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Belarus 1 (Belarusian: Беларусь 1) is a state-owned television channel in Belarus.

It is the oldest television channel in the country. The channel is on air from 6:00 am to 2:00 am on the next day, in contrast with most public channels in Europe, which broadcast 24-hour programming. It is used to spread propaganda in Belarus.[1]

History

Logo of Belarus 1 from 1991 to 1996, with a stylized white-red-white flag in the logo's text.

The channel was launched on 1 January 1956, as the Belarusian branch of the Soviet Central Television, after months of preparation. The first spoken words were Good evening! Happy New Year. Today, we start our test run. spoken by Tamara Bastun.[2] Broadcasts were initially running for 2–3 hours every evening on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. In the 1960s, two-program television was formed (based on the broadcasts of the First Program of Moscow Central Television).

Since the mid-60s, its own production of feature and documentary television films began (based on the main editorial office of "Telefilm"). In 1962, with the release of "Intervision", an exchange of programs with other republics began. In the 1970-1980s, television broadcasting already covered 95% of the territory of Belarus. Since 1972, programs have been broadcast on 3 programs, including color programs of its own production (since 1974)[3]. In 1978, the hardware and studio complex of the Belarusian Radio Television Center was put into operation, which made it possible to increase the volume and quality of color images. In January 1981, 6 TVK launched an independent Belarusian program that did not overlap with programs from Moscow. In terms of the volume of its own production, it ranked 6th in the USSR, and its programs were watched by 86% of the residents of Belarus. The broadcasting structure of the national TV channel consisted of 3 blocks: informational and journalistic, scientific and educational, and artistic.

In 1992, the "Belarusian Program" was renamed the "Television Belarusian Channel" ("TBK"). Since 1993, "TBK" has become a full member of the European Broadcasting Union.

In 1995, the Television News Agency was created, producing informational and analytical programs for Belarusian television ("Novosti", "Panorama", "Resonance" (until the early 2000s)), as well as documentaries.

In June 1996, the name "TBK" was changed to "Belarusian Television" (BT). Since the early 2000s, BT has been referred to on air as the "First National TV Channel" (this name was assigned to the channel in 2006)[4]. In November 2011, the TV channel changed its name to "Belarus 1", new projects and graphic design were aired. In October 2021, minor changes were made to the design of the TV channel's broadcast.

Since the mid-1990s, the amount of Belarusian-language content on the channel has gradually decreased. In the early 2000s, only news and a few other programs (as well as inter-program design) were broadcast on BT in Belarusian. In February 2003, a survey was conducted by order of the Belteleradiocompany, based on the results of which it was decided to leave only cultural programs in Belarusian[5]. Until 2004, the Belarusian-language design of the channel and some programs, in particular news (screensavers, banners, subtitles) was retained.

On March 30, 2018, the TV channel switched to broadcasting in high definition (HD)[6].

Censorship and propaganda

Main articles: Censorship in Belarus and Propaganda in Belarus

International experts and the Belarusian democracy movement have traditionally called state television one of the most important propaganda tools of Lukashenko's regime. It is accused of disinformation, propaganda of political repression, election manipulation, and insulting critics of the regime.[7][8]

Employees and top managers of state television companies, including Belteleradiocompany, which owns Belarus 1, have been repeatedly put in the EU-led list of people and organizations sanctioned in relation to human rights violations in Belarus,[9][10][11][12] have been included in the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List,[10] the sanction lists of the United Kingdom,[13] Switzerland.[14][15]

According to a journalist who left the channel during the 2020–2021 Belarusian protests in August 2020, Belarus 1 was severely censored.[16] For example, there was a list of people whose names could not be mentioned in the news, which included opposition politicians, there was a blacklist of economists and political scientists, who could not be asked for comments, the use of the words "Stalinism," "cult of personality," " Gulag" was prohibited.[16] TV news unit journalist Alyaksandr Luchonak, who also resigned in protest of propaganda, also confirmed the existence of censorship.[17]

References

  1. ^ Marples, David (2013-01-22). "Belarus Starts Propaganda War Against the EU". Eurasia Daily Monitor. 10 (11).
  2. ^ "Belarus-1 TV is 60!". Belarus TV. 3 January 2016. Archived from the original on 2016-01-15. Retrieved 5 Aug 2021.
  3. ^ Сяргей Шупа (21 July 2009). "Радыё Свабода год за годам: 1974" (in Belarusian). Радыё «Свабода». Archived from the original on 2017-09-05. Retrieved 2016-09-18.
  4. ^ "Ребрендинг белорусских телеканалов. Не итоги" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2016-01-04.
  5. ^ "«Пожалуйста, спросите у Рыбакова…»". Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2016-01-04.
  6. ^ "Каналы Белтелерадиокомпании перешли на вещание в HD-формате" (in Russian). Белтелерадиокомпания. Archived from the original on 2018-04-05. Retrieved 2018-04-04.
  7. ^ Лещенко, Сергій (2011-11-08). "Посол Польщі Генрик Літвін: Втратити добрий час – це великий ризик для України" (in Ukrainian). Ukrayinska Pravda. Archived from the original on 2017-10-23. Retrieved 2021-05-05. Або подивіться на ситуацію в мас-медіа. У Білорусії існують тільки державні ЗМІ, крім інтернету. А так звані незалежні білоруські газети працюють в таких умовах, що можна сказати, що вони стали тільки орнаментом для системи. Телебачення в Білорусії є виключно державною пропагандою
  8. ^ Lucas, Edward (2017-01-20). "Edward Lucas Podcast: Belarus propaganda". Archived from the original on 2021-05-06. Retrieved 2021-05-05. in Belarus the state television maintains Soviet levels of venom and mendacity
  9. ^ "Поўны спіс 208 беларускіх чыноўнікаў, якім забаронены ўезд у ЕС". Наша Ніва (in Belarusian). Nasha Niva. 2011-10-11. Archived from the original on 2017-10-22. Retrieved 2021-05-05.
  10. ^ a b Мария Садовская. "Суровые и спорные" (in Russian). Belorusy i rynok. Archived from the original on 2012-12-08. Retrieved 2009-07-28.
  11. ^ МГ/АА (2021-06-21). "Евросоюз утвердил новый пакет санкций против представителей Беларуси. Кто в списке?" (in Russian). Belsat TV. Archived from the original on 2021-06-27. Retrieved 2021-06-27.
  12. ^ "EUR-Lex - 02012D0642-20210621 - EN - EUR-Lex". EUR-Lex. Archived from the original on 2021-07-21. Retrieved 2021-08-05.
  13. ^ "CONSOLIDATED LIST OF FINANCIAL SANCTIONS TARGETS IN THE UK" (PDF). Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation HM Treasury. 2021-06-25.
  14. ^ Shields, Michael (2021-07-07). Liffey, Kevin (ed.). "Swiss widen sanctions list against Belarus". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2021-07-07. Retrieved 2021-07-10.
  15. ^ "Sanctions program: Belarus: Verordnung vom 11. Dezember 2020 über Massnahmen gegenüber Belarus (SR 946.231.116.9), Anhang 1 Origin: EU Sanctions: Art. 2 Abs. 1 (Finanzsanktionen) und Art. 3 Abs. 1 (Ein- und Durchreiseverbot)" (PDF). Staatssekretariat für Wirtschaft. 2021-07-07. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-07-07. Retrieved 2021-07-10.
  16. ^ a b Неведомская, Татьяна (2020-08-29). "Машина пропаганды в Беларуси: бывшие журналисты госСМИ о своей работе" (in Russian). Deutsche Welle. Archived from the original on 2020-09-07. Retrieved 2020-10-12.
  17. ^ Ставская, Яна (2020-08-13). "В Беларуси журналист уволился с госТВ и объяснил, как работает пропаганда Лукашенко" (in Russian). Ukrainian Independent Information Agency. Archived from the original on 2020-08-27. Retrieved 2020-10-12.


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