ATLas Chronicles. Designing and Valorising an Italian Archive of Past Local TV Channels

Establishing a first, pilot inventory of privately-owned local TV channels operating in Italy between 1976 and 1990 is the core aim of the ATLas – Atlas of Local Televisions project, a nationally-funded research currently encompassing four Italian universities, with the intent of driving attention on an often neglected area of both academic investigation and archival practice. The research focuses on a sample of five networks which operated in contrast to the national public service monopoly, with vibrant creative innovations and a distinct connection with territories and local economies. After a scientific overview of the project, this contribution will delve into the methodological challenges underlying the design of an open-access repository that hosts a selection of audiovisual fragments drawn from the channels’ native archives, now difficult or impossible to access, or archived following random or commercial criteria. Particular attention is paid to the process of inventory, indexing and generating metadata of the various collected sources, in an effort to maintain a balance between creative and historiographical instances, and to allow the development of dedicated digital exhibitions. With accounts referring to three case studies (Antenna 3, Sardegna 1, and TeleSanterno), the article shares and discusses some lessons learnt, as well as the main struggles (and possible biases) encountered through the analysis, highlighting the memorial and testimonial value of this area of media history.