Radio in collective memory and radio memories in Antalya (1937-1977)

In this study, the place of radio in social memory is discussed for the time period from 1937, when the Antalya Community Center imported a sound system and began to play conferences, news, and radio programs for the public, to 1977, when the Sarıçınar television station was built and linked to TRT Ankara broadcast. Radio broadcasting has started in Turkey shortly after the invention, improvement, and initial broadcast testings of the radio device. The Republic of Turkey, the successor of a war-torn country, and the Republican People's Party, its founder, have used this device especially in community centers and houses to promote literacy and build a national identity for itself. The Democratic Party, which came to power afterwards, has incorporated it into daily life and used it to achieve its political objectives. Many domestic or international events were first heard on the radio, such as details about the course of World War 2, which could come to Turkey at any moment, and US moon landingwere listened in Antalya firstly via radio broadcasts. For nearly a century, society has listened to this magic box for education, culture, music, entertainment, drama, news, sports and religious programs. Stations such as Ankara Radio, Istanbul Radio, Izmir Radio, Police Radio, Meteorological Radio, Voice of London and Voice of America were listened to. Egypt, Tunisia, Cyprus and Greece are also recalled. Programmes are remembered such as Voices from the Dormitory, A Leaf from History, Children's Hour, Training Hour, Good Morning, Radio Theater, Soap Opera and Radio Newspaper. The public listened to the radio in coffeehouses, City Club, radio shops, neighborhoods, houses, gardens, schools, Konyaalti beach huts and on boats. After 1938, the broadcast was played by the Antalya Community Center through street speakers. During this period, the radio was not only a part of people's lives but also a device that broadened their horizons. At the same time radio broadcasting as a propaganda tool, has been shaped by the state from the very beginning in 1927 to 1992 in Turkey. It was tried to establish a dominant role for radio in the construction of social identity. Beyond that, radio has taken its own place in cultural life and has shaped life even if it is a part. 820 hours of video recording of 201 oral history interviews conducted by the Antalya City Memory Center between 2007 and 2019 was viewed. Also, Antalya City Memory Center Archive, which contains local newspapers dating back to 1922 as well as various documents, was scanned so that written archival material and autobiographies could be evaluated together. For the purpose of this study, 10 thematic oral history interviews were conducted between 2017 and 2019. The place of radio in social memory in 20th century Antalya was examined and itemized with the testimony of 52 source persons in chronological order. Keywords:CollectiveMemory, Oral History, Radio, Antalya.