''The Belize Times'' is a

Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...

newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports a ...

published once a week and the official organ of the

People's United Party The People's United Party (PUP) is one of two major political parties in Belize. It is currently the governing party of Belize after success in the 2020 Belizean general election, winning a majority of 26 seats out of 31 in the Belizean House ...

(PUP). It was established in 1956 and sells for BZ$1 Its offices are located at the PUP's Belize City headquarters at 3 Queen Street,

Belize City Belize City is the largest city in Belize and was once the capital of the former British Honduras. According to the 2010 census, Belize City has a population of 57,169 people in 16,162 households. It is at the mouth of the Haulover Creek, wh ...

. As of August 2006, it has published over 4,500 issues, making it the longest continuously published newspaper in Belize since 1950. Its motto is "The Truth Shall Make You Free", a shortened form of Bible verse John 8:32: "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." (King James Version)

Staff

* Editor: Alberto Vellos * Publishers: Kevin L. Arthurs and Kareem Musa (BT Publishing) * Desktop Publisher: Christopher Williams *Office Assistant: Roberto Peryfitte

History

The ''Times'' began publishing in 1956 under the patronage of then leader George Price, who had just ousted ten members of the PUP from its central committee, including

Philip Goldson Philip Stanley Wilberforce Goldson (25 July 1923 – 3 October 2001) was a Belizean newspaper editor, activist and politician. He served in the House of Representatives of Belize as member for the Albert constituency from 1965 to 1998 and twice a ...

, owner and editor of the ''Belize Billboard''. For much of the 1980s the newspaper was presented as ''The Sunday Times''; it resumed printing under the ''Belize Times'' moniker in the 1990s. Longtime columnist Emory King died in August 2007. King's column officially ceased with the 19 August 2007 issue of the ''Times''.

Editorial policy

As the official organ of the PUP, ''The Belize Times'' is consistently critical of policies supported by the opposition United Democratic Party. As a result, the ''Times'' has been involved in several lawsuits and controversies. Though the major political parties rarely sue each other over accusations printed in the other's newspaper, allegations have at times become serious enough to warrant a response. The ''Times'' has also gained a reputation for its support for the arts through its weekly reviews of many Belizean artists.

2006 libel controversy

''The Belize Times'' answered to a libel suit in the Supreme Court, filed by attorney Lois Young and her former husband, then-

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

Dean Barrow Dean Oliver Barrow, SC PC (born March 2, 1951) is a politician from Belize who served as prime minister of Belize from 2008 until 2020 and as leader of Belize's United Democratic Party. An attorney by profession, Barrow served as Belize's ...

over articles printed in the newspaper in October 2006 which they claimed defamed Barrow. Chief Justice

Abdulai Conteh Abdulai Osman Conteh (born 5 August 1945) is a lawyer and politician from Sierra Leone. He is a former vice president of Sierra Leone, who served under President Joseph Saidu Momoh before he was ousted by the military junta in 1992. Conteh later ...

issued an injunction, which the ''Times'' appealed. On 9 November 2006, Conteh lifted the injunction and set the case for January 2007. In February 2007, Conteh ruled against the ''Times'' and set damages at BZ$40,000, the third highest award (including lawyer fees and costs) in Belizean legal history. The ''Times'' will consider an appeal, and in its Friday issue for that week continued to proclaim its innocence and accuse other media houses of unfair treatment of PUP public figures, which it says approaches libel.''The Times''′ reaction
/ref>

Sections of newspaper

* Headlines * Top national news stories * Editorials (official editorial, "hard-hitting" and "outspoken" guest editorials) * Seniors Column (compilation of columns from Emory King and "Aunt" Grace Coleman) * Feature articles and international news * Classified ads * Sports

References

External links

Belize Times websiteRepository of Belize Times issues
{{DEFAULTSORT:Belize Times, The Publications established in 1956 Weekly newspapers published in Belize People's United Party 1956 establishments in British Honduras