insisted on this support and made possible a very important process, which Albanian Radio Television is now approaching, which is a deep and complete reform of the entire structure, which will certainly lead to legal and statutory changes and everything else, but which we hope will lay the foundations for a true, important and trustworthy public media, just like our European partners or sister broadcasters throughout Europe.
We live in difficult times throughout the world, and public media throughout the world face the challenges of the times, and precisely at these moments, in such difficult times globally, the need for public media is increasingly evident and their presence is increasingly important.
Of course, I had prepared, but I do not want to tire you, a speech which also spoke here about the desire to have better salaries, and perhaps many of the RTSH employees are expecting this.
Of course, I want to assure you at least that the well-being of the RTSH staff is one of the priorities of the new management. Better working conditions, more dignified salaries, salaries that certainly bring us closer to the private-sector market. All these will move in parallel with our efforts to give the Albanian public better content, a television on which they can spend their time, be informed, be entertained and choose it, as we would like them to.
I thank you all for coming today and for being part of RTSH, and you will continue to be part of it.
Thank you all.
/RTI/
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