DEVELOPMENT OF TELEVISION IN PENZA REGION IN THE FIRST HALF OF THE 1960s

Larisa A. KOROLEVА, Alexey A. KOROLEV, Alla G. VASEROVA

УДК 94(470)

ББК 63.3

Key words

the USSR, ideology, propaganda, television, mass media, Penza region

Abstract

The article examines the history of Soviet television broadcasting in the first half of the 1960s at the regional level – in Penza region.

The State Committee for television and radio broadcasting managed radio and television broadcasting in the USSR, controlled the ideological and political content and artistic level of programs, and built up the material and technical base. On the part of the party bodies, television was supervised by the broadcasting and television sector in the propaganda and agitation department of the CPSU Central Committee.

Penza TV Studio in accordance with the decision of the Regional Executive Committee of Soviets of People’s Deputies № 266 was established in 1958. Penza television as a means of ideological and cultural and moral influence on citizens developed on the basis of party and state regulations, fulfilling the tasks assigned to it in educating the “builder of communism”, focusing in its work on programs of a socio-political nature. The structure of Penza television studio was typical for that time and reflected the main directions of the given activity – editorship of socio-political programs, of those devoted to the national economy (industry and agriculture), youth and sports programs, literary and dramatic, musical ones, etc.

In its practice, Penza television studio used various forms of presenting materials, including innovative ones for that time (“University of Public Knowledge”, “TV Propaganda Club”, “Answers to Workers’ Questions”, “TV Magazine “Atheist”, “TV Economic Council”, “School of Advanced Experience”, TV Magazine Type Program “Penza”, TV sketches “My Country, My Sweet One”, etc.). Penza TV studio had its own TV theater. Entertainment programs were presented to a lesser extent – “Meet Our Filmoteka”, music quizzes, concerts at the request of workers, etc.

When preparing TV programs, materials from local newspapers – “Penza Truth” and “Young Leninist” – were actively used; famous people of the region and local creative groups were involved (the Russian folk choir under the direction of O. V. Grishin, the Academic choir under the direction of N. A. Kotlyar and others). In 1962, the first live broadcast was made from the Central Square named after V. I. Lenin.

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Information about the authors

Larisa A. Koroleva – Doctor of Historical Sciences, Professor, Head of Department of History and Philosophy, Penza State University of Architecture and Construction, Russia, Penza (la-koro@yandex.ru).

Alexey A. Korolev – Doctor of historical sciences, associate professor, professor of department of history and philosophy, the Penza state university of architecture and construction, Russia, Penza (history@pguas.ru).

Alla G. Vazerova – Candidate of Historical Sciences, Associate Professor of the Department of Management, Branch of the Moscow University named S.U. Witte in Penza, Russia, Penza (allagala@mail.ru).